War of words
Will the seasoned politician outshine the young upstart?
Political pundits and 'coffee-shop commentators' are all worked up over the coming debate between MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and DAP secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng this Saturday.
The two leaders will debate in Mandarin on the topic “Is the two-party system becoming a two-race system?” from 5pm to 6pm at the Berjaya Times Square Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
Everyone is waiting with bated breath to find out who will win the battle of words - the seasoned politician or the young upstart.
Lim has sent a request in writing to the organisers of the debate, Asli Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI) and Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research (INSAP), to have another debate at a later date to be held in Bahasa Malaysia and English.
Even before the debate, DAP is already squabbling over seating arrangements. On Tuesday, Lim's political secretary Ng Wei Aik issued an ultimatum to ASLI over the seats allocated to DAP supporters.
"Two hundred and fifty DAP members and supporters will be at the debate venue by 4pm. If no seats are allocated, I cannot guarantee what will happen," he told reporters at the Chowrasta market in Penang.
Ng said they had requested 300 seats initially but were only allocated 200.
"Asli's condition is that a list of the 200 names be given and they must register at 8am.
"We cannot agree to this because we do not want to attend the whole day conference. We are only interested in the debate. Hence today, I'm issuing this ultimatum."
This Saturday's debate will be televised live on Astro AEC.
