PENANG: Penang Gerakan Youth has submitted a memorandum to challenge DAP's secretary-general Lim Guan Eng for a debate on the Buah Pala village issue.
Its vice-chaiman H'ng Khoon Leng said the debate with Lim, who is also Penang Chief Minister, will be held at the village at 8.30pm on October 4 with the purpose of letting the public know the truth behind the village, popularly known as "High Chaparral", which has been demolished.
"We hope that Lim would dare to take up the challenge as he was the one who was handling the issue when it arose in July," he told reporters here today.
H'ng said he wanted all the people, especially those living in Penang, to understand the issue as it involved the current state government.
"I would also welcome all the people to attend the debate and witness the truth to be revealed during the debate," he said.
The memorandum was accepted by Ong Beng Guat, a special assistant to the Chief Minister, at about 10.30am today.
In an immediate response, Lim said that Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon should take on the debate himself and not send his proxy.
"He (Koh) was the one who issued a challenge to me earlier for a debate on the land issue and I have accepted it. After issuing the challenge, Koh dared not follow up and send his representative to the debate. I don't think this is appropriate," he said at a separate press conference.
Lim said Koh should have the courage to debate to show that he has leadership quality.
"If Koh does not want to debate, then we should not waste time dealing with this type of party as its leader does not dare to step forward to the challenge," he said.
Lim also insisted that the Penang government did not wash off its hand on the issue relating to residents of Buah Pala village. - NST
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