Onn Hafiz not available but ‘dialogue’ will go on

 The organisers said they are now looking for others to be on the panel with PH election candidate Maszlee Malik.

Johor BN chief Onn Hafiz Ghazi (left) and PH election candidate Maszlee Malik had been challenged to take part in a debate ahead of the state assembly elections next week.

PETALING JAYA:

Johor Barisan Nasional chief Onn Hafiz Ghazi will not be available for a dialogue scheduled for Tuesday with election candidate Maszlee Malik of Pakatan Harapan, but the dialogue will proceed with other panellists, organisers said.

Onn Hafiz, who is Johor caretaker menteri besar, had informed Radio-Television Malaysia, Astro Awani and Sinar Harian that he had prior commitments that day, Sinar Harian reported.

“RTM, Awani and Sinar Harian respect Onn Hafiz’s decision to not attend the dialogue, but it will go on as scheduled,” the organisers were quoted as saying. They said they were inviting other panellists.

The organisers added that the dialogue will proceed as it provided a platform for the public who were seeking explanations for various current issues ahead of the Johor state assembly elections on July 11.

An aide to Onn Hafiz has suggested that organisers rope in one of the candidates vying for the Puteri Wangsa seat instead, to cater to voters in the constituency.

Maszlee is one of five candidates in Puteri Wangsa: the others are Rashifa Aljuneid (Muda), Teow Chia Ling (BN), Nicholas Paul Vincent (Bersama) and independent Wang Wee Siong.

The dialogue was arranged after Maszlee accepted a challenge last week by a Facebook account owner to debate Onn Hafiz. However, Onn Hafiz turned down the challenge, stating that it was not the “Johor way” to engage in verbal sparring or hold open debates. - FMT