Johor polls: Amanah, DAP respect PKR's decision to use own logo

KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) and DAP will respect PKR's decision to use its own logo in the upcoming Johor state election despite having differences on the matter.

In a joint statement issued today, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said both parties will continue to work with PKR and other opposition parties, including MUDA, to offer a united front in the snap polls.

"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.

"Both Amanah and DAP are of the opinion that political allies and coalition partners stay together in good times, and in bad times," the statement, uploaded on Guan Eng's Facebook account, read.

Both leaders said Pakatan Harapan had made a decision to use a common logo in April 2018 after many rounds of tremendously difficult negotiations.

They said PH had contested the 14th general election (GE14) using the PKR logo, and upon winning that election, PH became a registered entity with an approved logo.

"In fact, in returning to the political arena, PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim adopted the PH logo to win the Port Dickson by-election in October 2018," they said.

Both leaders said only PH component parties in Sabah and Sarawak were exempted from using the coalition logo out of respect to the special status and powers of autonomy of the two Borneo states.

Mohamad Sabu and Guan Eng said Opposition parties are expecting an uphill battle ahead from UMNO and Perikatan Nasional in the state election and shared the view that having a common logo would have helped voters identify PH as a strong coalition.

They said both Amanah and DAP will not abandon the coalition logo which would have been perceived as abandoning its efforts to form the federal government.

Yesterday, Anwar said the PH presidential council had agreed to allow PKR to use its own logo in the Johor election while Amanah and DAP would contest under the PH banner.

-- BERNAMA