Lim Guan Eng and Nurul Izzah take the prime minister to task for dodging the calls for a debate with the opposition leader.
PETALING
JAYA: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will never accept the challenge to
debate with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim because he fears being
dealt a verbal bruising.
“He will be thrashed!” exclaimed DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng. “That’s why he is worried.”
The Penang chief minister also added that Najib was not prepared to
subject himself and his leadership to thorough examination and scrutiny.
“Najib claims that Malaysia is a functioning democracy, then why is
he dodging the debate. By dodging the debate, it does not mean that he
can sidestep answering pertinent issues,” Lim told FMT.
“If the US and the world’s most powerful man [US president Barack
Obama] can do it [participate in the presidential debate], then why
can’t Najib do the same?” he asked.
Lim claimed that Najib’s reluctance to debate with Anwar proved that
Barisan Nasional would resort to its “same old dirty tricks” to win the
next general election.
“BN will rely on its ’4 Ms’ – money, mainstream media, machinery of
the government and the fourth ‘M’ being [former premier Dr] Mahathir
[Mohamad] – to win the polls,” he said.
The chief minister was responding to Bersih co-chairperson S Ambiga’s
call on Najib to debate with Anwar in order to allow voters to gauge
which political coalition was qualified to lead the nation.
She also said that Bersih would consider mounting a public petition to pressure the prime minister into agreeing to the debate.
Ambiga felt that a debate between the two leaders was crucial since
the coming general election was touted as the most important in the
nation’s history.
However, Lim believed that even a public petition would not compel Najib to participate in a debate with Anwar.
“While the petition is good for Malaysians to express themselves, Najib however will not care about the petition.
“He will avoid the debate at all cost because he is worried of his weaknesses coming to the fore,” added the DAP leader.
Nurul: He is a false democrat
Nurul: He is a false democrat
Meanwhile, Anwar’s daughter and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah
welcomed Ambiga’s timely reminder to the prime minister to prove his
worth by debating with the opposition leader.
“His continued attacks against the latter [Anwar] is seen as a mere
cop-out when made without readiness for a right of reply from a
legitimate political adversary.
“Truly, Najib has learned nothing except for a token picture perfect opportunity with Obama,” she told FMT.
Nurul said the prime minister would continue to perfect his image as a
“false democrat” if he kept refusing the calls for a debate.
Najib had dismissed Anwar’s repeated challenge to a verbal jousting
match, citing among others that political debates were not part of the
Malaysian culture.
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