IMMEDIATE REPRIEVE FOR MELAKA POLLS
The High Court’s decision has temporarily lifted the threat of the PN losing its common electoral symbol ahead of the Melaka state election on Nov 14.
PN chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, who is also PAS vice-president, welcomed the ruling as a positive development in the coalition’s efforts to “defend its rights through legal channels”.
“All election machinery must now focus on the Melaka state polls … Strengthen preparations, enhance cooperation and present the best possible offer to the people. We will continue moving forward,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
Analyst Adib Zalkapli, managing director of Viewfinder Global Affairs, said losing PN’s “recognisable and popular electoral symbol” would have been a “setback” for its component parties, particularly given the coalition’s appeal among Malay-Muslim voters.
“The PN brand has been useful especially in the more multiracial west coast of the peninsula,” Adib told CNA.
Melaka is located on Peninsular Malaysia’s west coast, where the PN brand is stronger than that of PAS, according to Syaza of IIUM.
“This (court decision) is good for PAS and friends except Bersatu in Melaka because they can use PN’s logo,” she told CNA.
In the 2021 Melaka state polls, PN won two seats, both through Bersatu. PAS failed to win any of the seats it contested under the coalition banner.
University Malaya political analyst Awang Azman Awang Pawi said losing the common logo would have affected “campaign consistency, coordination of electoral machinery and the clarity of candidates’ political identities, particularly among undecided voters”.
