It looks like another debate is in the offing - this time between the government’s information czar Dr Rais Yatim and former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim.

Rais has issued a challenge to debate his former cabinet colleague this morning after accusing him of attacking Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in reports carried by foreign media.

zaid ibrahim book launch nik aziz anwar ibrahim pc 230309 04 His challenge was immediately accepted by Zaid this afternoon.

“I don’t know what he is talking about, or referring to, regarding these attacks on Najib through the foreign media,” Zaid ( left ) told Malaysiakini .

“But if he can be specific about what he wants to debate about, I will debate him anywhere, any place, anytime.”

He added that state-owned RTM should broadcast the debate live otherwise it would be a waste of time.

Earlier today, Rais has lamented a conspiracy hatched by the foreign media to oust the newly-minted prime minister.

According to the information, communications and culture minister, the allegations made by the foreign media against Najib was a grand design to topple the country’s leader.

rais yatim interview 160409 01 He also attacked Zaid, who is often sought by foreign journalists for his views on Najib. According to Rais ( right ), the former law minister is like ‘Si Lunchai’, an ignorant Malay folklore character.

"Let's see how great he is in using all these terms against the prime minister," said Rais.

Najib, who became the sixth prime minister earlier this month, has been constantly hounded by a number of controversies, chief among them being the murder of 28-year-old Mongolian national Altantunya Shaariibuu.

Despite the premier repeated denials of having any links with the matter, and even having publicly swore in the name of God, the allegations and speculations have refused to subside.

Live TV debates more common

Over the past few months, there have been live television debates between top leaders from both sides of the political fence.

anwar ibrahim and ahmad shabery cheek debate 150708 02 In July last year, de facto PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim debated then information minister Shabery Cheek - who is predecessor to Rais - in the wake of sharp hike in fuel prices.

The one-hour debate entitled ‘Form the government today, reduce fuel prices tomorrow’ was held at the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka in Kuala Lumpur.

This was followed by a debate in August between Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and former CM Dr Koh Tsu Koon on a controversial land scam in the state.

The ‘Truth on the land controversy in Penang' debate, much like the earlier debate, was modeled after the US presidential debates.