IPOH – With a day left before polling, some Pakatan Harapan (PH) insiders are hoping voters will know the right box to tick and not be confused by the different logos used in the coalition’s campaign for the 15th general election (GE15).
This is because PKR deputy president and election director Rafizi Ramli had employed the use of PKR’s light blue colour and logo in campaign materials, even though PH is using red and its upward arrow logo.
Supposedly to differentiate PKR candidates from the rest of the PH lineup, Rafizi’s strategy has drawn concern from coalition insiders that it could confuse votes and disrupt campaign momentum.
The perception is also that Rafizi is giving more attention to his Ayuh Malaysia initiative than to PH’s Jelajah Harapan brand, garnering confusing feedback from the coalition’s machinery, candidates, and voters, PH sources said.
PH’s red or PKR’s blue?
Heading into the election, PH secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had announced on October 20 that the coalition will use its red and arrow logo.
For uniformity and easy recognition, as well as prudent election budgeting, all campaign materials for PH were to be printed with the common logo and colour.
However, PH insiders told The Vibes that Rafizi had also insisted on utilising PKR’s own light blue colour in campaign materials.
The light blue materials were deployed in tandem with the common PH campaign materials such as banners, posters, and flyers. However, the use of the PH logo remains for both sets of materials.
An example of how both sets are used is in Tambun, where materials with images of party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also bear PH’s common logo, and are put up or distributed along with PKR’s light blue campaign materials.
This has also been seen in other places where PKR candidates are contesting.
“Throughout the campaign period, quite a few voters have asked us about the two different colours of light blue and red, and whether there is any difference,” PH sources said.
“It is easy for us to explain that we are all from the same side, but should we be wasting time talking to voters about colours at this time?
“It is a trivial matter and hampers our momentum. The time we waste explaining symbols and colours is time lost convincing voters about what we can do for them.
“We don’t understand why he (Rafizi) came about this decision and how it will benefit us,’’ said one PH candidate who does not wish to be named.
The candidate also revealed that another PKR candidate had already printed their materials using the common PH logo, but was forced to print fresh materials due to Rafizi’s strategy.
“In the end, this person had to tumpang (ride on) on some of the other campaign billboards and posters and they did not want to overspend on a new set of materials.”
The source said that while candidates can accommodate PKR’s colour and logo in their PH materials, it results in time spent explaining the different sets of colours to voters.
In the 14th general election in 2018, PH, not a registered coalition at the time, had all its candidates use the PKR logo, except in Sarawak DAP, and subsequently won federal power.
Looking to replicate this effect, the coalition had opted to use the PKR logo in the Melaka election last year, but suffered a crushing defeat.
In the Johor election in March, PKR again opted to use its own logo, while other PH parties used the coalition’s logo. Again, PH suffered a huge defeat in the state polls.
Ayuh Malaysia or Jelajah Harapan?
Rafizi’s Ayuh Malaysia brand is meant as a grassroots initiative he developed along with PKR vice-president Nurul Izaah Anwar, even before Parliament was dissolved and the GE15 date announced.
The initiative was touted as a means to court fence-sitters by presenting the party’s progressive solutions for Malaysia’s social and economic challenges, and has garnered traction among long-time party supporters and Malaysian youth.
Some political observers also view it as a springboard for Rafizi’s return to mainstream politics after a hiatus.
However, there are concerns his insistence on utilising this platform well into the election period, instead of PH’s Jelajah Harapan, might split the coalition’s narrative.
“It’s fine and dandy for you to have your own brand or platform, but in terms of optics, people see this as two different sets of narratives and this could impede momentum for PH,’’ another coalition source said.
In all of Ayuh Malaysia’s campaign materials such as posters and even ceramah stages, PKR’s light blue colour is shown alongside a black and white PH logo.
Rafizi is also often seen in light blue capped with the red Harapan logo throughout his Ayuh Malaysia ceramah.
To be fair, he has also appeared at Jelajah Harapan ceramah.
But with the stakes so high in GE15, and with more parties contending to split the vote, his coalition comrades said a common identity and brand is crucial at this time.
“There needs to be uniformity heading into the elections. We can’t afford any confusion at this stage,” a PH source said. – The Vibes, November 17, 2022
