who is Khairy boy to represent Najib?

It should be Anwar vs Najib or no debate

Written by Jackson Ng

This is a strange world of twists and turns, straying illogically to dizzying heights from the original source.

It started with Opposition Leader and PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim challenging Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to a public debate on the country’s economy.

I repeat: Anwar challenging Najib.

Then in comes Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, a young Umno upstart who rose the ranks due to his father-in-law and the then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The “Oxford-smart” Khairy saw the opportunity to grab the limelight by offering to engage with Anwar, after Najib, as usual could not muster any courage to accept the challenge.

Now, who is Khairy to represent Najib?

If at all there is to be a debate, then Khairy should be debating with Pakatan Rakyat (PR) youth leaders. Khairy is clearly not in the same class as Anwar.

Instead, the media and all and sundry started focusing on Umno Youth and Khairy’s challenge.

I say, don’t let Umno Youth and Khairy to hijack the economic issue raised by Anwar.

Umno Youth and Khairy’s agenda is just to grab the limelight, hoping to curry favour. In fact, Khairy is barely surviving, politically, that is.

It is amazing why PR youths, especially those from PKR, are not engaging with Umno Youth on this issue?

I suspect, sadly, it could be due to lack of confidence in engaging with the so called Oxford-educated Khairy.

Anwar, as the Opposition Leader and a potential prime minister, must not downgrade himself to the level of Umno Youth.

Najib is not only the prime minister, he is also the Finance Minister. Therefore, he is the best man to debate the issue, what with all the resources from the government and his ministry.

But, it is shocking that Najib does not have the courage or confidence to engage Anwar.

Why? What’s the fear?

Altantuya, submarines, 1Utusan Malaysia, Teoh Beng Hock, the Jan 30 Tenang by-election?

Of course, if the debate veers to those issues and scores of others, the emotions of the Tenang folk will be stoked, favouring PR.

The issue is thus Najib’s failure to engage confidently to allay the fears of the rakyat or the doubts raised by Anwar. Not the young upstart Khairy and his Umno Youth antics.