Stick to your own symbol for GE15, PBS urged

 

PBS must be careful about standing on a banner other than its own, says political analyst Azmi Hassan. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: A political analyst feels it is unwise for Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) to contest using the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) banner in the coming general election (GE15).

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said PBS should play to its strengths and wait for GRS to finalise seat distribution with Barisan Nasional before deciding to use its logo.

“Strategically, it is unwise to (accept) GRS’ logo before finding out the seats it will get, especially since there are only 25 parliamentary seats to be divided between GRS and BN,” he told FMT.

He added that PBS should follow the PAS stand that it will use its own symbol in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu despite being part of the Perikatan Nasional coalition.

“PAS knows its logo is well known among voters in those states. So PBS should follow suit considering it did quite well in the state election,” he said.

In the 2020 Sabah election PBS used its own emblem for the first time in 16 years, going on to win seven seats.

Yesterday, party president Maximus Ongkili said the decision to use the GRS logo was jointly made by the coalition’s component parties including PBS.

This although seat distribution among GRS and BN component parties for GE15 had yet to be finalised, he added.

James Chin of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute said the move to contest under GRS’ banner was “not surprising”, claiming PBS was trying to emulate Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).

“They are sort of looking at GPS as the unofficial model. They want to build a powerful Sabah bloc so they can get maximum concessions from Kuala Lumpur,” he said.

He pointed out that GPS comprised exclusively Sarawak-based parties that contest using a common logo.

Asked if this would affect voters in Sabah, Chin said it would in the short term because some older voters, who may be illiterate, look for the symbol when casting their vote.

However, he said he did not foresee any long-term consequences.

Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said while the PBS logo is popular in Sabah, it still won handsomely when it contested under BN’s banner in 2018.

“So, there shouldn’t be a big problem familiarising its supporters with the new logo,” he said. - FMT