In fact, his team is now making the necessary arrangements for the debate to be held in Padang Rengas, the constituency of his most vocal critic, tourism and culture minister Nazri.
“Dr Mahathir welcomes the preparedness of Nazri to have a debate with him on issues concerning the nation,” Mahathir’s aide told FMT today.
“Arrangements are being made for the debate to be held in Padang Rengas, Perak, where Dr Mahathir has been scheduled to visit.
“Details of these arrangements will be submitted to Nazri’s office soon for confirmation. Dr Mahathir is looking forward to the debate.”
Mahathir, now the chairman of a new opposition outfit Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, will be attending an event in Padang Rengas this March 25.
He made the challenge yesterday, after Nazri dared him to contest against him for the Padang Rengas parliamentary seat.
The 91 year old said he had no plans to contest in the next general election and suggested a debate instead.
He had also suggested for the debate to centre around topics concerning state-owned 1MDB, the Bumiputera Malaysia Finance (BMF) scandal, and the deposit of RM2.6 billion into Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bank accounts.
Nazri, in response, told FMT that he would be ready for the debate as soon as he returned to Malaysia from a working visit in Berlin. He is scheduled to return next Monday.
“Okay, I agree,” he said. “l’ll be back on the 13th, so ask him to make the preparations. Or, if he agrees, I can do the arrangements.”
Talk about the BMF scandal was recently revived when declassified US Central Intelligence Agency documents linked the Mahathir administration to about US$1 billion in losses in the 1980s.
Last year, Attorney-General Apandi Ali cleared Najib of any wrongdoing pertaining to the RM2.6 billion deposit, saying he was satisfied that the money was a personal donation from the Saudi royal family.
Nazri had earlier challenged Mahathir to contest against him in Padang Rengas in the coming general election.
Mahathir responded by challenging Nazri to contest against him for the Langkawi parliamentary seat instead, but he has since said he would not run for election. The former PM was appointed Langkawi PPBM division chief last month.
Analyst: Mahathir-Nazri debate could affect fate of their parties