PARTI Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has dismissed calls to contest under a local symbol in the upcoming Sabah elections.
Razeef Rakimin, the party’s deputy information chief, stated that PKR would use either its own symbol or the Pakatan Harapan (PH) logo. However, PKR will not insist that other PH component parties do the same.
Razeef, who also serves as the Sabah PKR spokesperson, made this clarification in response to misleading reports regarding Sabah PH chairman Datuk Christina Liew’s recent remarks.
"Some media outlets have misinterpreted Liew’s statements, implying that PKR might use the GRS logo, which is incorrect. What she meant was that we will either use the PKR or PH logo, but we’re open to allies using a local symbol,” he explained in Kota Kinabalu today.
While PKR prefers to contest under a national logo, Razeef emphasised that the party would not prevent other PH members from using a local emblem, as seen in the 2020 state election when parties like DAP contested under the Warisan logo.
However, the final decision on this matter has yet to be made by PH partners.
Razeef’s remarks also followed suggestions by GRS deputy chairmen Datuk Seri Jeffrey Kitingan and Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia that PH should contest under a single logo, and that GRS should contest independently in Sabah’s elections. He clarified that these were personal opinions and not the official stance of GRS.
In response to calls for national parties to stay out of the state elections, Razeef argued that this does not apply to PKR, which he described as a national party involved in key Sabah issues, such as the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) and the push for a third representation in Parliament alongside Sarawak.
“A national party should not be labelled as peninsula-based. We represent all Malaysians, and our Sabah PKR leaders are from Sabah,” he said. – September 7, 2024.
