NAJIB Razak has invited DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang to debate him about any subject he chooses, Free Malaysia Today has reported today.

The former prime minister said a debate with Lim – whom Najib described as “obsessed” with him – would allow both of them to make their stand on various issues and let the people judge for themselves.

Najib said Lim could ask him anything, even about the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal, in the freestyle exchange he was ready to engage anytime.

“(And) I can ask him anything. In the spirit of a healthy democracy, he should take up the challenge,” Najib said.

“If he is free enough to write multiple statements every day, he should certainly be free to debate,” the FMT report quoted him as saying.

Najib said Lim should be free to have the debate since he held no position in the cabinet, but the former prime minister said he hoped the elder politician could understand that his schedule was constrained by his many court appearances.

“The PH government does not want me to be too free, but I will make time for Lim if he is willing to debate,” Najib reportedly said.

Lim has been a continued and vocal critic of Najib, from DAP’s time in opposition to date, issuing statements related to Najib, the 1MDB scandal and other subjects critical of the former Barisan Nasional administration.

In his latest statement, the Iskandar Puteri MP claimed Najib’s “Malu Apa Bossku” campaign violated the fifth principle of Rukunegara and “Morality and Good Behaviour”; challenges reforms and the National Anti-Corruption Plan 2019-2023; and prevents the national mission to transform Malaysia from a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity.

Lim also recently warned PH not to underestimate the influence Najib still held, adding that the former BN and Umno chief “clearly has a strategy for the next general election to defeat PH and engineer his return to power”.

Najib told FMT that he once nicknamed Lim “Minister of Najib Affairs”, which made the DAP veteran back down for a while.

He also downplayed his popular Bossku slogan, calling it a “catchphrase” young supporters started to use, and not the campaign Lim alleged.

“They came up with the catchphrase, they made their own T-shirt designs and graphics,” Najib told the news portal.

“It is something that comes from their hearts,” he said, adding that it would go on as long his supporters enjoyed it and that the moniker “Bossku” did not mean he was the boss.

“The people are the boss,” he said. – May 21, 2019.