1MDB president and chief executive officer Arul Kanda Kandasamy has accepted an invitation from Umno to explain the issues surrounding the firm.

Dubbed as the ‘Premier Briefing Session’, the event organised by the Umno information unit is slated for Nov 14 at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC).

The session is expected to be attended by 191 Umno division chiefs and 1,000 NGO representatives from all over the country, reported Bernama yesterday.

Besides 1MDB, Umno Information chief Ahmad Maslan ( photo ) said two main issues - Budget 2016 and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) - will also be explained.

International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed will deliver a talk on TPPA while Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah will speak on the budget.

“Each of them will be given 90 minutes to explain and answer questions through an open dialogue and I feel this is the best opportunity to seek clarification for the issues,” said Ahmad.

The minister said the session which starts at 8.45am was also open to opposition members who wished to know details about the three issues.

Public Accounts Committee member Tony Pua had offered to host a live talk show with Arul Kanda last week.

Arul Kanda, who initially accepted the challenge with condition, later changed his mind about demanding Pua to resign from PAC first.

Following the ruling of Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia that Pua should quit PAC before debating, Pakatan Harapan named PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli as a substitute.

However, Arul Kanda declined, saying the speaker had the final say.