Dr M: No point debating with Anwar the chameleon

PUTRAJAYA: It will be pointless for the Prime Minister to debate with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim because the Opposition Leader is a “chameleon”, said former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“He is a chameleon. When he is with the Chinese, he condemns the NEP (New Economic Policy). When he is with the Indians, he is Indian. When he is with Muslims, he talks about Islam.

“There is nothing to debate with Anwar,” he said after meeting top leaders of the Malay rights group Perkasa here yesterday.

He said Malaysians were also “not yet that mature” to deal with political debates, adding that the public still had a tendency to allow emotions to take over from rational discussion.

“This is not America but, even in the US, debates only serve to expose how stupid the candidates are,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said he had no problem with debates, quickly adding, however, that it would not “lead to anything constructive”.

“A debate is okay but at the end of the day, it won’t come to any kind of conclusion,” he said.

Dr Mahathir also played down the need for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the problem of illegal immigrants in Sabah, saying that it

This is not America but, even in the US, debates only serve to expose how stupid the candidates are. — TUN DR MAHATHIR MOHAMAD

was something that the Ggovernment should be more than capable of handling on its own.

“I think it is a problem but we don’t need an RCI on it. The Government will have to go through its records and deal with this issue,” he said.

During the function, Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali also challenged DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng to a debate on the topic of “Who is more racist – DAP or Perkasa? And who is a troublemaker?”.

He said this was a good time to challenge Lim as excitement from the Penang Chief Minister’s debate with MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek was “still fresh”.

He proposed the debate be televised nationwide but without a live audience so he could produce facts which he claimed he had recorded “since May 13”.

Ibrahim also said Perkasa planned to sue Lim over his allegations during Saturday’s debate.