After the late-night meeting with DAP elected representatives over the controversial move to include khat (Jawi calligraphy) in the Bahasa Melayu syllabus for primary schools, party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng met with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad this morning.

This is the second meeting between the two over a period of 24 hours.

When contacted, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office confirmed the 8.45am meeting in Putrajaya.

"The prime minister meets his ministers on an individual basis from time to time, it is a normal meeting," the spokesperson told Malaysiakini.

In a Facebook post last night at 11.18pm, while the DAP meeting was ongoing, Lim said he had met with Mahathir and Education Minister Maszlee earlier on that day.

"I am listening to the views of party elected representatives, community activists and I have also met the prime minister and education minister today (Aug 5). Will issue a formal statement later," he added.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source, who was present at the meeting which ended close to 1am this morning, said Lim promised to convey the opinions raised to Mahathir and Maszlee.

"The secretary-general said he will bring all our opinions to the prime minister and education minister, and we hope to find the best solution," the source told Malaysiakini.

While DAP leaders remained tight-lipped on what transpired at the meeting, another source revealed that several options were discussed.

Among them, the source said, were to defer the implementation or making the introduction of khat optional.

Since Mahathir would be embarking on a two-day working visit to Japan tomorrow, Lim was pressed for time to meet the premier on this issue, which has left DAP in a bind.

Sources revealed that during the meeting at the DAP headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, those present took turns to voice their opinions on the matter.

The atmosphere, according to them, was not tense during the meeting, which was chaired by organising secretary Anthony Loke.

DAP international secretary Teo Nie Ching, who is also deputy education minister, had first explained the issue to those present before others were asked to share their thoughts.

Sources said Lim was the last to speak.

“Although there were differing opinions and ideas raised, there was no direct criticism towards Teo (in her capacity as deputy education minister),” added the sources.