Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin today said he was prepared to debate any "tengku" (prince) but questioned whether Tengku Mahkota Johor (Johor crown prince) Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim was prepared to acknowledge him.

"Whoever wants to debate, I am prepared, be it the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), Tengku Mahkota Pahang, TMJ, - anyone or any tengku," he told a press conference.

However, he questioned whether Tunku Ismail would acknowledge him as a debate opponent with value.

"I'm not sure because if we want to debate we need to debate with people who we feel has value.

"But TMJ said he only acknowledges (National Football Development Programme director) Lim Teong Kim as someone who knows about football.

"So if he wants to debate me, no problem but he doesn't acknowledge me.

"I don't want people to say I refuse to debate - I'm ready - but I don't know to what extent will he (Tunku Ismail) regard the debate to be positive as he only acknowledges Lim Teong Kim," he said.

However, Khairy said Tunku Ismail's ( photo ) acknowledgement of Lim was an indirect admission by the prince that he had made the right choice in hiring Lim to head the National Football Development Programme.

Khairy said the debate should be positive in nature and should not be an avenue for blame game.

"If the debate is meant to blame people, to show that he is good and to blame certain quarters, then it will not contribute to football.

"But if the debate is positive, then I believe that there will be light at the end of the tunnel," he said.

Khairy also reiterated his initial agreement to the debate, stating that he is ever ready be it closed door or open door, on television or otherwise.

On Wednesday, Tunku Ismail, who owns the Johor Darul Ta'zim football club, proposed that Astro put him together with Khairy, a FAM representative, national football coach Ong Kim Swee and Football Coaches Association of Malaysia president B Sathianathan and Lim on television to discuss the national team's poor performance.

He had previously slammed Khairy for blaming the players for the slide in the country's football.

Sathianathan had also agreed to participate in the discussion.