PAS Youth challenges LKY to debate

PAS Youth in the form of its chief Salahuddin Ayub is having two bites of the cherry (laced with budu? Sorry, can’t help the budu bit - I am just fascinated with the East Coast ‘aphrodisiac’)

Salahuddin was talking about the LKY assertion that Chinese Malaysians are marginalised.

First bite of the cherry - Salahuddin blasted the ‘missing’ Khairy Jamaluddin for remaining quiet as a mouse (Mouse Rempit?) when the Singaporean spoke out against Malaysia. But doesn’t Salahuddin know that Khairy and the Singaporeans have a real warm lai ong*?

* relationship

So how could Khairy be expected to criticise good buddies? Afterall Khairy himself declared that his best friend is a Chinese.

Anyway Salahuddin addressed LKY in a letter with traditional Malay politeness: “I am arguably in no position to challenge you to a debate, granted your esteemed stature (as) a statesman of international standing.”

But alas, nonetheless Salahuddin said he deemed it his responsibility to cordially invite Lee to debate the topic, given the absence of any such move from top government leaders ‘this side of the causeway’.

Salahuddin said he was not convinced of LKY’s assertion that the Chinese in Malaysia are marginalised, but he believed Lee should be given the opportunity to present to Malaysians his arguments and views through open discourse.

Salahuddin called for LKY to engage in a debate with him, to be conducted in an objective, intellectual and academic manner and based on the use of empirical evidence.

But before you think Salahuddin is becoming like one bloke who threatened the think-tank Asli for the bumi equity issue, the PAS Youth chief stressed he was not playing the race-card or attempting to appear as the champion merely of the Malays.

He asserted that while Chinese, Indian, and indigenous groups have not been able to attain their share of the country’s economic pie, he believed that bumiputeras have also not achieved the targeted 30% share of equity.

That was his second bite of the cherry – never ever forget your electoral base – a mere case of political bread and butter consideration.

I must say that I like Salahuddin for having the intellectual guts for wanting to take on LKY. I hope he extends his courageous social responsibility to taking on the Indons for their haze hooliganism as well. The Indons are more likely to sit up and take notice of a protesting PAS representative than those Tiong Hua DAP members. Besides, carcinogenic smoke is far more dangerous than the ramblings of a foreign politician whose use-by date had long expired.