Thursday, August 7, 2008

Dr Koh and Guan Eng to debate Aug 20 - Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Aug 7, 2008

The open debate between acting Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is on.

It will be organised by news portal Agenda Daily on Aug 20 in Shah Alam, at a venue be announced later.

The debate, to be aired live by a television station belonging to the Media Prima Group, will touch on various current issues with specific focus on matters related to Penang, including the so-called "land scam controversy" which is being heard in court.

"Both sides have agreed on the location (Shah Alam). They have agreed that the debate would be in Bahasa Malaysia, based on the US presidential debate format and moderated by Datuk Johan Jaafar," Agenda Daily news editor Hanafiah Man said.

However, they had yet to reach a consensus on the title for the debate although they had agreed that the topics should be current and concerning Penang, he added.

The news portal had earlier set up a debate between Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek and PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the fuel price hike and its socio-economic implications. The debate, also moderated by Johan, was held last month at Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka here and was aired by several TV stations.

This will be the second meeting between Dr Koh and Lim in a debate. They had their first discourse 20 years ago at the Penang Town Hall when both were Youth leaders of Gerakan and DAP respectively.

When contacted on Thursday night, Lim hoped that Dr Koh would not set any conditions for the debate.

He also said it should be on the land scam issue in Penang.

"What the people want to know is about the land scam. If you want to debate on other issues, it will defeat the purpose," he said. - Bernama

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