WHAT ought to have been a debate on Sapura Energy Bhd (SEB) between the former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim turned out to be a political positioning of their respective selves.
Sure enough, the debate started off with both stating their respective positions on SEB but even without the debate the positions of both on SEB were well-known.
Anwar had wanted a full audit of the company before assistance was rendered whereas Najib had wanted a government rescue plan.
Did the debate provide any crucial information that the public was unaware of?
The answer is no.
The debate on SEB was merely an appetiser before both the candidates went on to state their respective political stand on the development trajectory of the country.
While Najib had pretended that he knew what was necessary for the country, Anwar took a more cautious approach by saying that not everything in the past had worked well for the country.
Najib had also unashamedly talked about big projects being beneficial to the people without blinking an eye on the infamous and notorious 1MDB scandal that rocked the nation which had then paved way for Pakatan Harapan to claim control of Putrajaya in 2018.
Najib might have talked big and confidently about Barisan Nasional’s (BN) term in office without realising that the BN government had collapsed under its own weight, with Najib himself playing a role in it as well.
Najib might be gaining popularity these days but these does not mean that the people have forgotten his nefarious role in the colossal financial scandal that had rocked the nation.
He wants to be the next prime minister but how is he going to manoeuvre around his criminal conviction is anybody’s guess, and furthermore I understand that the Federal Court has fixed the dates for his appeal.
It helps debaters if they have clean record without any past misdeeds and if that were the case Anwar – the prime minister candidate of Pakatan Harapan – might have won the debate.
Although there were no fresh ideas on the subjects touched upon including SEB, Anwar’s stand in contrast to Najib was avowedly one that represented the rakyat.
While Najib had talked about government stability with the need for big projects, Anwar took a much-guarded approach.
For him it was well and good to talk about big projects, but what about accountability and transparency?
This is why he talked about the need for forensic audit, much to Najib’s amusement.
Anwar further spoke about some of Pakatan’s cost-saving measures before its government had collapsed due to the infamous Sheraton Move.
In a sense, the debate between the two political personalities was not really a debate but merely an endorsement of their respective positions on the political, economic and social position of the country.
Anwar wanted a cautious approach on account of what went wrong in the past whereas Najib wanted a more pro-active government to bring about political and economic stability.
I would have reluctantly taken Anwar’s side not because he came up with fresh and challenging ideas, but he had a clean record.
I would have taken his side not because I am with Pakatan but because the nation has to heal first to some degree from the wounds inflicted by the BN regime.
The famous saying that it better to take one step forward and two steps back might be applicable to Anwar’s position of moving and pulling back to rethink the past.
There is no way I would have supported Najib simply because he is not part of the solution; rather he is part of the problem.
Whether it is Najib or Anwar, they simply cannot pretend that past might not catch up with them.
On this matter, Anwar’s record is a lot better than Najib’s who is dubbed the father of scandals in Malaysia.
Yet some misguided sections of the society are seriously thinking that Najib has all the makings of the next prime minister of the country and such sort of thinking would be the road to yet another colossal disaster. – May 13, 2022
Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also deputy chief minister II of Penang.
https://focusmalaysia.my/najib-vs-anwar-the-great-debate-that-was-not/
Created by savemalaysia | Aug 25, 2024
Created by savemalaysia | Aug 25, 2024
Created by savemalaysia | Aug 25, 2024
Created by savemalaysia | Aug 25, 2024
Anwar had only 1 idea: forensic audit
which he kept on repeating over and over and over again.
2022-05-14 10:12
@speakup what size of cake have you eaten or is there any leftover for you actually?
2022-05-14 12:30
Posted by speakup > May 14, 2022 10:12 AM | Report Abuse
Anwar had only 1 idea: forensic audit
which he kept on repeating over and over and over again.
Answer : Anwar came unprepared! Too obvious! He didn't do any homework! Najib was prepared!
However, there's something we learn from the debate! Najib talk about bigger cake, but what's the point of having bigger cake if rakyat won't enjoy it at all! Instead only Umno warlords will become wealthier, if not almost all Umno warlords today are billionaire already!
As for Sapura, it's up to Petronas to make the first move! Savage Sapura and then sell them later for profit! And at the same time, save thousands of workers! Maybe government can step in by doing forensic auditing! Combine both idea from Najib Anwar!
2022-05-14 12:39
In some way, this debate should become a norm! We can judge who has the ideas to develop Malaysia and who just want to be PM! I mean, if Anwar is so good, he could have been PM decades ago! But instead he enjoys been in prison! Perhaps Anwar should rejoin Najib in prison so that PKR can regain it's popularity!
2022-05-14 12:41
What Najib is trying to say is:
"Because we are Bumiputra, and having all the resources, control of civil and private entities and blindly having butt lickers who will support us,
because we are stoopid, weak in integrity and highly corrupted,
we should write-off all the losses of bumi companies and start a new game at the expense of tax payers."
2022-05-14 12:49
Anwar sole idea is to go for vengeance politics! No different from what we experience during the 22 months! If this is what Anwar only idea, i say he can forget about capturing Putrajaya! Fortunately Rafizi will replace him very soon!
2022-05-14 12:55
No doubt, Najib had all the facts and figures, thus, should bailout Sapura Energy ... the facts include, Sap Enrgy is a bumi company and the gov no need to spend even 1 sen, the figures are clear and open to everybody, everybody can read from the announcements submitted to Bursa, includes Petronas ....
2022-05-14 13:32
poor citizens are the real loser-politicians always win, make windfall-having all low calibre kanasai as PM, now and future
2022-05-14 13:44
One came out from Bamboo River inn, one is potentially checking-in. What a "GREAT" debate to make Malaysia "SMALL" again !!!!!
2022-05-14 14:09
Should include hadi bawang, nobita, assmin, apanama etc. since this is a presidential debate ma
2022-05-14 14:18
Chinaman! LGE did debate with Wee! And from then on, LGE was certified Nobita! Can't even debate with Wee! Came for debate totally unprepared!
2022-05-15 17:22
The debate became a sham when AI got into the picture.
AI was not interested in debating. He was there to ensure a Najib victory.
2022-05-17 09:44
i dont like najib. between najib & anwar, i prefer anwar.
but to be fair and unbiased, najib won the debate IMO. anwar kept on and on and on repeating forensic audit as if he had no other ideas other than that.
would have prefer anwar to win though.
2022-05-17 13:50
speakup
IMO najib won, anwar lost.
2022-05-14 10:12