Syed Saddiq reminds caretaker PM of Anwar-Najib debate

Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has shot down suggestions that public debates were not part of Malaysian culture, pointing to the one between opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and former premier Najib Abdul Razak in May.

This came after caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob gave such a reason when rejecting a debate challenge by Anwar.

Syed Saddiq (above) said public debates were a healthy practice because rivals will be able to discuss ideas based on facts and data.

"If we want to buy anything, we will evaluate the quality first... Leaders should be brave enough to address questions, regardless of whether they came from rivals or the rakyat.

"The person who is supposed to lead Malaysia should show credibility and show the people that the candidate for premiership has credibility.

"The candidate for prime minister should be brave enough to face challenges. Only then would the rakyat be confident in voting for (their party)," he said in a statement today.

Anwar had mooted a debate between all the candidates for prime ministership but BN's candidate turned it down today.

According to Ismail Sabri, debates were not part of Malaysian election culture.

Malaysia has never seen a debate between candidates vying for the premiership.

On May 12, Najib and Anwar were involved in a televised debate on Sapura Energy Bhd.

Najib was in favour of a government bailout for the company while Anwar was against it.

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