MUAR: The ongoing debate saga between Muar parliamentary candidates Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and Datuk Seri Razali Ibrahim reached an anti-climatic end after it was called off permanently yesterday.
The much anticipated discourse, which was initially scheduled for Sunday before being postponed to yesterday evening, was called off again, this time by the District Officer (DO) Onn Jabbar, citing security reasons.
Onn, who is also the district safety officer, said the decision has been agreed upon by both parties after a discussion at his official residence yesterday at 5pm, when the friendly dialogue was supposed to commence and be broadcasted live.
“I had a discussion earlier with Razali and Syed Saddiq, we all had our own opinions. In the end, I advised them to call the live discussion off in the interest of the public’s safety and order in Muar.
“Both parties have jointly agreed. I also ask that this debate issue not be raised anymore and that both quarters explain this to their respective supporters,” he told a press conference, here, yesterday.
The media conference was also attended by representatives of Pakatan Harapan’s Syed Saddiq, Barisan Nasional’s Razali and PAS’s Abdul Aziz Talib, who was also initially invited for the debate.
Earlier, both Syed Saddiq and Razali were seen entering Onn’s residence, where the meeting among them took place before Onn addressed the press about an hour later.
The saga started off when Syed Saddiq, who is PPBM Youth chief, challenged the Muar incumbent MP Razali to a debate last Monday, after being labelled as a mere kitten by Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
It was planned to be held at the Muar Traders Hotel on Sunday night before the police called it off for security reasons and citing late notification by the organisers.
Razali then suggested that a friendly discourse be held instead at the DO’s house and be broadcasted live on Facebook, before being called off again, this time for good.
Onn advised both parties to instead focus their efforts on their own campaigning with only a day left before polling on May 9, and not drag on the issue.
“If we go on like this, it will never end. And even if we carry on today, what guarantee can they give that there won’t be any problems,” he said.
