KUALA LUMPUR: The much-anticipated debate between former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be eagerly followed by Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (pic).
The Umno deputy president expressed excitement over one of the high profile debates in the country, scheduled on Thursday (May 12).
"I am also excited to watch it," he told reporters after launching a forum at the party headquarters Wednesday (May 11).
The debate will be held at the Malaysia Tourism Centre (Matic) in Kuala Lumpur.
In a statement issued on Friday (May 6), the offices of the two political leaders said the debate would begin at 9pm and would be broadcast live on social media, as well as on television channels that would be announced later.
Asked if he has any advice for the two leaders, he said both leaders will have their own points and ideas.
"It is up to them. They can debate, let them debate," said Mohamad Hasan.
Anwar had previously said that he was prepared to face Najib in a debate without any conditions.
The Port Dickson MP had also urged that the debate should be open to all media outlets to allow the public to make their own judgments.
Najib had also said that he was willing to participate in the debate.
He had previously asked the representatives for Anwar and former PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli to arrange for the debate to be televised if any broadcaster was interested in doing so.
Last year, Sapura Energy announced a loss of RM8.9bil despite receiving large investments from state-owned Perbadanan Nasional Bhd (PNB), which holds a 40% stake in the government-linked company (GLC).
Najib had then called on the government to intervene by either providing loan guarantees to Sapura Energy to solve its cash flow problems or direct Petronas or Khazanah Nasional Bhd to take over ownership of the firm.
He said it made sense since Petronas still required Sapura's services for its projects and had a better understanding of the sector.