I BELIEVE the live debate on television awhile ago has set a new benchmark in the articulation of public issues. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the de facto leader of Pakatan Rakyat, and Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek, the Information Minister, did very well to put their arguments across before a live audience and shown across the nation.
As information minister, Ahmad Shabery broke new grounds with the debate, an idea mooted by news portal Agenda Daily. We must take off our hats to all those involved in staging what I believe to be the start of a new format in discussing public issues.
It's early days, but the signs are very encouraging. The topic was "tubuh kerajaan hari ini, besok harga minyak turun." Translated, it means "form the government today, and tomorrow petrol price will go down." This has been the PKR's slogan after the Government raised petrol prices recently.
Anwar was being himself, enjoying every bit of public attention. He started slow, almost cautiously, but gained momentum as the debate progressed. He projected himself as someone who's "been there, seen that, done that." The topic was more political than economic, and, to me, it was an exercise of one-upmanship more than anything else.
Ahmad Shabery, knowing that he had taken the "fight" to Anwar's court, was more careful. He had obviously done some homework, and some of the points he used were consistent with the explanation he had given in his meet-the-people sessions, including Umno grassroot leaders.
The debate was lively, and I believe the supporters of each speaker came away feeling that their man had done well and scored points with viewers and the ordinary folks. From one perspective, Anwar was happy that his rare public appearance on television had given him an opportunity to showcase his skill and enable voters to judge him accordingly.
Ahmad Shabery scored highly with viewers with his willingness to engage the one-time deputy prime minister in an open debate. Not many would cherish the idea of trading verbal punches with Anwar, who, Ahmad Shabery said, is known for his street demonstrations going back to the Baling protests of 1974.
Anwar, though declaring that he wouldn't want to be drawn into a political fist fight with his stage opponent, did fire a salvo at Ahmad Shabery, saying that the Kemaman MP, having been a Semangat 46 leader some time ago, should have paid more attention to details when highlighting the country's oil reserves.
Anwar was offensive from the start, saying that he would have preferred to have Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on stage rather than Ahmad Shabery. In the final analysis, the public did get a fair glimpse of two political opponents speaking their minds on an issue that has affected every single one of us.
Next, will we get to see Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu and someone from Hindraf on the same stage? Or Penang CM Lim Guan Eng and Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin? Let's wait.
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21 comments:
I Know Anwar was big for Shabery and possibly it was difficult for him to win. The point is Shabery did no represent the government policies so much. His provocation and personal attack on Anwar was uncalled for and his defensive approach only caused him to lose focus on the arguments.
The lessons UMNO and BN could learn from this is their poor presentation and planning.
You don't believe me wait for the survey results from bloggers and portals.
BN blew up a good chance to present their agendas on Anwar's face.
that shabery guy, is not a good speaker
clearly anwar owned him.
BN came out worst from this debate. Kudos to Shabery for being creative and gutsy, but he is not in the same level as Anwar. IN fact, we were going down the list and not sure who among UMNO can take him on in a debate? hemmm...
sir,
this is what i call NEWS. it was a good arena, indeed, for our leaders to give their downright opinion about anything.
leave it to them. at least the rakyat can focus on how to make ends meet, rather than having to listen to unreliable propagandas, rumors, etc.
when they see their leaders 'live', i believe the rakyat, as to whether they are pro-govt of not, will have less to argue over nothing.
shabery should keep it up. next time, who knows - we can listen to paklah and dr mahathir speaking their heart out.
the debate only showcase the stupidity of the government and if shabery is the best representative from the government..we malaysian should be very worried now....worried about our future under the hand of these baboons...
Shabery did not have points to defend why government increase the oil prices.he did not explain clearly about it.The point that he gives not quiet good.In example compared with FInland and etc.Why just he compared Malaysia to America or London??He also did not object Anwar points that Anwar can decrease the oil price if he can build government.Shabery just know to provo and do personal attack to Anwar and keep going said the past case.This show that government that we have now is not capable for being our leader.I keep wonder why some of the people still said Shabery is good in that debate??
Well, even thought Shabery didn't really manage to conquer the stage last night but Anwar's usual two sided attitude was clearly visible.
He kept on promising things that are impossible for them to fulfill. This showed us that he favored the populist arguments rather then the relevant issues for rakyat.
Saudara Pehit Manis,
Mana ada benchmark dalam debat semalam!
Tiada perkara baru yang didebatkan dalam soal kenaikan harga minyak antara mereka berdua malam tadi. Semua yang ditimbulkan sudah pun menjadi pengetahuan umum. Tidak ada pun jalan penyelesaian.
Anwar ambil mudah sahaja. Berikan dia kuasa menjadi Perdana Menteri dengan kerajaan barunya, tahulah apa dia hendak buat. Tetapi Anwar tidak boleh kelentong setiap rakyat setiap masa. Bukan mudah mengawal harga minyak yang dikuasai oleh pedagang asing yang mementingkan untung semata-mata. Minyak yang ada di negara kita cukup makan sahaja.
Shabery pun tidak memperincikan kenapa kerajaan telah menaikkan harga minyak padahal inilah wadah yang terbaik untuk kerajaan memberi penjelasan yang meyakinkan. Beliau sibuk mengungkit kisah silam Anwar yang semua orang tahu kaki gempak dan kelentong. Beliau jelas tidak profesional dan meyakinkan.
Hasilnya, rakyat lupa sekejap tentang masalah mereka kerana seronok melihat orang pujaan mereka bertikam lidah.
Jelas rakyat hanya menghabiskan masa untuk menyaksikan mereka yang mempunyai kepentingan politik peribadi - seorang hendak menjadi Perdana Menteri dan seorang lagi mencari populariti dan tempat dalam hieraki UMNO - sedangkan rakyat masih terbeban dan terpinga-pinga dengan kehidupan yang semakin payah dan merunsingkan.
I am not a supporter Anwar but he was excellent last night and when he smiled cheekily, the audience already knew and agreed with what was in his mind ' Foolish Sabery'.
Is that Nordin Kardi , a Tansri...my goodness, I would be ashamed to graduate from the uni where he is the VC. No wonder RPK says he is st....d
Anwar is a good debater.no question about it.but that's not what i want to point out.what's good about this debate that it might gonna sparkle another debate with same format and hopefully with other faces.Mahathir VS Pak Lah live telecast?that's should be interesting.
win or lose,it doesnt matter.what matter is what we gain from the debate.thank God nowadays the govt nowadays a bit more open than before.
Datuk, Salam.
I am Shabery's supporter but I didn't leave my TV set feeling satisfied with his effort.
As much as I was routing for Shabery, he didn't hold himself well against Anwar as I thought he was launching personal attacks when the rakyat wanted to hear facts and figures to the current issues, not history.
Datuk, the debate wasn't about having balls or being more open now then before. If those were the points of reference then I would give full points to Shabery. The topic was about the petrol prices and although somewhere in the govt, there may be somoene who could have explained it better, Shabery left much to be desired on this score last night.
Bottomline, if I was watching through the eyes of the plain rakyat, I'd give last night to Anwar.
I'm sure the debate left people especially in the rural areas more sympathetic to and convinced with Anwar. I was with staunch UMNO members including myself, the others too felt that Shabery got whipped from the second segment onwards.
We should avoid holding debates we cannot win in the future. People won't remember one's consistent good deeds or transparency Datuk. They just remember who gets whipped or who comes last to give aid.. Trust me, I'm in the system and I see first hand as to the depreciating attitude of our people today.
Datuk, I don't know if Johan Jaafar is your buddy or not, but I was flabbergasted at the way he allowed Nordin Kardi to be foolish during question time.
Nordin's attitude and Shabery's persisitent attacks on Anwar made Anwar come out smelling like roses.
Nordin doesn't have the pulse of the folks and it just makes it worse when he goes out of his way to redicule Anwar and looking like an ass for not being right in his statement.
Johan Jaafar should have been more in control and professional.
You would have been a better Moderator.
Cheek harus dipuji atas keberaniannya walaupun kehabisan peluru ketika berdebat dengan Anwar. Orang kampung dan majoriti rakyat akan lebih bersetuju dengan pendekatan dan hujah Anwar ( 3 - 0 )
Dan tadi agak malang Anwar ditangkap polis di hadapan rumahnya sebelum pukul 2.00 ptg seperti yang dipersetuji polis, kenapa 'cara' ini harus berlaku. Sekali lagi kerajaan melakukan 'pendekatan' yang akan membuatkan rakyat marah..
Berbalik kepada debat, di mana shahril, menteri yang bertanggungjawab hal kenaikan minyak, beliau seharusnya berada di pentas untuk menjawab semua persaolan bukannya Cheek yang ketandusan maklumat dan idea.
Dnt let has-beens be next to debate ok? Boring! Just get somebody who are "current" like Muhyiddin or even Khairi Jamaluddin Vs the likes of Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim or Guan Eng.
You are right. Shabery set a new benchmark. From the day he was announced as MOI, he sprinted!
But the question is, in the long run, will he bow to UMNO's old ways?
How long can the UMNO MTs put up with his maverick ways?
Honestly, I think that our society needs this kind of debate to better keep informed. If this is evident of Pak Lah's more transparent way of government through 'open media' then I say give them a chance...
Anwar's early stab when he said that he would have preferred to log horns with the PM or DPM... but nevermind.. I see as trying to psyche Shabree.
Shabery's reply early in his speech that he was a leader chosen through the elections by a process of democracy, was, to my mind,a rebuttal.
Anyway Sabbery cik is better than prof.kardi.
Beberapa rumusan menurut pandangan LFS daripada sesi debat tersebut iaitu:
1. Kedangkalan, kebodohan, tidak profesional, tidak matang dan kebudak-budakan adalah sifat yang telah ditunjukkan oleh Shabery Cheek (SC).
2. SC adalah merupakan contoh kualiti pepimpin yang rendah yang dipilih oleh Pak Lah di dalam barisan kabinetnya. Inilah kualiti barisan menteri yang ada di negara kita di bawah pentadbiran Pak Lah. Ini tidak menghairankan kerana Pak lah sendiri tidak mempunyai kapasiti intelek yang setaraf malah yang jauh kebelakang jika ingin dibandingkan dengan tokoh-tokoh seperti Tun Mahathir, DSAI, dan Tun Musa Hitam.....baca seterusnya
http://fikirlahsendiri.blogspot.com
Salam Dato.
Apa yang DSAI cakap, memang boleh dilaksanakan.
Semalam di dada akhbar melaporkan Petronas 'pumped' in RM62b hasil laba tahun lalu.
Kenapa pengumuman itu dibuat sejurus selepas debat itu. Mungkin kerajaan BN hendak menjadikannya alasan untuk membolehkan mereka menurunkan harga petrol hasil sumbangan Petronas. Mereka malu untuk menurunkan petrol sekiranya tiada alasan yang mana akan memberi mileage yang besar kepada DSAI.
Kepada kerajaan BN, jangan ego sangat. terimalah idea orang lain.
Saya nampak, ia hendak dijadikan alasan saja oleh kerajaan BN untuk membolehkan mereka menurunkan harga minyak (jika mereka berminat menurunkan), sedangkan mereka boleh menurunkan atau tidak perlu menaikkan petrol terlalu tinggi.
Bukankah ini satu indikasi yang menunjukkan kerajaan di bawah BN boleh menurunkan harga minyak.
Soalan JJ kenapa DSAI mahu jadi PM, sedangkan dia boleh menumbang, dijawab oleh DSAI dengan tepat.
Pls listen carefully and thoughtfully, the lines DSAI said. Masalahnya, kerajaan BN angkuh, sombong, bongkak. Ikutlah sifat ular, ular yang bisa jika menyusur akar tidak akan hilang bisanya.
Susah sangat ke nak mengaku dan menerima idea bernas orang lain.
Saya juga mahu kemukakan soalah kepada orang Umno dna Dato sendiri. Siapakah di antara Anwar dan Sabery Chiklebih setia kepada Umno?
Anwar tidak pernah keluar dari UMNO tapi dia dipecat atas tuduhan liwat (Allah saya yang mengetahui 'the truth' - moga Allah mengampunkan kita semua).
TAPI Sabery Chik menceraikan UMNO untuk berkahwin dengan Semangat 46.
Fikir-fikirkan lah.
ABRAH
Tahniah pada Rosli Ismail, Hanapiah Man, dan semua yang lerlibat menganjurkan bahas ini. Harapnya Debat Perdana UM kalau tak silap saya patut diadakan semula. Ini bukan kira sapa menang kalah, ini budaya bercakap menggunakan fakta. Memang betul bila bercakap dikalayak, wit dan rhetorics tentu sekali perlu, namun, akhirnya fakta juga yang orang akan ingat. Sekurang-kurangnya Menteri Shaziman dah pun dah respond pada point Anwar mengenai excess capacity TNB. Jadinya sekiranya semua ahli politik bercakap berlandaskan fakta, kami di bawah juga dakan turut membudayakan perkara ini. Tak lah kita terlalu emosi mengenai politik
Very articulate indeed..Anwar not Shabery of course!
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