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KUALA KANGSAR, March 1 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Kuala Kangsar parliamentary seat, today declined comment on the absence of her signature on a copy of her nomination papers in the March 8 general election.

Rafidah, who has held the seat since the 1982 general election, said the Election Commission (EC) had accepted her nomination and it was needless for her to say anything on that matter.

"It is unnecessary for me to comment on that. Why waste time talking about that. There are so many other things to talk about," she replied when questioned by reporters after attending an education programme for the Orang Asli in Kampung Ulu Bekor, here.

On nomination day on Feb 24, the PAS candidate for the seat, Dr Khairudin Abdul Malik, objected to the absence of Rafidah's signature on the copy of her nomination papers displayed at the Dewan Merdeka here but returning officer Datuk Ghazali Jalal accepted her nomination after checking with the EC headquarters.

Two days later, Perak PAS commissioner Ahmad Awang lodged a police report calling for an investigation of the returning officer for having accepted the unsigned nomination papers. The PAS candidate's proposer, Md Noor Kan, had lodged a report at the Kuala Kangsar police station over the same matter the previous day.

Rafidah also said that it was unnecessary to accede to a PAS suggestion for the party to have an open debate with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak because it was irrelevant in terms of the culture of Malaysian society.

"The BN track record is there for us to scrutinise and appreciate. We do not emulate the American style of open debate," she said.

The right way would be to debate with the people themselves, and discuss the issues with a view to resolving them immediately.

"We debate with the villagers. We debate with the urban folk. That's our way. Debating here means holding ceramah (talk), discussions and question-and-answer sessions on local issues," she said.

Yesterday, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa proposed a debate on the election manifesto with Abdullah and Najib on March 4 and 5.

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