Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak will be facing off against each other in a much-awaited debate session that will be televised and streamed live tonight.
The event is scheduled to start at 9pm at the Malaysia Tourism Centre (Matic) in Kuala Lumpur where the PKR president and Umno leader will debate two topics - whether the government should assist ailing oil-and-gas company Sapura Energy Bhd and the issue of Malaysia's future in terms of its economy, politics and direction.
It is considered an unprecedented event as this is the first time that Anwar and Najib will engage in a public debate.
To be hosted by local daily Sinar Harian, it will also be the first time Najib has accepted an open debate challenge since he became prime minister in 2009.
The last time Najib was invited for a public debate on national issues was in August 2017 when Bersatu challenged him to go against its then chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad in a forum called "Nothing to Hide 2".
Najib, who was still in office then, did not take up the challenge. The event however saw several individuals, believed to be agent provocateurs, hurling confrontational questions at Mahathir before they started throwing slippers at him. This then sparked a series of fights and rioting.
A challenge by Rafizi
Tonight's debate was initially planned to take place at Universiti Malaya with the Universiti Malaya Students’ Union offering to host the debate on campus. However, university authorities rejected the plan.
The idea to hold a debate between Anwar and Najib came about following a challenge mounted by PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli against Najib last month after both started trading blows on Facebook over the Sapura issue and other government bailouts.
Najib then said he was prepared to debate Rafizi but wanted Anwar to also take part, a call that was then accepted by the latter.
A series of discussions involving Najib and Anwar's aides followed suit with both sides agreeing to a one-to-one debate.
Besides being available online, Najib is also hosting a live telecast of his debate with Anwar at the Putra World Trade Centre tonight.
On the other hand, Anwar offered an opportunity for the public to contribute questions that they think he should ask Najib in the debate. - Mkini
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