The statement made by PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali about Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng regarding local government elections in the state are his personal views and do not represent the party, said PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu.

As such, he said Mustafa's statement had not affected the relationship between PAS and DAP in the Pakatan Rakyat (opposition coalition made up PAS, DAP and PKR).

"The statement is his (Mustafa's) own and not the party's stand because we (PAS leadership) have not discussed this matter (local government elections," Mohamad ( left )  told reporters when met on the sidelines of the 6th Penang International Halal Expo in George Town yesterday.

The expo was opened by Lim.

On Wednesday, Mustafa at a press conference had ticked off Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general, for saying that he (Mustafa) was for local government elections when it was not the case.

Prior to this, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang was reported to have said local government elections championed by the DAP could lead to a widening of the economic gap between the haves and have nots which might then lead to a repeat of the May 13 tragedy of 1969 (when racial clashes happened in the country).

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

Efforts to get further comments on the matter from Lim proved futile because the chief minister once again stated that there would not be any press conference coming from him today.

- Bernama