THE debate scheduled for tonight between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan’s Muar candidates has been cancelled after failing to get police approval.

BN’s Razali Ibrahim, the Muar incumbent, and his PH challenger, Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman, were scheduled to debate on the topic of “BN or PH for Putrajaya”.

Johor police chief Mohd Khalil Kadir Mohd said the event’s organiser did not apply for a permit.

“At 10.30am, we were informed through a letter that there would be a debate between the two. The letter came from Pakatan Harapan. But they didn’t apply for permit,” Khalil said in Johor Baru.

“The issue is that it is a debate, and while the candidates can control themselves, their supporters may not be able to do the same,” said Khalil.

He said that the police needed 10 days’ notice to evaluate manpower needs, suitability of the venue and traffic conditions.

The debate was to have taken place at the Muar Traders Hotel at 9pm. The hotel is 40m from the Muar traffic police station and 700m from the Muar police headquarters on Jalan Puteri.

A check at the hotel showed that a notice for the debate was still up. 

Syed Saddiq and Razali have not responded to calls about the cancellation. 

Syed Saddiq, however, said on Twitter that it was unnecessary to give 10 days’ notice during an election period. 

“If that were the case, all the ceramah during this election period would be illegal,” he tweeted in response to another user, who said that it was cancelled because PH had not fulfilled certain conditions.

Similarly last year, Selangor and Perak police had also cancelled debates between PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tourism Minister Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz due to “safety” reasons. – May 6, 2018.