KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has invited Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to play 20 Questions with him in a no-holds barred session to be televised nationwide.
Denied the chance to confront his one-time protege on the alleged irregularities surrounding 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), the retired prime minister issued the challenge to Najib during a closed-door forum with several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at the Perdana Foundation in Putrajaya yesterday.
A video of Dr Mahathir’s dare, recorded by one of the forum participants, was made available to Malay Mail Online.
“I ask Datuk Seri Najib to sit with me on stage in front of the TVs. After that, Najib can question me about what I did in the past, that I lost money, whatever… After that, I can ask him back. Come on!” the 89-year-old said in Malay and was greeted with loud cheers.
Dr Mahathir, who stepped down in 2003 after 22 years in office, holds the record as the country’s longest-serving prime minister.
Dubbed the “Father of Modern Malaysia”, his administration has however been coloured by allegations of financial improprieties as much as the questions currently dogging the Najib government over its management of the debt-riddled 1MDB.
In the 1.55-minute clip, Dr Mahathir was quick to add that he was being put in the spotlight in an attempt to divert attention from the present government’s controversies.
“This is not about me, this is about Najib. But to divert attention from him, (he) now wants to question me. I will answer, but you answer me first… we can sit together on stage and let all the TV stations sit in front of us and broadcast it for the whole country,” he said.
Dr Mahathir’s offer to debate the prime minister came about after an unseen forum participant asked the Kedahan if he was willing to bare himself to public questioning similar to the cancelled “Nothing2Hide” forum earlier this month.
The forum on June 5 organised by the SukaGuam NGO was to feature Najib who would answer questions from civil society members on current issues, including his controversial brainchild, 1MDB.
However, the PM skipped the event after it was cancelled at the last minute by the police who feared hostilities between Najib’s supporters and fans of Dr Mahathir would affect public order.
Critics later condemned the police for disrupting and cancelling the event, saying that the authorities were aiming to silence public discussions on government scandals and save Najib from a humiliating confrontation with Dr Mahathir over issues surrounding 1MDB.
Najib took to his blog to explain his no-show, saying neither neither the Barisan Nasional ruling coalition nor his party would benefit from an open confrontation between him and Dr Mahathir.
According to the prime minister, the event at the Putra World Trade Centre would have pitted him against the country’s longest serving prime minister who still wields much influence within Umno.
Najib said Dr Mahathir has a right to ask questions and that he was willing to give an explanation, adding that he was open to engage with any NGOs in future.
Dr Mahathir has emerged as one of Najib’s harshest critics over the prime minister’s 1MDB brainchild in recent weeks as questions mount over the state investment fund’s struggle to repay its growing debt pile.
The 89-year-old who appeared at the forum has scoffed at claims of a security threat as the reason for the last-minute cancellation of Friday’s event and added pressure on the Najib administration to explain 1MDB’s obscure financial situation.
