Let public decide if Nazri's views reflect BN's: Dr M
Published on: Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Alor Setar: PETALING JAYA: Dr Mahathir Mohamad accepts that the BN government has disassociated itself from the planned debate between him and Umno minister Nazri Aziz and what is said during the event.Ultimately, it is up to the public to decide whether Nazri's statements are his own or reflect those of the government, says Mahathir, who is Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman."I believe Nazri is brave; he will go (for the debate). But he is not representing the government because the government has distanced itself from the debate.
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"Johari said the debate had nothing to do with the government, but that is up to the public to decide," the former prime minister said at a press conference at PPBM headquarters Tuesday.Mahathir was referring to Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani who over the weekend said the highly-anticipated event was a "personal debate and has nothing to do with the government".Mahathir said his team was considering changing the debate into a discussion instead."This means he (Nazri) can speak about certain matters, then I can do the same, and the public can also ask questions."
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Mahathir also gave his assurance that the debate would not cause chaos although it was to be held in Padang Rengas, Nazri's parliamentary constituency."I hope everyone will behave properly and listen to the debate."
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Last week, Mahathir challenged the tourism and culture minister to a debate on several issues, including the 1MDB and Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF) financial scandals, and the RM2.6 billion deposited into Prime Minister Najib Razak's personal bank accounts.They have since agreed to hold the event in Nazri's stronghold in Perak, which Mahathir will be visiting on March 25.Talk about the BMF scandal was recently revived when declassified US Central Intelligence Agency documents linked the Mahathir administration to the US$1 billion (RM4.45 billion) Bank Bumiputra lost in bad loans in the 1980s.Last year, Attorney-General Apandi Ali cleared Najib of any wrongdoing pertaining to the RM2.6 billion found in his bank accounts, saying he was satisfied with the explanation that the money was a personal donation from the Saudi royal family.Meanwhile, Nazri said the March 25 debate will boost tourism in Padang Rengas.He said many people would come to his constituency to witness the debate."People will be coming, spending money there and some of them would want to stay overnight. It will boost tourism in Padang Rengas," he said.The Umno Supreme Council member added that he is doing Dr Mahathir a favour because no one would attend his roadshow in Padang Rengas if there were no debate."Nobody would attend his roadshow there. Now, everybody is coming. It is entirely because of me. People are coming because I accepted his challenge," said Nazri.The debate will take place at MRSM Sultan Azlan Shah. Nazri said he will not be representing the Government in the debate and he does not need support to carry out the debate."Whether there is support from Umno or not, even if I'm alone I will proceed. I don't need any support from friends," said Nazri.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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