DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said he is still anticipating the televised debate with Umno minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan, despite comments by inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar that such an event would prejudice investigations into the Taman Manggis land deal in Penang.

"As far as I am concerned, we have been informed that the debate would be on Tuesday. I take it as the debate would still be on," Lim, who is Penang chief minister, told reporters in Kuching.

In an announcement today, TV3, owned by Umno-linked Media Prima group, said it has put off the debate on the advice of the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). The debate was scheduled to be telecasted live on Tuesday night.

Khalid, in a tweet last night, called for the debate to be cancelled.

"@PDRMsia agrees with @SPRMMalaysia, the Manggis bungalow debate should be cancelled. Police investigations are still ongoing. Key witnesses, including the chief minister, have not been called," he said.

"@PDRMsia asks all TV stations to cancel the live debate before the case is settled," a second tweet read.

"Why at that time, he (Khalid) did not talk about the nightly (news) programmes prejudicing the investigations? Then TV3 every night - between 15 minutes to half an hour – aired programmes prejudicing investigations," Lim said.

"Why has he not been tweeting all this while, from three weeks ago? Is it because he's trying to save Abdul Rahman Dahlan?"

Rahman, who is urban wellbeing, housing and local government minister, has said in Parliament that he received leaked memos that a health provider, Kuala Lumpur International Dental Centre (KLIDC), had bought a plot of state land originally slated for affordable housing, but was later converted into a hospital and hotel project.

Rahmand had accused Lim of personally intervening to increase the plot density of the land, estimated to be one acre in size.

Lim denied the land has changed hands.