PETALING JAYA: The Registrar of Societies (RoS) says it will consider all aspects when approving political parties with similar names to avoid confusion.
Its director-general, Datuk Mohd Zulfikar Ahmad, said they would evaluate the entire proposed name and the use of general or common words for parties, reports Sinar Harian.
"For example, the use of the words 'Wawasan', 'United' or other general terms does not necessarily cause an application to be rejected if, in the opinion of the registrar, it is not confused with any organisation or political party that is already registered.
"In the context of registered political parties, there are those that use similar words, such as Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Bersatu Sasa Malaysia (Bersama) and Parti Bersama Malaysia," he said on Tuesday (June 16).
"Each party has a different identity, flags, abbreviation, logo, symbol and identifying features so that they can be clearly distinguished.
"The significant differences in these elements are among the factors that can help avoid confusion among the public," he said.
"The RoS takes into account the overall identity of the proposed party and will continue to carry out its responsibilities professionally, transparently and fairly in considering each application," he added.
Mohd Zulfikar also said that RoS has received an application from Parti Sedar Rakyat Sarawak (Sedar) to change its name to Parti Wawasan Rakyat and is currently being reviewed.
He added that RoS has yet to receive any official application for the formation of a new political party using the name Parti Wawasan Negara.
It has been previously reported that Sedar has approved an amendment during an annual congress in February to change its name.
This could potentially create an issue of overlapping names with the new party founded by Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, Parti Wawasan Negara.
Mohd Zulfikar also said that RoS has not received any name change application from Parti Cinta Malaysia.
This follows claims that Hamzah would take over the party, but declined to comment further on the matter when asked by reporters.
