JOHOR BARU, March 29 — DAP’s outspoken Johor leader Dr Boo Cheng Hau accepted Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s refusal to debate him and said it was expected.
“Basically, I already knew that Tun M will not debate with me on his Look East Policy for Malaysia’s future.
“However, I take what I did as an opportunity to remind Malaysians to also think critically on our country’s current political climate in a jovial manner as at times we should not be too serious,” said Dr Boo when contacted by Malay Mail today.
Yesterday, Dr Mahathir reportedly responded with a simple “no” when asked if he would consider debating the Johor DAP leader on the lessons gleaned from the Look East Policy.
“If somebody doesn’t know what we have learnt from the Look East Policy, obviously he’s ignorant,” he said during a press conference at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2019 (LIMA’19).
Dr Boo, who is also a Johor DAP committee member, said he harbours no resentment towards Dr Mahathir and still respects him as a seasoned politician and his political senior.
He also assured his critics that his challenge was for a healthy discourse in a fun manner and that there was no malice intended against the 93-year-old prime minister.
“As a medical doctor myself, I will also personally help take care of Tun M to ensure that he is at the top of his health,” said Dr Boo in a light-hearted response.
Earlier today, in Dr Boo’s Facebook posting, he said there was never any personal grudge against Dr Mahathir.
“Despite differences in opinion and his refusal to debate with me on what we should learn from Look East Policy, I would still respect him as a senior politician and medical doctor, and make him a nice cup of Malaysian brewed 2-in-1 coffee without sugar (better for health), a cup of Ceylonese Teh kosong, Hang Zhou’s Long Jing tea (Dragon’s Well tea) or Japanese Green tea (any of his choice), which are high in antioxidants and good for health and talk about what the future direction the country should head for,” he posted on how he would like to treat Dr Mahathir accompanied by pictures of the said beverages.
Dr Boo, who previously called on Dr Mahathir to resign as prime minister in February this year, had in a Facebook posting yesterday created some drama after he challenged Dr Mahathir to a debate about what has been learnt from the Look East Policy besides fancy world-class events such as the Formula One races and LIMA.
The former Johor DAP chief claimed that these projects are more like the Langkawi MP’s ‘toys’ and he had seen no true policy reforms including for education.
Dr Boo said such world-class events would only bring about the country’s end instead of saving it.
