GE14 | Parliament is widely expected to be dissolved this Friday, but the Pakatan Harapan presidential council meeting yesterday was still not able to decide on a common logo for all member parties to use in the coming general election.

This was in large part due to a lack of consensus within DAP on whether to contest under the PKR banner, which is now being touted as the coalition’s common logo.

DAP organising secretary Anthony Loke told Malaysiakini that the party’s position had always been to contest either under its own or with Harapan’s logo.

However, it is unlikely that the coalition will be able to use the Harapan logo, as the Registrar of Societies has refused to register the coalition, citing Bersatu’s uncertain status.

Pressure began to build on DAP in previous Harapan presidential council meetings after Bersatu, facing uncertainty over its own logo, agreed to contest under the PKR logo in the forthcoming 14th general election.

Amanah, a relatively new party, also agreed to do the same, leaving DAP as the only party in disagreement.

Several sources within the Harapan presidential council told Malaysiakini that they have asked DAP to come to a decision on the matter.

They said that DAP only discussed the matter internally, on the eve of yesterday’s Harapan presidential council meeting.

Key DAP leaders agreed on PKR logo, but...

On Monday night, the DAP central executive committee gathered at the party headquarters, but could not come to a decision on the use of a common logo for GE14.

Malaysiakini understands that key DAP leaders agreed on the use of the PKR logo, but they were not able to convince a number of other leaders on the CEC.

In the end, the CEC decided it needed one week to consult its grassroots members on the proposal.

The decision to seek further feedback meant that Harapan was unable to make an announcement on the common logo yesterday.

Loke (photo), when contacted, confirmed that DAP is seeking feedback on the issue.

“We need to consider the feedback from the grassroots and state levels. It cannot just be the opinion of central leaders,” he told Malaysiakini.

Loke believes that DAP will be able to come to a decision within a week, which will then help Harapan make an official announcement.

DAP’s concern is not without basis, as unlike Bersatu and Amanah, the ‘rocket’ logo has been around for a long time.

Last week, Malaysiakini conducted a survey in the DAP stronghold of Kepong, which has voted for the 'rocket' since 1982.

While the majority could recognise the PKR logo, a significant minority were still confused, with some thinking that it was a BN component party flag.

Harapan chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad had previously emphasised the importance of using a common logo for consistency.