Dr Wee to LGE: I'm not the one who runs away from debates

GEORGE TOWN: Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong has told Lim Guan Eng to relax as he will not run away from their impending debate on the national cabotage policy.

“I am not scared until I have to hide in the Penang Undersea Tunnel. Want to argue? Be patient," the MCA president and Transport Minister said in a Facebook post on Thursday (Oct 7).

“I already said in the Dewan Rakyat on Sept 22 that the policy will be discussed in the Cabinet this month (October).

“When the Cabinet has made a decision, my office will contact and discuss with the television station producer to arrange a suitable date and time for the debate in Bahasa Malaysia that will be broadcast live.

“I will suggest a date tentatively and let Lim choose a suitable date to speak or debate professionally (not provisionally).

“I will not announce the date of the debate 'unilaterally', instead the date and format... must be agreed by both parties,” he added.

Dr Wee said he had previously invited Lim to debate twice but the DAP secretary-general used several ploys to avoid him.

“In fact, Lim has a bad record of not debating with me," he said.

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

"In early 2018 when the Penang undersea tunnel scandal was uncovered... among the reasons Lim did not want to debate was because he was not of equal status – he was the secretary-general of DAP while at that time, I was only the deputy president of MCA," he said.

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

“In 2019, when Lim was finance minister, he dropped the matching grant allocation to Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC), while the educational institution... had received an annual allocation from the government since its inception in 1969,” he said.

Dr Wee said he challenged Lim to a debate regarding the allocations, but once again it did not materialise.

On Sept 30, Dr Wee challenged Lim to an open debate over the national cabotage policy following a heated exchange in Parliament.