DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang is not on the same level as Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to debate with him, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak.

"Maybe Kit Siang has forgotten he is just a DAP parliamentary leader. He is not even the leader of Pakatan Harapan so that does not put him at the same level as the prime minister, who is the chairperson of BN.

"If Kit Siang is Pakatan Harapan's leader or the shadow prime minister then this gives him some leverage to demand that Najib debate him," he said in his blog posting.

Salleh also stressed that Kit Siang must first take over as Pakatan Harapan's leader from (PKR president) Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and officially announce he is Pakatan's shadow prime minister before challenging Najib to a debate.

Last Sunday, Kit Siang, in his blog, asked Najib for a debate and questioned the prime minister's refusal for a public debate.

- Bernama