Pakatan candidates in Kedah and Terengganu may fare better with BN logo, says party leader
KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) grassroots leaders believe that using Barisan Nasional’s (BN) “dacing” logo in the Kelantan and Terengganu state polls could give them a slight advantage, reports The Malaysian Insight.
The two states have a Malay majority and are traditional battlegrounds for Umno and PAS, so voters are more familiar with the logos of the two parties, whereas PH’s parties tend to struggle in these states.
Kedah DAP vice-chairman Zulhazmi Shariff told the news portal that it was reasonable to use the BN logo since the east coast had about 80 to 85 per cent Malay-majority areas.
“There is a long history between BN and PAS, but PH also can win, maybe in one or two places, not many.
“For the state elections in these states, personally I have no problem using the BN logo because we know in Terengganu and Kelantan, if it is not PAS, then it is Umno... and this is not new,” he was quoted as saying.
Zulhazmi said that for PAS-held Kedah, there needs to be more study on the ground, given the differences in voting patterns and voter demographics.
“In this state, if we look at the breakdown statistics and population patterns, PH is more dominant than BN. We have to review the statistics further so that we can make a decision whether to use one logo or two logos, PH or BN,” he said.
Zulhazmi was DAP’s sole candidate in Kedah in the last general election, contesting and losing the Jerai parliamentary seat. He said it would be more beneficial for Umno or BN to contest under the PH logo there.
“If you ask me personally, in Kedah, if Umno or BN contests on the PH logo, it would be better,” he said.
Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah are all strongholds of PAS. They will have to hold their state elections by September, along with Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, which are currently held by PH.
He said that the answer as to which logo was clearer in states like Kelantan where the Malay sentiment was strong, but Kedah, Perlis, and Perak were relatively moderate, so voter sentiment has to be taken seriously.
“Umno has been around longer in Kelantan and almost won 22 seats in 2004, so that factor may be a strength. I think maybe Umno can use the Umno logo; PH can use the PH logo,” he said.
“But in Negeri Sembilan, if we say the unity government is strong because there is no Opposition, whose logo do we use then? We have to look into the matter in detail. The wrong strategy could cause us to lose our seats,” he said, adding that both parties will have to come to an agreement.
Ampang PKR chief Syed Ahmad Syed Abdul Rahman Alhadad said the logo issue would be fine-tuned by the leadership but insisted on PH candidates using the coalition’s logo in Selangor.
“For Selangor, it is not logical for PH to use a different logo but for other states I am not sure.
“But based on the data at the grassroots (in Selangor), it is not appropriate to use any logo other than the PH logo,” he said.
Meanwhile, Amanah vice-president Adly Zahary said that they will be looking at all possibilities, but the crucial matter was that the parties must agree.
“There are many suggestions; we will take all the possibilities into account. The most important thing is we want to show we agree and have credibility,” he said.
BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had previously said that on May 11 said the coalition’s candidates would use the BN’s logo in the elections but had yet to decide whether it would allow its allies in the unity government to contest using the “dacing” symbol in the state polls.
