Anwar dares PM to debate, again

By Clara Chooi

January 18, 2011

Anwar says the debate would be in the national interest.

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 – Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim continued to pester Datuk Seri Najib Razak to hold an open debate today, delivering a letter to the Prime Minister’s office this afternoon to pressure the latter for a response.

In his letter, the opposition leader said he was forced to repeat his challenge as Najib had not given a positive response to his earlier request made over a week ago.

“I hope Datuk Seri accepts this challenge as I am confident that both Datuk Seri’s arguments and mine, as the opposition leader, will boost efforts to strengthen democracy, promote the unrestricted dissemination of information and restore the country’s economy,” he wrote.

Anwar reiterated that the debate topics would centre on economic issues and initiatives in Pakatan Rakyat’s 100-day reform promises, as listed in its heavily-promoted “Buku Jingga”.

“These issues have grown increasingly urgent due to the current rise in the cost of living as well as the rising prices of goods which greatly burdens the people. For the first time in history, the country’s debt has also jumped by more than 50 per cent.

“This debate is very important and is of national interest,” he said.

Anwar also referred to a statement by Najib on January 10 this year in which the prime minister accused the opposition of making irresponsible claims in its “Buku Jingga”.

“Datuk Seri said our efforts were irresponsible, populist and will bankrupt the country.

“We refute this allegation because historically, it has never happened that a country goes bankrupt for observing good governance and working to lower the burdens on the people,” he said.

Challenges for debates have been hurled from both sides of the political divide after Anwar first dared Najib last week to debate PR’s electoral promises.

Anwar made the challenge after the prime minister scoffed at PR’s 100-day programme, deriding it as “too good to be true” and claiming that they would bankrupt the country.

Najib has also dodged the challenge by saying that voters did not need such an exercise to decide which coalition should be in power.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin later rushed to Najib’s defence, and called on Anwar to hold a debate with him instead of the prime minister, claiming that the opposition leader “is not up to Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s level.”

But Anwar ignored Khairy’s challenge, insisting instead that Najib, as the prime minister and the country’s Finance Minister, was the best candidate to debate the topic.

PKR has also suggested that its strategy chief Rafizi Ramli have a debate with Khairy instead.

The debate challenges come as speculation mounts of a snap poll this year, just three years after Election 2008 where Anwar and his allies broke the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) customary two-thirds parliamentary majority and captured four more states. - Malaysian Insider