A DAP leader has claimed that race was not a factor in the decision to name Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Dr Wan Azizah as advisers of Pakatan Harapan.

The party's acting chairperson Tan Kok Wai was responding to a question on why DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang was not named as an adviser as well.

This is after DAP and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) appeared to have differing views on whether Harapan should be a Malay-led coalition.

"This (race factor) is not our consideration. This has nothing to do with Malay(-led) or not," Tan told Malaysiakini.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin had urged a Malay-led coalition, but DAP's organising secretary Anthony Loke said Malaysians do not want another Umno dominating Harapan.

Harapan has decided to form an 18-member pro-tem committee and to register the coalition with the Registrar of Societies (ROS).

Meanwhile, Tan said the decision to name the two doctors was motivated by respect for Mahathir and Wan Azizah, and the coalition would still operate on the platform of consensus.

He said DAP did not raise the issue of Lim, who has been involved in politics for more than five decades, to be accorded the same status as Mahathir and Wan Azizah during the Harapan presidential meeting.

"We do not care about titles. We did not ask for anything," he added.

Tan also clarified that the pro-tem committee advisers would have no power to issue orders to other component parties.

"There is no big or small brother in Harapan, we make decision and policy in consensus," he added.

Malaysiakini had contacted Lim, but the DAP leader declined to comment on this matter.

Meanwhile, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution said a technical committee was tasked to handle Harapan's registration and common logo.

He said the committee would call for a meeting and collect the list of 16 candidates from four parties.

The whole process, he added, would need to take some time before the coalition can submit its registration application to the ROS.