KUALA LUMPUR – Penang’s Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy has questioned whether Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan is putting conditions on their potential upcoming debate due to having “cold feet”.
In an email statement to The Vibes, the DAP lawmaker explained that he has not moved beyond the original topic of the discussion.
“Having prematurely agreed to debate with me yesterday, he is now having cold feet. He knows very well that I am going to ‘educate’ him rather than the other way around.
“What was meant by broader matters were simply on the definition of forced labour, why it exists in the first place, and why the need to bring in the US Embassy and the ILO (International Labour Organisation) to address the problem.
“My mention of the broader scope of the debate is about forced labour and how roping in the US Embassy and the ILO resolve the problem.
“In fact, I have not strayed from the topic of the necessity of engaging the foreign mission and the labour body to assist us in addressing the scourge of forced labour,” said Ramasamy.
Earlier, MIC president Saravanan had accused the Prai assemblyman of switching the goalposts, where the latter now wants to debate the issue within a larger context.
He then stated that he is free to take on Ramasamy on May 22 at 2pm.
However, Ramasamy told off Saravanan, pointing out that he should not fix the date and time of the debate on his own.
“If both of us can jointly appoint a moderator, then an appropriate time could be fixed including the topic of the debate.
“Saravanan cannot unilaterally fix a date for me to agree. This is completely nonsensical.
“Despite the attacks against me by his cyber troopers, I am still agreeable to debate with him. I ask him not to put impossible conditions so that he could escape the debate.
“Saravanan should take me on and not hide behind his inconsistencies.” – The Vibes, April 24, 2022
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