WATCHING the first United States presidential debate on Friday between President Joe Biden and his opponent, former president Donald Trump, was entertaining.
It was also informative and helpful and would allow voters and viewers to better understand the capabilities of the candidates running for the most important job in the US.
It is time Malaysians embraced a new culture.
All candidates running in elections should participate in debates. Debates are actually very common.
Many students are exposed to debate in schools and universities.
There are many debate competitions to develop students' debating and critical thinking skills at school and university levels.
Debates allows debaters to meet and exchange arguments in a healthy manner. This also allows the audience to hear the arguments.
This applies to politics, too, especially during elections.
Election candidates should face and debate each other instead of just giving speeches or making press statements.
Voters deserve to know candidates closely.
Debates can help voters evaluate and judge the candidates' arguments.
We should no longer be sceptical or negative about debates.
Why not make it mandatory for all election candidates? Having a debate is a healthy process.
It can strengthen our democracy. Many democratic countries have implemented debates for election candidates, including Indonesia in its recent presidential election.
The most well-known debate is probably the US presidential debate.
It is customary for US presidential candidates to participate in one or more debates.
The topics discussed at the debates can be controversial.
One can argue that elections can been decided by these debates.
The first US presidential debate was held on Sept 26, 1960 between John F. Kennedy, the Democratic nominee, and then vice-president Richard Nixon, the Republican nominee.
That was the first televised debate and it set the tone for what was to come.
Debates are not mandated for election candidates in the US, but they are considered an intrinsic part of the election process.
Debates are targeted at undecided voters, those who tend not to be partial to any political ideology or party.
In Malaysia, our election candidates are sadly only comfortable giving speeches on stage or other platforms.
They don't seem to have the courage to debate their opponent and receive questions and criticism from their opponent and the audience.
This attitude sends a wrong signal to the younger generation who want to see more transparent election campaigns.
We should embrace debates. It should be part of our culture.
DR MUZAFFAR SYAH MALLOW
Associate professor
Faculty of Syariah and Laws,
Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia