PKR lawmaker Rafizi Ramli will be replacing Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member Tony Pua to take on 1MDB boss Arul Kanda Kandasamy in a live debate on the1MDB fiasco.

The new candidate, sanctioned by Pakatan Harapan, was announced today by DAP's Seremban MP Anthony Loke in the Parliament lobby.

"(We) respect the decision of Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia that Pua shall not debate with Arul Kanda. Rafizi will be replacing Pua," Loke said.

Meanwhile, Rafizi said Pua would be his coach for the debate, adding that Arul Kanda has no way out except to take him on in the debate.

Failure to do so would mean that 1MDB has many secrets to hide and the plot to oust Pua ( photo ) from PAC does indeed exist.

"I hope he can explain better than any (other) ministers (at the debate)," he said, adding that Arul Kanda should be ready to debate without imposing any conditions.

Rafizi hopes the debate can be held as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Pua explained that the debate was not about 'Pua vs Arul', but rather a question-and-answer session for Arul Kanda to tell the truth about the 1MDB scandal, which has led to economic crisis.

"So this issue, whether it is me, Rafizi or someone else does not arise; the issue is we want the truth to be out there," he said.

Suggested debate after Deepavali

Pua last week offered to host a live talk show with Arul Kanda, during which the duo would discuss 1MDB, but Arul Kanda said he would only accept if Pua resigns as a PAC member.

However, the 1MDB president withdrew his condition later and agreed to a debate to be telecast live.

Following this, Pandikar ordered Pua, an MP from DAP, to either resign from the PAC or withdraw from the committee's investigation into 1MDB if he wanted to debate with Arul Kanda.

The live coverage of the 1MDB debate, slated for tomorrow, was to be aired live on RTM, but Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak called it off yesterday, saying Pua was no longer in the debate.

Loke ( photo ) today urged the minister to reconsider his decision to revoke the airing of the debate.

"If RTM refuses, then we will offer the live telecast to any TV station which is willing to host the debate," he said.

However, Loke felt that the debate has been a rush and suggested it be held after Deepavali.

The new arrangement would not impact PAC proceedings on the calling of Arul Kanda as a witness, he added.

Rafizi, on the other hand, disagreed with the proposal by Umno supreme council member Annuar Musa that Opposition Leader Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail should debate with Arul Kanda instead.

"If Kan Wan (Wan Azizah) takes the challenge, then it should be Wan Azizah against (Prime Minister) Najib Abdul Razak," he said.

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