KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 ― DAP confirmed today that it would not be using its “rocket” logo in peninsular Malaysia for the 14th general election, a first since its formation.
Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the DAP agreed to “sacrifice” its logo for a common one to be used by all Pakatan Harapan (PH) component parties in their bid to wrest Putrajaya from the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
“This is not an easy decision for us to make,” he said.
However, the Bagan MP added that Sabah and Sarawak DAP will have autonomy to decide whether they will use the “rocket” on its ballot papers for the elections or otherwise.
Lim admitted that the move will have an impact on DAP grassroots and supporters, but said that using a common logo is crucial for voters to draw a clear distinction between PH and BN.
“Since the Registrar of Societies refused to register us, we have no choice. It is important that we use the same logo,” he said, adding that it would help voters see that PH components were all “on the same team”.
PH chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will announce the common logo choice tomorrow during an event in Johor.
It is expected that the common logo would be that of PKR.
The DAP’s red, blue and white “rocket” logo was designed by the party’s founding secretary-general, Goh Hock Guan, who died a week ago on March 29 at age 83.
Goh designed the logo with four boosters to signify the Malays, Indians, Chinese and the people of Sabah and Sarawak.
