BN candidate wants to focus on solving problems, 'not debate'
SEMENYIH POLLS | BN candidate Zakaria Hanafi has rejected Bersih's invitation to debate his three opponents in the coming Semenyih by-election as he said it would not help him to solve the problems of the people.
He claimed while such debates were all about gaining popularity, he merely wished to approach the constituents and seek solutions to issues they may raise...
SEMENYIH POLLS | BN candidate Zakaria Hanafi has rejected Bersih's invitation to debate his three opponents in the coming Semenyih by-election as he said it would not help him to solve the problems of the people.
He claimed while such debates were all about gaining popularity, he merely wished to approach the constituents and seek solutions to issues they may raise.
"I want to focus on solving the rakyat's problems. A debate is personal, only him (Pakatan Harapan candidate Muhammad Aiman Zainali) and I will gain popularity.
"We want to serve the rakyat, not debate," he said today.
Zakaria was met with reporters as he visited Kampung Sesapan Batu Minangkabau in Semenyih early today, accompanied by Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
Harapan's Aiman, too, had on Tuesday turned down the electoral watchdog's offer of a debate. PKR Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has explained Aiman's refusal was due to the absence of Zakaria.
Syed Saddiq had said a debate missing key contenders would devolve into a speech.
So far, only PSM's candidate Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul and independent candidate Kuan Chee Heng have agreed to the debate.
Bersih had planned to conduct the debate at the Semenyih campus of the University of Nottingham Malaysia on Feb 25.
Before this, Bersih held a debate in the lead up to the Cameron Highlands polls, participated by Harapan candidate M Manogaran and two independents.
It was the first televised election debate in the country's history, and drew an audience of 749,000 on RTM1 alone.
