PETALING JAYA – Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has agreed to a debate with Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim on the decline on Malaysian football and who is responsible for it.
“I’m not sure if it will benefit football or not, but I accept. If not, people will say I do not want to confront (him),” said Khairy at a press conference on Wednesday to the royal suggestion for a debate on the issue.
Khairy said that he accepts the challenge and is ready to express his views on football in Malaysia.
“I accept the challenge to attend and say what has to be said,'” he said.
On Tuesday, Tunku Ismail had called for a debate between himself, a representative from the Football Association of Malaysia, Khairy, national coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee, National Football Development Plan project director Lim Teong Kim and former Malaysian coach B. Sathianathan.
“Let’s do it for our football fans. Their voices should be our priority because we serve them and they have the right to know the truth about what is the actual problem facing Malaysian football,” he said in a statement on the Johor Southern Tigers Facebook page.
