PETALING JAYA: The flip-flop by PAS over the use of its logo for the next general election may not help appease its grassroots and voters, say analysts.
Azmi Hassan, a senior fellow at Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, said recent contradictory remarks by several PAS leaders over the issue showed that the party was trying to appease its grassroots while seeking to remain part of the Perikatan Nasional federal administration.
“PAS learned from their losses in the Melaka and Johor state polls when relying on the Perikatan logo.
“They are now looking at using their own logo for the east-coast states to appease their grassroots, while at the same time using a new logo in the west coast states to remain part of the federal coalition. This may not bode well for PAS,” he said.
Azmi said this strategy might result in PAS being punished by the grassroots for their “opportunistic approach”.
“Their leaders will be seen as compromising on the principles of the party,” he added.
He said a similar approach was taken by Pakatan Harapan in the recent Johor polls where PKR insisted on using its party logo, resulting in a heavy defeat.
The danger in this approach, he added, was that PAS might find itself isolated as the Muafakat Nasional pact inked with Umno in September 2019 was as good as dead.
“Even DAP and Parti Amanah Negara said they will not work with PAS under a Big Tent approach,” he said.
On Saturday, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said PAS was considering using a new logo and “will not use Perikatan or PAS flags” in the national polls.
Hadi’s statement comes in the wake of differences among PAS leaders over the use of their logo in the general election.
Earlier, Perikatan chairman and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Bersatu and PAS would use the Perikatan logo in the general election.
International Islamic University Malaysia’s constitutional and administrative law lecturer Prof Dr Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmod said the PAS leadership was worried over the backlash it would face from supporters if it went ahead using a different logo in the coming polls.
“Branding is important.
“The moon logo is safer in the east coast states because PAS will face a backlash if other logos are used by the party there,” he said.
He added that it would also be more acceptable if a common logo was used by a friendly coalition on the west coast of the peninsula during the polls.
“This balancing act is crucial now that Umno is no longer supportive of PAS and Bersatu,” he said.
Although still reliant on Perikatan, he said PAS was also looking at the possibility of heading into the polls on its own.
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s political science expert, Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian, said PAS was currently caught in a bind over the logo issue due to its reliance on the Perikatan administration.
“PAS should stick to using its own logo as using any other logo may send the wrong signal to its supporters,” he said.
