Soi Lek & Guan Eng Debate Will Be In English 

KUALA LUMPUR 30 May -There will be no live question and answer session for the public at the second debate between MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

In a press conference to announce the event, debate organiser Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (Asli) said Wednesday that the public may be asked to submit their questions before the debate or write their questions down on cards for the debaters to choose on that day.

Asli director and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Michael Yeoh said that this was in response to complaints that some members of the audience have not been given a chance to ask their questions due to alleged bias on the part of the organisers. While Asli had not decided on the way the public can ask questions, Dr Yeoh said the organisation is working out ways to ensure that the debate would be an intellectual discourse.

The debate, set to be held on July 8 at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre in Selangor, will be on the topic, “DAP & MCA: Whose Policies Benefit the Community Better?”.

The debate will be in English. The topic is expected to cover policies in education, healthcare, the economy, national unity, and public welfare, among others. The second debate would take about two hours (one hour longer than the last debate) and would be moderated by Dr Yeoh. The first debate between the two leaders, held on Feb 18, was conducted in Mandarin on the topic “Is the two-party system becoming a two-race system?”.

Following calls for another debate in English or Bahasa Malaysia, the two leaders have agreed to another debate in either language. According to Asli, both leaders have confirmed their acceptance of its invitation to participate in the debate two days ago.