Debate would favour Mahathir more, says Ku Li
Gua Musang MP says Mahathir would have a chance to raise various issues regarding the government without inhibition as he is not a government leader
(FMT) – Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad stands to benefit the most in the proposed public debate between him and Umno minister Nazri Aziz over current issues affecting the country, Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah says.
The elder politician was quoted by Sinar Harian as saying that the debate, which was originally scheduled for yesterday but postponed after the police refused to allow it, would favour Mahathir more.
Razaleigh, popularly known as Ku Li, said it would provide a good opportunity to Mahathir to air his views more openly to the public in his present capacity as an opposition leader, said the report in Sinar Harian’s web edition, Sinar Online, yesterday.
Razaleigh, who held ministerial portfolios in charge of finance, as well as international trade and industry, in the 1970s and 1980s, said a platform such as this allows exchange of different views from both sides.
“However, if the dialogue is between Mahathir and Nazri, the opportunity will favour Mahathir more. He would be able to raise various issues regarding the government.”
“At the same time, he would not be inhibited because he is in the opposition and does not have any specific responsibility to the people like a government leader would have,” he was quoted as saying in the report.
Nazri, on the other hand, is the minister of tourism and culture, and also an Umno supreme council member, he noted
The debate was originally scheduled for yesterday when Mahathir visited Nazri’s parliamentary constituency of Padang Rengas. The police however rejected an application for a permit to hold the event.
The idea came about after Mahathir, who is chairman of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), challenged Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri to a debate on political and economic matters affecting the nation.
He specifically cited topics like 1MDB, the Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF) scandal and the deposit of RM2.6 billion into Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bank account.
Sinar Harian, as the organiser, has now proposed to hold it in Shah Alam on April 7.
Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar had said yesterday that the police have still not received any application to stage such an event early next month.
