There is no need for a public Najib-Anwar debate as Parliament is more than sufficient as a platform for debate between the two leaders, said Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

NONE When the budget is tabled for instance, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is first in line to defend it while opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim is the first to question it, he said.

He was addressing a crowd of volunteers at the BN Youth Volunteers workshop in Putra World Trade Centre this evening.

“That is debate... Every time we are in Parliament, what do you think we do?” he asked in response to a question from the floor.

“The prime minister is not saying no, but it is more important to fulfill promises.

“We are looking for leaders, not speakers,” he added.

He acknowledged that many debates have been held, and that he himself had participated in a debate with PKR strategic director Rafizi Ramli.

However, he pointed out that the prime minister had termed debates as “ bukan kebiasaan (not the norm)”.

No pressing need for live debate

Even in other countries, such as the United States, debates are only held during election periods and not throughout the year, he added.

khairy jamaluddin bn youth volunteers 240612 During a press conference later, Khairy was asked if he would agree to a Najib-Anwar debate once Parliament is dissolved, to which he was non-committal.

Najib and Anwar have had plenty of debates in Parliament, because Malaysia’s parliamentary practices involve many debates, he reiterated.

“If there were no interaction at all between the opposition leader and the prime minister, maybe the need to have it would be important.

“If the prime minister is never present in Parliament, if the opposition leader is never present, then it is a different story. But the two of them are always in Parliament, (Najib) answers questions and summarises, the opposition raises objections.

“So I don’t see a pressing need to have the debate (between them),” he said, but added it was still up to them to decide.

Opps 2020 a lie

Earlier, Khairy also denied the existence of the ‘ Opps 2020 ' conspiracy, in response to another question from a volunteer.

“Anyone can show the minutes of a meeting, but it does not make it legitimate,” he said, calling the allegation “completely untrue”.

If even videos released by BN can be disputed, then that also goes for the supposed minutes of the meeting, which can just be written out, he explained.

“Even something that is 99.99 percent (sure) can also be denied,” he said, questioning how the supposed minutes could then be accepted as real.

“ Perut buncit (pot belly),” he replied, causing the to laughter from the crowd, in reference to an alleged sex video depicting a man who looked like Anwar, engaging in a tryst with an alleged prostitute.

Those who came to Anwar’s defence noted that the body of the man shown in the video had a different shape, especially the belly.