Rafizi tells PAS’ Syahir ‘This is Not a Reading Class’, Netizens Go Wild

A majority of the people felt disappointed by the televised debate between PH and PN’s economists.

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Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli and PAS’ Bachok MP Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman shared a stage last night where they debated on the country’s economy. The debate was aired live on television.

Safe to say it was a much-awaited affair however, many were left disappointed.

The main reason for this, according to those who took to social media to air their grievances was that the debate sounded more like a political rally speech, particularly on the part of Mohd Syahir.

Not only that, Mohd Syahir’s choice of pantun (limerick) during the debate ended up as jokes on social media.

“Ruh ruh ruh, nyeh nyeh nyeh, buang yang keruh, ambil yang jernih,” Mohd Syahir had said.

During the debate, Rafizi had been left baffled by his opponent as the latter appeared to be reading from his notes rather than debating the points. Rafizi also remarked that his questions were not properly answered by his opponent.

Mohd Syahir accused Rafizi and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of not knowing how to tackle the rising prices of goods and the depreciating ringgit.

The PAS parliamentarian presented his proposal for the Malaysian economy in a live-streamed PowerPoint presentation that he periodically referred to while reading from his notes.

Rafizi reprimanded him for being repetitive and bringing up various inconsistencies.

“I thought we were debating but you seem to be reading from a script and you never answered my question. This is the smartest guy from PAS but he’s going around in circles.”

“You mentioned Kelantan being a poor state and are blaming the federal government for their plight but they are one of the richest states in Malaysia compared to Melaka and Negeri Sembilan and get a larger federal allocation yearly. Yet they cannot do their jobs well so how is it the federal government’s fault?” Rafizi asked.

Mohd Syahir had refuted the general perception that Kelantan was a poor state by saying the people in Kelantan had assets. He said they may have simple houses but they have land, cows and goats, and were not spendthrift.

Rafizi remarked that Mohd Syahir did not seem to comprehend how administrative and development monies are divided from government spending. The PKR man added that Mohd Syahir would have been aware of this if he had been paying attention during the Dewan Rakyat sessions.

However, Mohd Syahir portrayed the federal government as the root cause of Kelantan’s problems and a weak economy, claiming it had been denied oil royalties for 30 years. Rafizi attacked Syahir, claiming he lacked strong ideas and programs to improve the nation’s economy.

What Netizens Are Saying

Many felt that Rafizi dominated the debate, delivering clearer points with a better understanding of the state of the country’s economy.

Some felt Mohd Syahir was beating around the bush and had no clear plans or understanding of the nation’s economy.

Saya kena adil dalam hal ni.

Syahir bukan lawan Rafizi

I expect Syahir to propose his economic model with alternative mechanism of current model

Tapi sampai habis tak ada

Peluang besar PN terlepas

The winner for this economic debate is Rafizi

Video sy akan buat nanti
— Nazrihamdan (@nazribiztalk) August 9, 2023

Rafizi's 12 minutes:

1. A brief history of Malaysia's economy
2. Structural issues
3. Current and future plans

Syahir 's 12 minutes:

1. Fancy PowerPoint slide
2. Empty rhetoric
3. Political soundbites
4. Tunggang agama
5. Argue with the audience
— Pemikir Malaysia (@pemikirmsia) August 9, 2023