FW: winner of the debate is...

Poll: And the winner of the debate is...

Jul 16, 08 12:40pm

Opposition stalwart Anwar Ibrahim is the winner of yesterday's MCPX live TV debate on the fuel price hike, according to a poll conducted by Malaysiakini . The 12-hour poll which went live immediately after the debate ended at 10pm revealed that almost 96 percent of Malaysiakini readers believed that Anwar did far better than Information Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek. ( see chart below ) A total of 18,684 readers had participated in the poll, of which 17,240 or 95 percent said Anwar was more convincing in his arguments. Interestingly, while Anwar was seen as the clear winner in the debate, a majority of readers (57 percent) said he had the most rehearsed answers. Shabery appeared to win in that department for apparently referring less on his prepared notes. However, 90 percent of readers believed that the information minister had avoided most of the questions put by the moderator and two other panelists. And when it comes to how the two debaters fared on a scale of 1 to 10, Anwar appeared to have outclassed Shabery. The hour-long debate was the first time that a government minister was pitted against an opposition leader live on television.