Guan Eng agrees to 8 July 2nd debate with Soi Lek: DAP & MCA - who has better policies?

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has accepted a second invitation to debate with MCA president Chua Soi Lek on whose party - DAP or MCA - had policies that benefited the community better.

"The Penang Chief Minister YAB Lim Guan Eng has accepted the invitation to debate on 8 July 2012," his press secretary Cheong Yin Fan said in a statement sent out on Tuesday.

The invitation was issued by ASLI, which organized the first debate between Guan Eng and Soi Lek held earlier this year and dubbed 'The Great Chinese Debate'.

Remember Jessie Ooi and Chinese only?

In that debate, the issues were almost lost as MCA members resorted to shouting matches to help the scandal-tainted Soi Lek contain the fast-talking Guan Eng. MCA member Jessie Ooi became an overnight sensation for shouting and waggling her fingers at Guan Eng.

As for Guan Eng, he came in for flak for falling into MCA's alleged trap. Critics felt that Guan Eng had allowed himself to be used to boost the flailing political fortunes of Soi Lek, who is likely to see his party annihilated at the 13th general election for continuing to bow to Prime Minister Najib Razak's Umno party at the expense of principles and the community's interests.

It should also be made clear in the debate's agenda whether the "community" stated in the ASLI title - DAP & MCA: Whose policies benefit the Community better - extends to the overall Malaysian community or just the Chinese.

It must be pointed that DAP is a multiracial party and fights for a larger community whereas MCA is for Chinese-only.

Najib the only coward left!

Nevertheless, public debates are becoming a norm and demanded by the Malaysian electorate. Both Guan Eng and Soi Lek are likely to win praise for having the courage to let voters evaluate and assess for themselves the type of leadership they could expect from the DAP and the MCA.

Since their historic February face-off, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin has taken on Bersih co-chairman Ambiga Sreenevasan and PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli.

All eyes will again be on whether Najib himself will finally dare to take up the challenge thrown by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim to debate the state of the Malaysian economy.

So far, Najib's minders including Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan and information chief Ahmad Maslan have resorted to crude rebuffs to help the PM save face.

Malaysia Chronicle