Azmin challenges Najib to Felda debate, receives stinging reply

KUALA LUMPUR – As the apparent rivalry between Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN) intensifies ahead of the Johor polls, PN information chief Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali has dared BN advisory board chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak to a debate on issues involving the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) before this Saturday (March 12).

However, Najib rejected the offer and sarcastically said he does not wish to debate with “an individual whose face is ‘blurry’ on video”.

The former prime minister was referring to a sex video which allegedly implicated Azmin and former PKR Santubong Youth chief Haziq Aziz in 2020.

Azmin has since been cleared of any involvement in the viral clip by the then attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas who said individuals involved in the video could not be identified primarily due to the low resolution and quality of the video.

Instead, Najib said he would only debate with Azmin’s boss, PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, on the matter.

“Azmin said he wants to debate with me, saying I destroyed Felda. I can debate with him (Azmin) but the problem is his face is not very clear on video.

“It’s difficult to debate with those whose faces aren’t very clear. If I want to debate, I’d rather do it with Muhyiddin,” he said while telling both the PN leaders not to deceive Felda settlers.

“Let’s have a debate, Muhyiddin. Don’t worry, Azmin will help you. And if Muhyiddin wants to debate, he can ask about the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) debt and I will, once again, prove that it was not paid using the people’s money. On or not?”

After his offer was turned down by Najib, Azmin lambasted the latter for dodging the debate, questioning the Pekan MP’s true intention.

“Why doesn’t he want to debate with me? I was the one who audited Felda’s affairs.

“I was responsible for completing the white paper and I tabled it in Parliament,” he reportedly said. 

Azmin had tabled the white paper in the august House back in 2019, during his time as the economic affairs minister under the Pakatan Harapan government.

According to the white paper, Felda Global Ventures spent RM3.3 billion, or 73%, of RM4.5 billion on investments and developments which were not profitable, such as the takeover of several companies.

This resulted in the agency incurring massive debt and losses after being publicly listed in 2012 under Najib’s BN government.

The Gombak lawmaker then said he’d leave it to Najib to reconsider taking up his public debate offer so the settlers can be informed of what truly happened, especially issues pertaining to the mismanagement of Felda under Najib.

During a political talk in Muar last night, Azmin alleged that Felda was destroyed during Najib’s tenure as prime minister and claimed that there are facts which clearly show the purchase of real estate overseas which is currently under investigation by the authorities.

“The white paper has proven that the betrayal against Felda settlers is too obvious and Najib cannot thump his chest by claiming it was Umno who saved Felda since it was under his leadership that the future of Felda settlers was crushed,” he said.

Only through the debate session, Azmin said, the people would know that the PN government led by Muhyiddin was the actual saviour of Felda and its settlers.

This is after Muhyiddin agreed to relinquish a portion of Felda settlers’ loans amounting to RM8.3 billion when he was still the prime minister in July 2021.

“Najib cannot be so arrogant as to say that Umno saved Felda. In fact, it was his leadership which destroyed the settlers and the future of Felda.”

The Felda issue is one of the most talked about topics throughout the election campaigning period as the areas are known to be Umno’s ‘fixed deposit’ strongholds and PN is said to be banking on the Felda electorate for votes.

With just four days left before the conclusion of the campaigning period, will we see Najib finally accepting to go head-to-head against Azmin on live broadcast?

Or would Muhyiddin rise to the occasion to participate in a battle of former prime ministers, the first debate of its kind in this country, with his one-time cabinet colleague and superior?

Perhaps, could it merely be just a typical war of words among politicians with no debate in sight? – The Vibes, March 6, 2022