Amna Masood, a Pakistani student from Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Information Technology (UniKL MIIT), was crowned champion of the Pertandingan Pidato Antarabangsa Bahasa Melayu (PABM) 2026 Piala Perdana Menteri.
The 21-year-old Bachelor of Information Technology (Hons) in Software Engineering student emerged victorious in the International Students in Malaysia category after delivering an outstanding speech themed “Bahasa Melayu Jambatan Peradaban Global.”
With the win, Amna took home the PABM championship trophy and a cash prize of RM10,000.
Second place went to Aisha Hikma from Burundi, representing Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), while third place was secured by Amr Ibrahim Ibrahim Yousef, an Egyptian student from Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP).
Amna emerged as one of the standout participants among finalists representing various countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt, Afghanistan, Burundi, Uzbekistan, China, and Russia, across the competition’s three categories.
The final competition was held on 8 May 2026 at the Malaysia Tourism Centre (MaTiC), Kuala Lumpur, and brought together participants from around the world in celebrating the Malay language as a bridge of global civilisation and cultural understanding.
For the record, Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) became the first private higher education institution (IPTS) entrusted as a key host and strategic collaborating institution for the 16th edition of the PABM Piala Perdana Menteri 2026, which recorded a total of 174 entries from participants worldwide.
Organised under the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (KPT), the prestigious competition brought together participants from across multiple continents, representing countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, China, Japan, Pakistan, Egypt, Nigeria, Germany, Russia, and many others.
