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This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 30, 2018 - May 6, 2018

Six months ago, few Malaysians would have imagined that the four parties in the Pakatan Harapan opposition pact would use a common logo for the 14th general election. The Registrar of Societies (RoS) showed no urgency in registering the pact as an alliance, and the common view was that there was little chance of the official Pakatan logo being approved in time for the 14th general election.

Even in late February, when Pakatan chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that one common symbol would be used, many were sceptical it would happen. He indicated the pact could adopt the logo of one of the component parties.

The common logo idea suddenly gained momentum when the RoS issued a provisional deregistration order against Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) — the Pakatan component party led by Mahathir — on technical grounds. This happened on April 5, just two days before parliament was dissolved to pave the way for GE14.

The Pakatan parties immediately agreed to use the PKR logo as the pact’s common symbol. The RoS decision, thus, may have unwittingly led to them agreeing to do something they had been somewhat hesitant about previously.

Indeed, the general perception is that Pakatan has been forced to use the PKR logo because of the RoS action, say political analysts, contrary to the views of some who think it is a strategic move to gain more support, especially among Malay voters.

Universiti Malaya professor Edmund Terence Gomez says the RoS action in allegedly punishing Mahathir’s party at the eleventh hour may backfire on the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. This is because voters would believe that Pakatan is being forced to use a component party’s logo because the registrar prevented the pact from using its own official logo. Pakatan is made up of PPBM, PKR, DAP and Parti Amanah Negara.

“The voters know it is not like Mahathir or DAP wanted to use the PKR logo,” Gomez tells The Edge.

“Not allowing Pakatan Harapan to have its own logo is a mistake. “[This is] just like having Wednesday as the polling day ... there was a backlash, resulting in the prime minister having to declare it a public holiday.”

Political analyst Wong Chin Huat says Pakatan will clearly gain from using a common logo as it signifies the coalition’s unity. “Parti Amanah Negara’s logo, for instance, has only been used in two by-elections, and is not well-known. Adopting a common logo brings more pros than cons for the party. Since BN always attacks the opposition for lacking cohesion, a common logo is a straightforward rebuttal of such attacks.”

Gomez says a common symbol can also help to overcome resistance in certain constituencies. For instance, DAP’s rocket symbol is not well accepted in some Malay areas, while PPBM’s bunga raya may be shunned by some non-Malays, he explains.

“With the de-registration of PPBM making it necessary to use the PKR symbol, there is no better symbolism of the Mahathir-Anwar reconciliation than Mahathir and his party using the logo of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s party.”

Gomez, however, thinks it would be better for Pakatan to have its own official logo while allowing member parties to retain their individual logos, like in the case with BN.

“Now, there are some PKR people who are not happy with Mahathir. We cannot blame them because PKR was an offshoot of reformasi (the reformation movement in 1998). We should blame the RoS, which should have been fair and let them use the Pakatan logo,” he says.

Of the Pakatan parties, DAP will probably have to work the hardest to reach out to voters to explain the move, given that it has been using the rocket for half a century.

Nonetheless, Wong says the party will be able to overcome the cognitive and sentimental challenge. “DAP is very good at pre-election rallies. As the PKR logo is not new, it will not be tough for DAP to ride on that. The de-registration of PPBM makes the case of a common logo much stronger. So far among the prominent leaders, only a dropped incumbent MP has voiced his objection, and he did so after he was dropped,” he says.

Gomez says the DAP’s decision to drop the rocket logo will not translate into higher support for BN from the Chinese community.

“The situation now is so bad I can’t see the Chinese voting for BN because of the logo issue. In fact, it will only make them (Chinese) more angry, because this is so unfair,” he says.

Asia Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) senior adviser on international affairs Dr Oh Ei Sun says it does not matter to voters whether Pakatan component parties use a common symbol or their own symbol.

“This has proven to be a non-issue in GE13, where (the then) Pakatan Rakyat won more than half the popular votes. In addition, in any one seat, there is only one Pakatan candidate and voters would know his party symbol, whether separate or common,” Oh says when contacted.

“I think by now, 20 years after PKR’s formation, voters would know its symbol well. And they understand the difficult circumstances that led to its choice as the common logo.

“There are only a few DAP diehards who are still holding out against the party not using the rocket symbol. Most should understand it is for the greater purpose of winning the GE14 for PH,” he adds.

Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, an analyst at advisory firm Bower Group Asia, cautions that there may be some confusion in rural electoral seats over Pakatan’s use of a common logo.

“I think the common logo is good for unifying the opposition parties but it will not be straightforward in the rural seats. Urban voters will be more knowledgeable because they have greater access to opposition machinery and there is unlikely to be any confusion on polling day,” he says.

“The rural electorate, however, may not be as well equipped in terms of access to social media and the opposition grassroots machinery in rural areas is still very much limited. Confusion may arise on polling day when Malay voters who are expecting PPBM’s logo see PKR’s logo instead,” he says.

Asrul Hadi says some DAP supporters have still not yet warmed up to Mahathir as the opposition leader and the move to drop the rocket symbol may further dampen their spirits.

“In the grand scheme of things, the impact may be minimal but it could make a difference in a tightly contested election,” he says.

The DAP candidate for the Segambut parliamentary seat, Hannah Yeoh, says it is hard to gauge the impact of the common logo decision for now.

“At the moment, the ground is untested simply because it is the first time the opposition coalition is doing this. I don’t think any analyst can actually predict the impact of this because the sentiment out there is very much split,” she tells The Edge.

“But for now, generally, when we go to the ground in a place like Segambut, anti-government sentiment is very strong, so it is not about using PKR’s logo or the rocket logo. The sentiment is like 2008 for me,” she says. In 2008, BN lost its two-third supermajority for the first time since the 1969 election, and five of 12 state legislatures went to the opposition.

Yeoh says her team does not see any major objection from its supporters.

“For us (DAP), it is a matter of educating our voters that when you support the rocket, you choose the PKR logo. I am quite sure we can do this before the polling date, simply because this time, the opposition coalition is very united and organised,” she says.

Datuk Mahfuz Omar, Parti Amanah’s candidate for the Pokok Sena parliamentary seat, says using a common logo will actually make things easier for Pakatan supporters.

“Using a common logo has absolutely no disadvantage. The move also helps in developing a two-party-system. At the same time, it shows unity within the coalition,” he says when contacted.

“For Amanah, we have totally no issues with it, and everyone in the party has accepted that we will contest using the common logo. For DAP, perhaps the leaders have to go down to the ground and communicate with the rakyat the rationale for using PKR’s logo.”

Former Bersih 2.0 chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah, who will be contesting under the PKR ticket for the Petaling Jaya parliamentary seat, says voters’ reaction to the PKR logo have been positive so far.

“Of course there is some confusion, but it is a matter of raising their awareness. When I go to the ground, the people’s reaction on the use of the PKR logo is good, it is not adverse. They do welcome it,” she says.

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