Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli is coaxing Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal to accept his proposal to just debate over his Yang Bakar Menteri podcast instead of pursuing his demand to debate “LIVE on mainstream TV just like @syahirnomic (Bachok MP Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman)”.
Contending that debate on TV is expensive, the Pandan MP said doing so incurred hefty airtime cost especially if the programme is carried live over a private TV station.
“If we do over RTM, then the people (taxpayers) will have to bear the airtime cost. That’s why if you really want to debate, let’s just do it over podcast which doesn’t require TV airtime.,” the PKR deputy president responded to Wan Fayhsal who insisted to only engage in a live mainstream TV debate.
Tak habis lagi @wanfayhsal
1) Debat dgn @syahirnomic tu debat dgn PN. Saya jemput pimpinan tertinggi PN (MB Kedah, YB Azmin dll) tp semua menolak
2) PN wakilkan kpd YB Syahir, sbb tu debat akhirnya dgn beliau sebagai mewakili PN
3) Debat dlm TV ni mahal. Kalau swasta, kena… https://t.co/vPeJvqQ8Jc
— Rafizi Ramli (@rafiziramli) October 15, 2024
“If I were to fulfill WAF’s wishes for a TV debate, then in principle I’ve to accept challenges for TV debates from other parliamentarians in the future.
“If he’s really that eager to appear on TV, WAF may need to get PN’s (Perikatan Nasional) approval to represent the coalition’s leadership or may even repeat his print money proposal following which he is confirmed to appear on TV within a week.😁”
Earlier, Rafizi explained that his previous debate with Syahir who is also the PN shadow economy minister happened because the latter was selected to represent PN despite “I having invited the highest PN leadership (including Kedah MB Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor and Selangor opposition leader Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali) but all of them refused”.
For the record, Wan Fayhsal had wanted to emulate the TV debate treatment accorded to Syahir who is also the political secretary to PAS president Tan Sri Hadi Awang.
“Bring it on. We can debate about money printing and MAHB (Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd)-BlackRock,” the PN Youth deputy chief challenged Rafizi. “No problem if you want to bring (Communications Minister) Fahmi Fadzil along. Make it two against one.”
Interestingly, many pro-Madani backers have teased Wan Fayhsal, alluding to the fact that he was merely finding an excuse to avoid engaging in a debate with Rafizi.
“There is a reason @wanfayhsal doesn’t dare to join the @rafiziramli podcast. People could judge that Syahir was useless when he took on Rafizi (on Aug 9, 2023),” recalled netizen Jai-yen (@Jaiyen_nakal).
Ada sebab @wanfayhsal tak berani masuk podcast @rafiziramli . Syahir lawan debat dgn rafizi, org boleh nilai yg Syahir tu useless. Lim Sian See masuk podcast Rafizi, kantoi yg LSS tu taklah bijak pun. Kalau Wan Fayshal masuk podcast Rafizi, mau kalah pemilihan Bersatu nanti https://t.co/3t6hA8hng5
— Jai-yen (@Jaiyen_nakal) October 12, 2024
“Even Lim Sian See (who was formally unmasked by Rafizi to be former Barisan Nasional strategic communications deputy director Eric See-To) was no match to Rafizi in their recent podcast. If Wan Fayshal joins Rafizi’s podcast, he’s bound to lose the Bersatu election later”. – Oct 15, 2024
