YOURSAY | ‘He is indicating that Najib is incapable of debating Dr M.’

Puad offers to take Najib's place in debate against Dr M

Vijay47: In a way you are correct, Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi, when you admit that former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad may embarrass Najib should the Nothing2Hide 2.0 show take place.

It would be so awkward for Najib to stand there tongue-tied and unable to answer any of Mahathir's questions perhaps except to repeat, "I do not know the woman."

What's your purpose in offering to take Najib's place? To elevate yourself and show that you are worthy to take on Mahathir or for you to assume the martyr role of Sydney "It's a far far better thing" Carton? Then again, it could be "an age of foolishness".

It looks like it is the season "to take the place"; earlier last week a Road Transport Department (RTD) official got his assistant to take the rap.

Mushiro: The message is clear, Najib has chickened out again on debating Mahathir.

Najib and his attack dogs have been taking pot shots at Mahathir in the comfort zone of the government-friendly media.

And yet when there is a formal invitation for an organised debate, Najib is silent and let his boys do the talking.

Anonymous_1421806811: Paud, even Tourism Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz who is definitely better than you, was prevented from debating Mahathir.

To be honest, we love to see you debate Mahathir on a host of issues, including 1MDB. The question about embarrassing Najib does not arise as Najib is already a fool in the eyes of most Malaysians.

RM2.6 Billion Turkey Haram: Puad, you do not measure up to Mahathir. You would be like a ‘jaguh kampung’ (village champion) taking on Muhammad Ali in boxing. To debate against you would be a waste of time.

Why is Najib afraid of taking on Mahathir? Has he suddenly been transformed from a Bugis warrior to a Bugis softy?

Hamzah Paiman: Puad is only embarrassing Najib. He is indicating that Najib as PM is incapable of debating Dr M. Please, Puad, I think Najib is more capable than you think.

Anonymous_4056: Puad, just tell us how you want to debate with Mahathir.

Where were you when 1MDB was mooted? Were you involved in the setting up of 1MDB, in its formation and its operation? Did you know Jho Low and the role he played in 1MDB?

Gaji Buta: The title of the debate is "Nothing to Hide", which means the person must be there, and not hide.

Anonymous_1386862049: Who will prevail? Hard to say. Looking at how smart Najib dressed, I think Dr M would lose. Oh, I forget it is not a fashion show.

Dr M confident Harapan can win GE, but claims Najib will 'cheat'

Aries46: Whatever said, 1MDB is the trump card for urban votes and it does not need much campaigning as urban voters are well versed with how 1MDB billions were allegedly diverted and siphoned into the accounts of Malaysian Official 1 (MO1) and others connected to him that are now the subject of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filings.

But this is not so in the rural heartland with the smallest constituencies that decide the election outcome. People in these outskirts are laid-back and cannot comprehend the intricacies of the alleged 1MDB heist.

Their worries are the mundane day-to-day issues that affect their livelihood and community. Not how law and order are abused, public funds are stolen or the obscene wealth of the corrupt or their decadent lifestyle and its adverse consequences on the people and nation.

So, the opposition campaign must concentrate more on the rural voters by resolving their simple day-to-day problems.

Anonymous 2439101477311390: Fundamentally, the main issue the rakyat face is the rising cost of food (chicken, meat and fish) - all increased by over 20 percent over the last few years regardless in urban or kampung areas.

Don't expect the rakyat to eat only vegetables. Wages stagnated and there is high graduate unemployment.

The opposition must drive these bread-and-butter issues and propose ways to mitigate and solve this burden the rakyat are facing. With that, only then Harapan has a chance of defeating BN in GE14.

Anonymous 759201436321741: In the likely event that BN is kicked out in GE14, it is not because Harapan won but because Umno lost.

But until a new government is formed, never underestimate what Najib is capable of doing.

Clever Voter: If the BN government goes to the country today, they will have no problem in getting past the post first without even the need to cheat further.

Changes to electoral system are already adequate, plus the rural votes in favour of BN. Further down the road, the GE battleground will not be so much what the opposition can offer but what BN hasn't done or done badly, especially those that hit the pockets of the electorate badly.

The opposition will secure much of the anti-establishment votes, especially the younger voters.

But most of these are from the urban areas which have already been written off as anti-BN. The battle for semi-rural and rural areas will intensify.

The longer this drags on, BN is likely to face more bad news. But Najib is an old fox in this game. He knows a way to win.

He will lose only when his supporters jump ship, which is most unlikely.

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