KUALA LUMPUR: PAS assistant secretary-general Mohd Syahir Sulaiman has accepted a debate invitation from PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli.

Syahir had initially declined Rafizi's challenge to a debate on the economy, but the Bachok MP said he was willing to debate after receiving permission from the party leadership.

So I leave the choice of date, moderator, format and media to Rafizi. As for the choice of title, I suggest "Malaysia Lebih Baik", he said in an e-mail to Rafizi on Tuesday.

In an emailed reply to Syahir, Rafizi expressed his appreciation for his acceptance of the debate, said Mohd Rashidi Ruslan, the Senior Private Secretary to the Economy Minister.

"We propose that Astro AWANI be appointed as a neutral party to organise the debate and that the debate be held on Wednesday, 9 August or any other date prior to the polling for the state election on 12 August."

"Discussions on the date and format of the debate will be led by Astro AWANI and mutually agreed upon by both parties," he added.

"Hopefully, the debate will succeed in celebrating differences of opinion and ideas and can be used as a tool to cultivate a mature democracy in this country," Rafizi said.

Earlier, Rafizi challenged former International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali to a debate on Malaysia's economy.

Rafizi said the debate challenge was to prove that Mohamed Azmin's record when he was Senior Minister of International Trade and Industry was better than the current Unity government.

However, the Selangor Perikatan Nasional chairman said he would debate Rafizi on the condition that Rafizi first prove that he had implemented policies to boost the nation's economy.

Rafizi then invited Kedah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor to replace Azmin in discussing the country's economic problems, but Sanusi also declined the invitation.

The Pandan MP then extended the invitation to Syahir.