KOTA KINABALU: The youth wing of Upko, the only local based party in Sabah Pakatan Harapan, is pushing for the party to contest in the coming state election on its own logo.
Upko Youth secretary Rexie Gubat said that the youth wing fully supported the growing calls of the party divisions to use their own logo in the coming 17th State Election as a strategy to strengthen the party's identity in Sabah.
Gubat said the decision to support the grassroots call was in line with the aspirations of the people of Sabah on Wednesday (Sept 3).
"Upko is the only local party in Pakatan, so using our own logo is a good and practical step to strengthen the people's confidence that our struggle is centred on Sabah.
"Using our own logo also gives Upko political flexibility to speak out on issues of state rights," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
Gubat said that the use of the party logo will not affect Upko's strategic cooperation with partners in the federal unity government.
He said the use of the Upko logo itself would strengthen the party's support with the people.
“The use of the Upko logo is not misleading because this party is indeed well-known and increasingly trusted.
“A logo is an identity, and that identity carries a message. With the UPKO logo, the people know that this is the local party that will defend them in the State Legislative Assembly and in Parliament.
“We want to ensure that the voice of Sabah continues to be heard and respected,” said Gubat, who is the Ranau division deputy chief.
He said that Upko Youth was confident that by presenting its own identity while continuing to be part of the national coalition, the party is able to balance Sabah’s interests with its access to Putrajaya.
