This is good. We will finally get to hear in more detail the accusations and counter-accusations between Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Umno minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan, if the scheduled debate between the two, planned for Tuesday, April 19, 2016, is allowed to take place.

Public debates over TV between politicians and political parties are not really Malaysian culture. In my lifetime, I have only seen a few of them.

Why then is there a sudden urge to debate this time? Is the country short of pressing issues to debate on other than Guan Eng and his bungalow, the Taman Maggis land sale and the low-cost housing projects in Penang? Yes, I almost forget - we are now keen to debate the state of Malaysian football too.

When two parties agree to a debate, they must have believed that the truth is with each of them. They must have believed that they could gain advantage, or political mileage, from it.

The impending debate is one of those rare occasions where Guan Eng is accused of committing wrongdoings. The state government led by him was accused of unsavoury behaviour and potential abuse of power in Taman Maggis land sale, failure to meet the various low-cost housing targets/issues in Penang as well as the CM’s “suspicious” bungalow purchase.

For all I know, it is my humble opinion that Guan Eng has won the debate even before it has taken place. It is simple. Politicians should have no fear when being accused of many things. What they need to do is to confront and challenge the accusations made. Let the people hear all the questions asked and answers given on the issues. Let the facts and figures reveal the truth.

I am sure Malaysia today is faced with numerous pressing issues and problems more far reaching than Guan Eng and his administration in Penang and the state of football in the country. From news reports, Guan Eng and Khairy Jamaluddin have agreed to debate with their respective opponents. Now, can we hear debates on other issues as well?

To kick start, can someone propose these issues for debate? Can some relevant and responsible ministers or people from the right agencies respond to the proposals?

  1. Why did we set up 1MDB in the first place - to create value or to “restructure” and to pay off debts? Sorry, I hardly hear of 1MDB making billion using its assets; I only hear the company selling assets and repaying billions in debts. What business are they doing?
  2. Can we have full and complete cash inflows and outflows of 1MDB since its inception? Yes, no need to tell long stories, just give us all the money flows – capital/government assets injected, loans/bonds raised, investment made and therefore assets owned, expenses paid and profits made or losses incurred.

I am sure there are many more. I would prefer that readers propose to their leaders and ministers the relevant topics so that we can have a debate every week.