Written by
Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle
PKR vice president Nurul Izzah is going ahead with debate
preparations despite "complete silence" from FT Minister Raja Nong Chik,
her arch rival for the Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat.
"We are proceeding with the debate. It's on February 24, we hope he will come and say to my face all the criticism he has been hurling at me in the ceramahs, press and the radio," Nurul said on the sidelines of a press conference on voter fraud on Tuesday.
Nong Chik goes on all-out anti-Nurul campaign but stops short at debate
Nurul,
a first-term MP, had won the Lembah Pantai seat in the 2008 election,
trouncing Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat Jalil in a David versus Goliath
battle. A popular lawmaker and the daughter of Opposition Leader Anwar
Ibrahim, Nurul is expected to win handsomely in the coming general
election.
However, Nong Chik - who was appointed a Senator and Cabinet minister by Prime Minister Najib Razak - has been mounting a fierce campaign. Leveraging on his ministerial position, he has sanctioned a flashy campaign in support of himself all around the constituency.
Banners, posters and flags dot Bangsar and the wider reaches of the constituency of some 57,000 voters, where Malays make up the majority of the electorate at 52%, followed by the Chinese at 26% and Indians at 21%.
Although, Najib has yet to officially name Nong Chik as the Umno candidate for Lembah Pantai, political insiders say it is a done deal and point to the lavish sums Nong Chik has been spending on gaining the favor of constituents there.
Nong Chik, the head of the Umno Lembah Pantai division, has also been accused of tripping his colleague Shahrizat by leaking to the press initial news about the RM250mil NFC debacle.
Shahrizat had previously expressed her intention to contest the seat but was forced to backpedal due to the onslaught of negative publicity from the NFC scandal.
Are all Umno men so cowardly?
Meanwhile,
according to Nurul, on Feb 24 she and her supporters will be waiting
for Nong Chik at the Pantai Permai apartments in Pantai Dalam last week.
Her colleague, Fuziah Salleh, the PKR MP for Kuantan, who was also at the press conference does not expect Nong Chik to venture anywhere near the venue.
"We have sent so many invitations for dialogue, debates. Even from Anwar to Najib Razak, but no answers at all," Fuziah, also a PKR vice president, told Malaysia Chronicle.
When asked if such 'burying-the-head-in-the-sand' behavior typified Umno men, both ladies giggled but wisely declined to answer.
Malaysia Chronicle
"We are proceeding with the debate. It's on February 24, we hope he will come and say to my face all the criticism he has been hurling at me in the ceramahs, press and the radio," Nurul said on the sidelines of a press conference on voter fraud on Tuesday.
Nong Chik goes on all-out anti-Nurul campaign but stops short at debate
Nurul,
a first-term MP, had won the Lembah Pantai seat in the 2008 election,
trouncing Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat Jalil in a David versus Goliath
battle. A popular lawmaker and the daughter of Opposition Leader Anwar
Ibrahim, Nurul is expected to win handsomely in the coming general
election.However, Nong Chik - who was appointed a Senator and Cabinet minister by Prime Minister Najib Razak - has been mounting a fierce campaign. Leveraging on his ministerial position, he has sanctioned a flashy campaign in support of himself all around the constituency.
Banners, posters and flags dot Bangsar and the wider reaches of the constituency of some 57,000 voters, where Malays make up the majority of the electorate at 52%, followed by the Chinese at 26% and Indians at 21%.
Although, Najib has yet to officially name Nong Chik as the Umno candidate for Lembah Pantai, political insiders say it is a done deal and point to the lavish sums Nong Chik has been spending on gaining the favor of constituents there.
Nong Chik, the head of the Umno Lembah Pantai division, has also been accused of tripping his colleague Shahrizat by leaking to the press initial news about the RM250mil NFC debacle.
Shahrizat had previously expressed her intention to contest the seat but was forced to backpedal due to the onslaught of negative publicity from the NFC scandal.
Are all Umno men so cowardly?
Her colleague, Fuziah Salleh, the PKR MP for Kuantan, who was also at the press conference does not expect Nong Chik to venture anywhere near the venue.
"We have sent so many invitations for dialogue, debates. Even from Anwar to Najib Razak, but no answers at all," Fuziah, also a PKR vice president, told Malaysia Chronicle.
When asked if such 'burying-the-head-in-the-sand' behavior typified Umno men, both ladies giggled but wisely declined to answer.
Malaysia Chronicle
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