Kuala lumpur: Abdullayeva Madinabonu Nizomiddin Qizi from Uzbekistan clinched the international category title at the 2026 Prime Minister's Cup International Bahasa Melayu Public Speaking Competition (PABM) at the Malaysia Tourism Centre (MaTiC) here tonight. The 20-year-old student of Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies made history by securing Uzbekistan's fourth victory in the prestigious competition.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Abdullayeva expressed her happiness and relief after her win, stating, 'I am very happy, Alhamdulillah. I am the fourth champion for Uzbekistan.' She shared with reporters her initial nervousness, which almost led her to forget her prepared speech. However, she managed to compose herself and eventually emerged victorious. Her preparation involved two months of intensive training, focusing on pronunciation and speech delivery.
In the international category, Sergei Ermakov from Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia, secured second place, while Qiu Ziyi of Beijing Foreign Studies University, China, came in third. In another category, Aiena Batrisyia Sulaiman of the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) won the Alam Melayu category title, with Mohamad Iqbal Sopian Saputra of Tanjungpura University, Indonesia, finishing second, and Khairul Nur Ayuni Rodzan Khairul of Universiti Malaya taking third place.
The competition also celebrated other international participants in Malaysia, where Amna Masood from Pakistan, a student at the University of Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), was crowned champion. Aisyah Hikmah of Burundi, studying at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), secured second place, while Amr Ibrahim Yusuf of Egypt, a Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) student, placed third.
The winners in each category received a trophy, RM10,000 in cash, and a certificate of appreciation. The runner-up received RM8,000 and a certificate of appreciation, while the third-placed winner walked away with RM5,000 and a certificate of appreciation. Themed 'Bahasa Melayu: Jambatan Peradaban Global', the 16th edition of the competition serves as a significant platform to promote the use of Bahasa Melayu as a language of knowledge, communication, and diplomacy beyond cultural and civilizational boundaries.
The event attracted 174 entries from 21 countries, including Malaysia, with 99 participants advancing to the screening stage before the top 50 were selected for the preliminary round. The grand finale was officiated by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, who emphasized the importance of Bahasa Melayu as a means of communication and a vehicle of thought amid the era of artificial intelligence and the current information explosion. He highlighted the historical significance of Bahasa Melayu as a lingua franca that once united the region.