Me.
The Oil Debate.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Who here watched the debate between Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek? I'm pretty sure most of you with a vested interest in the country's politics took time off your busy schedules to watch it.
The title of the debate was "Form A Government Today, Reduce Oil Price Tomorrow".
I'm not going to explain the points that were given during the debate by both parties - that you can obtain from other independent bloggers (though likely biased). Instead, I will offer my opinions on what transpired last night.
In my opinion, the debate was handled shamefully. While both parties had their share of points and arguments, a lot of time was wasted on irrelevent arguments and personal attacks (mostly on the Information Minister's part). Many questions were not answered completely, and the debate (more or less) progressed into a fight for party/political mileage. Of course, considering the parties involved and the state of Malaysian affairs (shall I mention "mentality" as well?), anyone with enough common sense would have expected the debate to turn into this.
Overall however, if I would name a winner: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Hands down. In my opinion, Datuk Shabery didn't have enough on him to justify the price hike. Despite his shortcomings, he definitely had a few strong points, which the general public should consider. Blind loyalty to any political party won't help anyone after yesterday's debate - everyone needs to take into account both sides of the story if the country is to get out of the rut it's in.
Despite all this, the debate itself can be considered a success. It showed Malaysians that the Government is willing to be transparent (to a certain extent), and it offered the average Malaysian a deeper insight into the whole issue. There is talk on the news that Datuk Shabery is willing to take on Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in another debate. I say: go for it.
I'm surprised you've stayed with me this far. Note that everything I've said above are merely my opinions on the matter - don't hold it against me, no matter where your alliances lie.
I have taken a very neutral standpoint in the past few months, and no longer directly support any political movement/party. Yay me.
Given a certain level of thought byAdam Dewind at 5:03 PM