MUAR (May 6): Incumbent MP for Muar Datuk Seri Razali Ibrahim did not show up for the debate which was organized by Pakatan Harapan Muar against its candidate Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

The debate, which was mooted by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia's president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at a ceramah held at Parit Nawi last Monday, was supposed to be held at Muar Traders Hotel here at 9pm tonight (May 6).

His no-show was due to the statement made by Johor Police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Khalil Kadir Mohd that the event was illegal, as no permit was applied for 10 days before the event was to be held.

Sources said that Razali was fuming over the situation, as he was caught between adhering to the chief police's instruction and not attending the debate, and risk being seen as scared to engage in ideas and arguments with the Bersatu's Youth head.

However, a call made by The Edge to Razali's personal assistant as late as 6 pm comfirmed that he would attend the debate. However, as the clock struck 9 pm, Razali was no where to be seen.

Members of the media had gathered on the ground floor of the hotel as early as 7 pm to wait for the candidates to arrive, and to get confirmation from the organiser whether the debate would be on.

However, at around 8 pm, an aide of Saddiq appeared before the Press and confirmed that Razali might not come, but the event would still go on.

As Saddiq arrived at the hotel, he was surrounded by members of the media. Clad in a white shirt and khaki pants, he was seen shaking hands with the policemen and women who had been on duty at the hotel to control the crowd.

Talking to the press, he said that he did not agree to the Johor police commissioner's statement which said that a permit was needed for the event to be held, because it was held at a private venue, and due to the election season, it was impossible for a permit to be applied for 10 days before the event.

"I would like to stress here that this debate was organised based on the existing laws and regulations. We had consultations with lawyers, and they said that during the election season, the requirement to get a permit 10 days before an event was supposed to take place, did not have to be taken into account.

"All that we had to do was just give notification to the police before the event was held. This debate is similar to any of the campaigning events because it is an event which is held to allow the people in Malaysia, especially in Muar, to be informed and make the right choice," said Saddiq.

He added that most importantly, Malaysians should make intellectual discourse a culture, especially during this election season because debate, or intellectual dialogue will be a platform for the people to analyze and criticize the ideas and manifestos which have been made by both parties at the State and Federal levels.

Despite his no-show at the debate tonight, in a press conference held at around 7 pm today, Razali suggested to have a closed-door discussion to be held tomorrow at the SPR Johor commissioner's house, at 5 pm. Saddiq has accepted the offer, but he made a request for the media to attend and do live streaming so that the session can be viewed live by the public.