1MDB debate a waste of time, Perkasa chief says

© Provided by The Malay Mail Online Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali said his rejection of the debate does not mean he was supporting either side but was because he truly believes nothing of worth would be revealed during the verbal showdown. ―…

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 — Staging a debate on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) would be a waste of time as the controversy involves facts and figures, and not policies or opinions, Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali said.

Ibrahim said his rejection of the debate does not mean he was supporting either side — 1MDB boss Arul Kanda Kandasamy or his challenger DAP MP Tony Pua — but was because he truly believes nothing of worth would be revealed during the verbal showdown.

“It is an issue of profit and loss, so there are a lot of figures to look at,” he told reporters here at Perkasa headquarters.

“We won’t even be able to see the figures when they hold up the papers.”

Pua had last week challenged Arul Kanda to a debate on the 1MDB controversy to which the latter accepted without imposing any conditions.

But earlier this week, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia waded in on the matter, saying he could not allow such a debate to proceed as 1MDB is currently under probe by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The Speaker said for such a debate to go on, Pua would first have to quit from the PAC and Arul Kanda could no longer be presented as a witness for the probe.

Earlier today, the opposition named PKR’s Rafizi Ramli as Pua’s replacement should the debate proceed.

When asked to comment on a suggestion that former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad be made to debate Arul Kanda instead, Ibrahim said it does not matter who the opponents are.

“There would still be no point for a debate. Be it Tun Mahathir or (former deputy prime minister Tan Sri) Muhyiddin (Yassin), they can only state opinions,” he said.

He reiterated Perkasa’s stand that the best way to approach the matter was to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate the issue.

“The PAC is nothing, it can only put together a report and present it in Parliament. It does not have the power to indict,” he said.

“It is not effective. To me, the most effective would be an RCI, and have everyone called up.”