It is the first time all major opposition parties have put forward a common election symbol in Peninsular Malaysia.
The decision to use PKR’s logo had been widely expected.
Mahathir’s PPBM was ruled out of electoral contention yesterday when the Registrar of Societies (RoS) ordered a one-month suspension of the party for alleged irregularities.
DAP has announced that it is “resting” its familiar rocket logo “so that the people will have a clear choice at the polls”. The orange logo of Amanah, the three-year old party formed by former PAS leaders, suffers from lack of public visibility.
PH had previously submitted a common logo in its attempt to register the coalition as a legal entity, but the application has yet to be approved by the RoS, who cited problems within PPBM.
Tonight’s decision will result in Mahathir, the opposition’s candidate for prime minister, standing as a PKR candidate, an ironic twist of fate rare even in Malaysia’s increasingly fluid political landscape.
It was during Mahathir’s time in power that Parti Keadilan Nasional was formed, after Mahathir sacked his protege and deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, whose ouster and later jail sentence on separate charges sparked a political crisis and tumult in the streets, with tens of thousands demanding Mahathir’s resignation.
When Keadilan was later formed, it adopted as its symbol an oval-shaped logo on an azure background, a reminder of the “black eye” incident when Anwar appeared in court with injuries on his left eye for which the police chief at the time, Abdul Rahim Noor, was later found guilty.
The party later adopted red bands on the left and right to reflect its merger with Parti Rakyat Malaysia, and a change in name to its current PKR.
Both Anwar and Mahathir ended their 18-year animosity in 2016, in the wake of the former prime minister’s fallout with Najib Razak.