FAHMI Fadzil will liaise with Najib Razak’s aide on an arrangement for the proposed debate between Anwar Ibrahim and the former prime minister on Sapura Energy Bhd’s financial woes.

Anwar said Fahmi will also discuss the debate’s media coverage.

“I have asked the Lembah Pantai MP to arrange a date and time for the debate with Najib, which will discuss Sapura Energy and national issues,” said the opposition leader on Facebook today.

His post comes after Najib said he is ready to debate with the Port Dickson MP on Sapura Energy’s financial woes.

Najib told Anwar to immediately contact his aide to set a time and place for the debate, after the latter agreed to the debate earlier today.

“Game on. I agree with the debate with Anwar. Let’s rock!” said the Pekan MP in a post on Facebook.

Najib earlier accepted PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli’s invitation for a debate on similar matters and told the latter to invite Anwar as well.

Sapura Energy, a Sapura Group subsidiary, lost RM8.9 billion last year and has been in the red since 2019. Three of its subsidiaries are also in the process of winding up.

Following Najib’s original proposal for the government to intervene by giving low-interest loans or loan guarantees to the O&G service provider to fix its cash flow concerns, Najib and Rafizi have been at odds.

Najib said Putrajaya may instruct Petronas or Khazanah Nasional Bhd to take over ownership of Sapura Energy, adding that Petronas still needs Sapura Energy’s services for its projects.

Rafizi said this will benefit only a “handful of elites”, adding that the money used to bail out the ailing O&G firm can be put to better use to serve Malaysians. – April 5, 2022.