PETALING JAYA: Malaysians commend the debate between Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (pic) and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng as mature politics and urge for more of such constructive debates between politicians

       On Twitter, WanAgyl said, "I'm so excited to see more policy debates like this in the future especially during GE15 where all political parties can debate their manifesto," he tweeted.

       For, naimbinzaini said he loved seeing debate culture becoming a new norm in the country’s political landscape.

       "The rakyat must be taught to think critically by cultivating a healthy political practice like this," he tweeted.

       Hackerzafifi also believed that more such debates should be conducted.

       "I'm too excited and having fun listening to this debate between Wee Ka Siong and Lim Guan Eng till I didn't realise it's been one hour already. Solid point.

       "People thought dia checkmate dia, dia checkmate dia, well they both ace the debate. We need more of this," he tweeted.

       Dr Wee said he was happy to have taken part in the debate.

       "It shows that we can talk about contentious issues rationally, calmly, and bring out the points that matter to public interest without resorting to unnecessary personal attacks.

       "Though we may disagree on many things I also want to applaud my opponent YB Lim for taking part too," he added.

       On Tuesday (Nov 2), Dr Wee and Lim held a debate on the cabotage policy that was streamed live by Astro Awani and 8TV for TV viewers as well as for social media users via YouTube and Facebook.

       Introduced in January 1980, the cabotage policy for cable repair works was revoked by the former Pakatan government in April 2019, which exempted vessels involved in submarine cable repair and maintenance work from having to apply for a domestic shipping licence.

       The cabotage policy was reintroduced by Dr Wee on Nov 16 last year.

       At present, the policy does not place a ban on foreign-flagged vessels from repairing undersea cables in Malaysian waters.

       Foreign vessels were allowed to enter Malaysian waters and only needed to apply for an electronic domestic licence (eDSL), which takes one to three days before approval.