Penang executive councillor Phee Boon Poh has challenged MCA Penang liaison committee chief Chew Mei Fun to an open debate regarding the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Phee said this in response to MCA which he claimed had said the DAP had misled the people on the matter during its ceramah sessions in the run-up to the Permatang Pauh by-election.

"PKR has already challenged Umno to a debate on the GST. I now challenge Chew Mei Fun to have an open debate with the Chinese society regarding the GST," he said at a press conference at the DAP's operations centre in Bukit Mertajam today.

Phee ( left ) said Chew has 24 hours to respond to his challenge.

"She and MCA are going around saying we are misleading the people. Who is misleading whom? Let the people determine.

"If she does not respond after 24 hours, I will say that she is a bankrupt politician," he said.

Should Chew accept the challenge, voters of Permatang Pauh would have something to look forward to in this otherwise lacklustre by-election campaign.

Meanwhile, The Star reports Chew as having accepted the challenge. Chew said MCA would send its representative, Penang MCA secretary Tan Chuan Hong to debate the topic with Phee.

"We urge Phee not to retreat from the debate or he will be called a 'bankrupt politician'," she said.

She added that Penang MCA deputy chairman Tan Teik Cheng has also challenged DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng to an open debate on hudud.

Should Lim fail to respond to the challenge, he, too, will be called a 'bankrupt politician', Chew said.

Contractors challenge

PKR has also challenged BN’s Permatang Pauh candidate Suhaimi Sabudin to state whether Malay contractors were being given fair treatment in Penang.

PKR’s national youth deputy chief Dr Afif Bahardin challenged Suhaimi as he (Suhaimi) is a quantity surveyor by profession and works as a managing director of a construction company.

“Suhaimi does not seem to want to comment on anything. He does not want to comment on the Goods and Services Tax and only seems to follow top BN leaders on his campaign,” said the Seberang Jaya assemblyman at a press conference in Kubang Semang today.

“Let me throw him a challenge. Please tell us if Malay contractors in Penang are being treated fairly. As a contractor himself, can he survive in Penang or not?,” said Afif who is also a state executive council member.

Afif said he will allow Suhaimi some time to take up his challenge as this is his first time contesting in a by-election.

“We will reveal more about him later,” Afif added.