KUCHING: The factor that unites Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Democratic Action Party (DAP) no longer exists and they now do not have any common goal to move forward, says a political commentator.
Prof Dr Jayum Jawan said Pakatan Harapan (PH) was a loose coalition of political parties that was never really a serious political block.
“It emerged as an informal group entering the 2018 general election with the sole purpose of dislodging Barisan Nasional (BN), but beyond that, they do not share any ideological foundation.
“PH is not a political block that has been well received in Sarawak. DAP knows this and if they were to accept the PH logo going into the election, Sarawak DAP will be thrashed in the upcoming general election and state election.
“The opinion on logo is a small matter, they overcame this in 2018 when all were using PKR logo going into the 2018 general election. Why is it becoming an issue now?
“If PH is an officially registered coalition like Alliance and BN, then it is logical that they should use a common logo, including in Sabah and Sarawak,” he said on Monday (Sept 6).
Prof Jayum pointed out that the absence of a common logo would invite more questions than DAP and other PH parties could answer.
“In Sabah and Sarawak, PKR is not well received. That could perhaps be the reason why DAP want to distance its Sabah and Sarawak chapters from PH and PKR.”
It was recently reported that PKR president Anwar Ibrahim and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had differing views on PH component parties in Sabah and Sarawak using their own logos instead of that of the coalition.
While Lim is of the opinion that PH parties in Sabah and Sarawak are not required to use the official coalition logo in the next general election, Anwar on the other hand said a common logo was needed so that voters would not be confused.
