PH's Fahmi Fadzil challenges Nong Chik to a debate

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Harapan's Lembah Pantai candidate Fahmi Fadzil has challenged BN candidate Datuk Seri Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin to a debate before the GE14 on May 9.
He said he wants a debate with Nong Chik because he believes that the people deserve to know about the gazetting of the Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020 that was made during Nong Chik's tenure as Federal Territories minister.
"He has to answer them regarding this issue in his tenure as the FT minister. I hope that he will accept my challenge and the debate will go on in a peaceful manner," he said when met at a walkabout with constituents today.
He said that people would like to hear from him because he has not been responding regarding this issue of late.
"People would like to hear from him as his responses regarding this issue have been vacuous. I hope this debate will be carried out in a gentlemanly fashion," he said.
He said this debate is to shape the future of Kuala Lumpur for years to come.
"We can hear both sides we can ask each other questions and we can get the answers and I think that's a good way forward," he said.
When asked if he had informed Nong Chik of this, Fahmi said his team would be sending an official letter to the former FT minister about the debate.
"We will send him the invite soon in the coming day or two and hope he is agreeable," he said.
When asked who he would like to moderate the debate, Fahmi said that he hopes someone from civil society will moderate.
"We would like someone who knows the issues of Kuala Lumpur. Someone like Selamatkan KL (SKL) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman, who is a long time resident of KL who has seen the changes and knows the issues faced," he said.
The Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 was gazetted in 2004 and outlined the goals, development strategies and policies of the development of Kuala Lumpur.
Despite a plan to gazette the KLCP2020 draft in 2013, it remained a draft until last year when Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor announced that it would not be gazetted in its present state as it was due to expire by 2020.