Avoiding rabble-rousers cannot be reason to bar the debate between cabinet minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng.

Lim, who is also a practicing lawyer, said that the primary duty of the police was to go after those who break the law, not "running away" from suspects.

"We didn't ban (former US president Barrack) Obama nor other royal and foreign dignitaries from visiting Malaysia just because there were possibilities of threats against them. The police handled these situations effortlessly," said Lim.