GE15: Hasni declines Maszlee's debate invitation

KLUANG: Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Simpang Renggam parliamentary seat Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad has declined an invitation by Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Dr Maszlee Malik for a debate, saying that it would be more beneficial for him to hold dialogue sessions with the constituents.

The Johor BN chairman said it would be best for him to hold sessions with the district leadership, local community and villagers, adding that there was no need to debate with opponents during the 15th General Election (GE15) campaign period.

"I think even the people of Simpang Renggam are not interested in listening to this (debate)," he told reporters after visiting the voting district centre at Taman Desa Sejahtera here today.

The former Johor Menteri Besar said his previous agreement to participate in an open debate with Maszlee was for the future.

Yesterday, the incumbent Simpang Renggam MP invited candidates from BN, Perikatan Nasional (PN) Mohd Fazrul Kamat and Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) Kamal Kusmin for a debate ahead of the Nov 19 polls.

Asked about Maszlee's proposal to create an education hub in Simpang Renggam such as building a polytechnic and a university, Hasni said Maszlee should not promise such things to the people in the area.

"Upgrading the infrastructure is more important for the residents here. If the logistics aspect is improved, the strategic position of Simpang Renggam will allow many developments or programmes to be planned and one of them is the education sector," he said, adding that he would focus on the area's infrastructure development that needs a significant change.

Earlier today Maszlee said he would work to create an education hub in Simpang Renggam, saying that the plan had already existed when PH was the ruling government.

-- BERNAMA