PN logo 'confusing', use PAS' 'clean' moon, says spiritual adviser on GE15

PAS spiritual adviser Hashim Jasin has backed calls for the party to return to using its moon logo in the next general election.

This is as the moon symbol was known to be clean, and thus can give the party’s candidates a better chance at winning, he said.

PAS had used the Perikatan Nasional (PN) logo during the Malacca and Johor state elections.

In Malacca, it failed to win any of the eight seats it contested but kept all its deposits. In comparison, PAS lost deposits in the 10 state seats it contested in Malacca during the 2018 general election.

While PAS lost the Bukit Pasir seat in the Johor polls, it managed to recapture the urban Maharani seat it lost to Amanah in 2018.

Despite this, Hashim said many voters were confused by the PN logo.

“(When we used) PN’s logo, some were confused when they thought it was the BN logo,” he was quoted as saying by Utusan Malaysia today.

The PN logo has the words Perikatan Nasional on it, while BN has been using its iconic ‘dacing’ (scales) symbol since the 1970s. 

Both, however, have a blue background albeit with different shades. But all logos on ballot papers are in black and white.

Regardless of his opinion, Hashim said it would be up to PN’s presidential council which logos should be used in the 15th general election.

Previously, Utusan reported PAS strategist Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki as saying the party should be given leeway to use its logo in its strongholds or seats it has the potential of flipping, especially on the east coast.

Asked about Zuhdi's suggestion today, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said it was a personal opinion and that "currently", the party was still using the PN logo.

PAS is not the only party to have blamed its electoral fortunes on logos.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad-led party, Pejuang, which lost all its 42 deposits in the Johor elections, also claimed it performed poorly due to its logo not being recognisable to many.

BN has dominated in recent elections, but the reality is that the split in opposition votes by multiple parties was a major factor in its victory, allowing the coalition to win seats and form super majorities without crossing the 50 percent popular vote threshold under the first-past-the-post electoral system. - Mkini