KUALA LUMPUR – Acknowledging that differences exist within their Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, DAP and Amanah have wistfully expressed their “respect” for PKR’s decision to use its own party logo in the upcoming Johor election.
Nevertheless, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu said that their two parties will maintain the use of the PH logo to demonstrate their commitment towards governing together as a coalition in the future.
“As a coalition, Amanah and DAP would prefer all Pakatan Harapan allies to unite under the same symbol with a common purpose and a shared political agenda,” they said in a statement today.
“Both Amanah and DAP are of the opinion that political allies and coalition partners stay together in good times, and in bad times,” they added.
The three components and Bersatu, which has since left the fold, had decided in early 2018 after rounds of negotiation to use the common PH logo for the 14th general election in May that year. However, the PKR logo was used instead as they faced difficulty in getting the coalition registered.
PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also PH chairman, had yesterday said that PKR will run using its own logo while DAP and Amanah will contest under the PH banner. He said this while announcing that the components’ negotiations for all 56 state seats in Johor were finalised.
He said that this was the collective decision of the PH presidential council at its meeting held yesterday. The fourth component is Upko, which joined the coalition in August last year.
Emphasising that Amanah and DAP have no plans to abandon PH, Lim and Mohamad pointed out that the coalition still governs the states of Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan.
“For this reason, both Amanah and DAP will not abandon the coalition logo, which would have been perceived as abandoning our effort to regain the federal government for the rakyat,” the statement read.
“Upon winning the 2018 general election, Pakatan Harapan became a registered entity with an approved logo, of which PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim adopted when he contested successfully in the Port Dickson by-election in October 2018.
“Only PH state chapters in Sabah and Sarawak were exempted and had powers to decide on whether to use the party logo instead of the coalition logo, out of respect to the special status and powers of autonomy of these two Borneo states.”
Both Lim and Mohamad confirmed that their parties will still be engaging with PKR and other opposition parties, including Muda, in a bid to offer a united front with hopes to secure victory in the upcoming Johor polls.
Taking to Twitter yesterday evening, PKR’s Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad explained that PKR grassroots and supporters had overwhelmingly requested to use the party’s logo given it is associated with PH’s administration from 2018 to 2020.
Additionally, pointing towards the Melaka polls last year, in which PH performed badly, Nik Nazmi said the coalition logo did not really help it to win seats.
He said it has been argued that voters simply did not recognise the logo as well as the Barisan Nasional logo.
“The PKR logo was used by all parties in PH in the 14th general election with good results.
“Despite all the attacks against the party over the years, PH still managed to win in 2018 using PKR’s logo,” he said.
He also stressed that PH components have a history of being flexible with using logos, pointing towards PKR using its own logo during the Sg Kandis by-election in August 2018.
The Election Commission is expected to announce the dates for nomination and polling for the state assembly on February 9, after Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar assented to dissolving the assembly on January 22. – The Vibes, January 27, 2022
