“In an ideal world,the two candidates vying for the same seat should debate and argue their ideas in public so that voters can better understand the issues”
#当真正的人民代议士不简单
#公开辩论才有助于我们选出更好的代议士
#真正的民主选举
Two days ago, I attended an event in Yong Peng and met my opponent Wee Ka Siong. Both Yang Peng candidates, Chew Peck Choo (Pakatan Harapan) and Ling Tian Soon (BN-MCA) were also there.
At first, the organizers weren’t sure whether they should put me and Ka Siong at the same table. But on Ka Siong’s suggestion, we were placed together.
Many of the participants were shocked to see us talking civilly at the dinner. They had never seen two political rivals together before. But little did they know that my relationship with Ka Siong goes all the way back to 2005.
Between 2005-2009, we were frequent guests for a TV talk show and often had supper after the shows.
Under Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s government there was more tolerance for political TV shows that allowed the government and opposition parties to discuss issues on broadcast media.
The only rules both sides had to adhere to were - all arguments should be based on facts and the discussions should not attack the prime minister. Sadly, when Najib Razak took over in 2009, his administration put an end to such shows.
I miss the days when we could debate national issues with our rivals openly on TV. That is the way, a progressive Malaysia should be headed.
Our political differences aside, Ka Siong is MCA’s best debater as nobody seems to understand what Liow Tiong Lai says some times. In an ideal world, the two candidates vying for the same seat should debate and argue their ideas in public so that voters can better understand the issues.
I had suggested to Ka Siong to have a debate in Ayer Hitam but he said he’s quite busy these days.I believe that Malaysians can learn much from our debate and perhaps be part of the democratic process via this debate.
I’m hopeful that he will set aside some time for this as Ayer Hitam is one of the focal points in this elections for both BN and Pakatan. And I long for the days when Ka Siong and me debated issues like we did before the Najib era.
