KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 — PAS is prepared to contest future elections under its own moon symbol if Perikatan Nasional (PN) is unable to use its coalition logo, party vice-president Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said.
Mohd Amar said PAS was sufficiently well known among voters for a change of electoral symbol not to pose a problem, pointing to recognition of the party in recent state elections.
“In my observation, under the current political situation, it does not matter which logo we use because people already know PAS. In the past, people did not,” he was quoted as saying by Utusan Malaysia.
“With what happened in Johor and Negeri Sembilan, it can be said that even Umno supporters recognise PAS.”
He was speaking after a Friday morning religious lecture at Dataran Ilmu Kelantan in Kota Bharu today, in response to the Registrar of Societies’ (RoS) suspension of all PN activities.
The suspension took effect on September 23 as RoS considers a complaint lodged by Parti. Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, one of PN’s component parties. RoS has said the notice issued to the coalition was not a decision to cancel its registration.
Mohd Amar said that if PAS was unable to use the PN logo, reverting to its traditional moon symbol would not pose a problem.
“That is the view of some quarters, and they can say whatever they want. However, PAS has its own considerations. That is why I said from the beginning that there would be no problem if PAS had to use the moon symbol, as it did previously.
“In fact, if circumstances mean that we cannot use the PN logo, then we will use the moon symbol because that is our symbol,” he said.
Mohd Amar also suggested that PAS could attract support from some Barisan Nasional (BN) voters in contests where the two sides did not face each other directly.
“Based on my observation, BN members and supporters actually prefer the moon symbol. In fact, we can see that the BN leadership itself is more comfortable with PAS than with PN,” he said.
“One of the reasons is that Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) is in PN, and the majority of Umno and BN members cannot accept Bersatu.”
Mohd Amar did not cite polling or other data to support his assessment of BN and Umno voter sentiment.
He also did not dismiss suggestions that PAS was increasingly capable of operating independently, following the growing profile of its non-Muslim supporters’ wing, the PAS Supporters’ Assembly (DHPP), at the party’s recent 72nd muktamar.
He nevertheless said PAS would make its own calculations over any future electoral arrangement.
PN has said it is taking legal action to challenge the RoS suspension. The Election Commission, meanwhile, has said it had yet to receive formal notice from RoS and that questions over PN’s participation in the coming Melaka state election would be considered at its special meeting on the polls.
