Wednesday, January 28, 2015

PAS challenges DAP to debate over local council polls

PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali has challenged Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to a debate over the party and DAP’s dispute concerning local council elections.

Accusing Lim of spewing “half-truths, Mustafa said, contrary to Lim’s allegations, PAS was never consulted on local council elections in Penang before it was tabled in the state assembly in May 2012.

“It was wrong for him to say that we agreed to their proposal. This goes to show that he is 'celupar' (a loose cannon),” he told a press conference at PAS’ headquarters, Wednesday.

Lim is reported to have said he had called both PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and Mustafa before Penang pushed for the implementation of council elections.

Denying this, Mustafa said PAS was only consulted after the enactment was tabled via a phone call from Lim.

“He then asked me to give positive comments to the press because he said DAP has been pressured by NGOs to fulfil their election promises by pushing for the third vote.

“All I said was, ‘God willing’. But this did not mean that PAS supported their proposal,” he said.

Mustafa said it was not fair for Lim to have labelled him dishonest and warned him to be mindful of his words.

He added that PAS had consulted DAP on the proposed implementation of hudud in Kelantan before the party joined a special committee to study the implementation of the syariah criminal law.

“Is it fair for me to say that Lim or DAP had agreed to hudud because they had no problem with us joining the committee? Of course not.

Mustafa added that it was better for both he and Lim to face each other in an open debate “to find out the truth”.
“Let’s determine who is telling the truth, who isn’t. As for me, I am responsible for my statement,” he said.

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