Bring on the debate, I'll set the date, Dr Wee tells Guan Eng

KUALA LUMPUR: Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong is ready to debate former finance minister Lim Guan Eng over the national cabotage policy and a date for it will be announced soon.

Dr Wee said he will not run away from challenges and will arrange for a suitable date to debate the matter professionally over any TV channel or media outlet.

"Let's use Bahasa Malaysia so that every Malaysian will understand more about the cabotage policy," he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Oct 5).

Earlier in Parliament, Lim said he was waiting for an update on the debate, as he had accepted the challenge to debate Dr Wee last Thursday (Sept 30).

"I didn't make the challenge, he did. But till now, there are no updates. So I want to know when this debate will be held," he said.

Speaker Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun, who was chairing the session then, said he would take up the matter with Dr Wee, as he had chaired Thursday's proceedings when the challenge was issued to Lim.

Elaborating on the debate, Dr Wee urged Lim to read his recent winding-up speech on the Royal Address on Sept 22, which touched on the national cabotage policy and the feedback it had received from various ministries and related agencies.

"In fact, Lim should remember that he wasn't brave enough to debate me twice," Dr Wee said.

One occasion was in 2018, when Dr Wee challenged Lim to debate the Penang undersea tunnel project.

"Lim even said I was not qualified to debate him because I wasn't the party president," Dr Wee said.

The other occasion, he added, was in 2019 after he became MCA president.

"In 2019, I challenged him to a debate regarding allocations to Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, as it was dropped in Budget 2019 and 2020.

"Once again, he found ways to avoid debating," said Dr Wee.

Last Thursday, Dr Wee challenged Lim to an open debate over the national cabotage policy following a heated exchange in Parliament.