Umno has welcomed PAS’s willingness to contest the Melaka state election under the Barisan Nasional (BN) logo, although any such arrangement will require further consideration and approval.
Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin said the openness followed a proposal by PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man to strengthen cooperation between the two parties.
Khaled said any party seeking to contest under the BN logo would have to go through a screening process and obtain the coalition’s approval.
“If any party is willing to contest under the BN logo, we certainly welcome it. But it must be subject to the necessary considerations and decisions,” he said.
PAS-Umno talks reach 90%
Khaled did not confirm whether the same openness would be extended to other Perikatan Nasional (PN) component parties, including Parti Wawasan Negara (Wawasan).
“Our ‘house’ is open to those we are comfortable with. It’s not open to everyone,” he said.
Tuan Ibrahim said on Oct 2 that negotiations between PAS and Umno over seat allocations for the Melaka election had reached about 90% completion.
He said PAS was also prepared to use the BN logo if doing so could help the two parties reach a final agreement on their cooperation. The proposed arrangement still needs to be confirmed by the respective party leaderships.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang had also said the party was prepared to use either its own logo or the BN logo, depending on the outcome of negotiations.
PN suspension complicates logo choice
The Registrar of Societies (RoS) suspended PN’s activities effective Sept 23 after issuing a notice seeking an explanation from the coalition over a complaint lodged by Bersatu.
The suspension means PN component parties cannot contest under the coalition’s banner while the matter remains unresolved.
Apart from PAS and Wawasan, PN comprises Bersatu, Pejuang, MIPP and Gerakan.
The issue has prompted PN to consider alternative arrangements for the Melaka election if its own logo remains unavailable, including the possibility of using the logo of PAS or another component party.
