After 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) executive director Arul Kanda's claim that the company is an "open book", it is now time for him to honour his offer made to DAP parliamentarian Tony Pua for an open dialogue.

"If Arul is truly sincere, and 1MDB is truly an 'open book', then he must honour his offer made earlier in January this year to hold a dialogue with me over 1MDB. 

"There’s no need to pretend to wait for the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)," said Pua, the Petaling Jaya Utara MP, in a statement today.

Arul on Wednesday night appeared on a TV3 interview to dispel "unjustified claims" against the company.

“For me, 1MDB is an open book with many investigations… We are the most investigated company in Malaysia," he was quoted saying.

Pua, however, said the 1MDB CEO was "completely insincere" with his claim of being an “open book”. 

"If he is really sincere about being an open book, there would have been a lot more clarity and factual information about 1MDB without having to await exposes by third party sources such as the Sarawak Report , The Edge or the Wall Street Journal .

"In fact there are so many simple questions that 1MDB has refused to answer in a straightforward and forthright manner," he said, querying whether it was true that 1MDB’s group debt had increased from RM42 billion to nearly RM50 billion or whether 1MDB had doctored its financial statements provided to the financing banks.

"Why can’t Arul answer these questions to allay the fears of the public [...]?

“Instead, all we get is a scripted television interview within the safe confines of Umno-owned TV3 in a futile attempt to redeem its own reputation," Pua said.

‘If right, why fear me?’

Meanwhile, Pua said since 1MDB's "battered image" was causing "serious negative consequences" to the country's currency and economy, Arul must therefore accept the open debate with him to answer the many pressing questions, all Malaysians and the international community are asking.

"If Arul is able to respond to the questions posed and successfully debunk all my allegations and criticisms, it will not only do 1MDB a whole load of good, it will go a long way towards halting the slide of the Malaysian currency, stock exchange and economy.

"Surely, Arul can’t be afraid of someone whom he claims got all his facts wrong?" asked Pua.

Arul, who is also 1MDB president, in January said he was willing to engage Pua in a dialogue to explain the allegations of financial misappropriation levelled against 1MDB.

The invitation was in response to Pua's challenge that 1MDB publicly shame those critics it claimed were ill-informed, after Arul claimed that most of the criticisms against the company were baseless.