PKR to drop Pakatan logo for state election

PETALING JAYA: PKR has decided not to use the Pakatan Harapan logo and will instead use its own symbol in the Johor election. DAP and Parti Amanah Negara, however, will continue to use the coalition’s logo, says Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“We have decided collectively that PKR will use its own logo while the others will use the Pakatan logo,” he said after chairing a Pakatan presidential council meeting here yesterday.

On seat negotiations, Anwar said Pakatan had decided to contest all 56 seats in Johor, though he did not reveal the breakdown of seats.

In a statement issued shortly after the meeting, the Pakatan presidential council said there was a “minor hiccup” regarding PKR’s decision to use its own logo.

“The presidential council agreed to respect PKR’s request to use its own logo,” it said.

The statement also said the Pakatan presidential council would continue discussions on seat negotiations with all opposition parties in the state, including the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda).

“This will strengthen the opposition’s efforts to win the election,” it added.

When contacted, Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said his party would focus on better public policies for Johor.

“People are more interested to hear about policies, reforms and charting the way forward to make Johor a fully developed state which embraces diversity and moderation over ‘who will contest’ and ‘political strategies’.

“Muda will focus on that first,” he said in a text message to The Star.

Meanwhile, Parti Warisan seems to have cut off any talk of cooperating with Pakatan, saying it is not keen to work with opposition parties other than Muda in the Johor election or in subsequent elections.

However, Warisan president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said in Kota Kinabalu that there had been no discussions yet with Syed Saddiq.

He was responding to Anwar’s plan to work with other opposition parties such as Warisan, Muda and Pejuang to take on Barisan in Johor.

Shafie said an announcement would be made in Johor next month, but did not want to reveal the details yet.

“Warisan needs to study the sentiments in Johor before any decision is made,” he added.

Pejuang will also join the fray in Johor, saying it would contest 42 out of the 56 state seats.

Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia information chief Mohd Solihan Badri said the party would be contesting in almost all the 56 seats.

He added that seat negotiations with PAS and Gerakan were expected to be finalised soon.

Prior to the dissolution of the state assembly on Jan 22, Pakatan had 27 assemblymen – 14 from DAP, PKR (seven) and Amanah (six).

During the last general election in 2018, DAP contested 14 seats, while Amanah and PKR contested 12 respectively, while its former ally Bersatu contested 18.