Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today called off a press conference when reporters persisted on getting his response as the DAP secretary-general to a PAS challenge to him to debate on the issue of local council elections.

The press conference was held after Lim had launched the Penang Science Café here.

Reporters had asked Lim several times for his response to the challenge by PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali for the debate on the issue of local council elections, and Lim kept repeating “is there any other question?”
 
When reporters persisted, Lim ended the press conference with a “thank you”. Subsequently, he spoke on other matters, among them the impact of the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Mustafa (left) had reportedly challenged Lim for the debate. The PAS leader had last Wednesday ticked off Lim for having allegedly said that he (Mustafa) was for local government elections when it was not the case.

Prior to this, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang had reportedly said that local government elections championed by the DAP could lead to a widening of the economic gap between the haves and have-nots and might trigger a repeat of the May 13 racial clash of 1969.

DAP organising secretary Loke Siew Fook issued a statement on Thursday questioning whether Mustafa was trying to burn bridges with the DAP by challenging Lim to a debate.  

He also said that Mustafa’s challenge was tantamount to treating the DAP as a political enemy, and added that Mustafa had never done this with political rival Umno.

The Federal Court had ruled in August last year that the Penang government did not have the powers to hold local government elections.

- Bernama