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KUCHING (September 5): Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK) have been given the green light to use their respective party symbols in the upcoming state elections.
The Electoral Commission (EC) said that the PBK symbol and the GPS symbol were approved by them and they were allowed to use them for any election.
Its Corporate Communication Unit in Putrajaya told The Borneo Post that the PBK symbol and GPS symbols were approved in accordance with the provisions of sub-regulation 11 (2) (c) of the Elections Regulations (Conduct of Elections) of 1981.
He said that the use of approved symbols of the respective political parties for the purpose of a particular election is allowed, provided that a written authorization signed by a responsible party official authorizes his candidate to use said party symbol.
The EC was responding to the question of whether two hornbill logos were allowed to appear on the same ballot in any election.
There was also talk that voters could be confused between the GPS logo and the PBK logo, as both used hornbills as the primary symbol for their logos.
PBK was the first to sign up and got hornbill logo approval in 2013.
However, their logo has a more detailed design, portraying a hornbill complete with Sarawak’s outline for the body, tail feathers, and even details like claws.
The ruling coalition’s GPS uses a much simpler scheme of a flying ‘burung kenyalang’ or hornbill consisting of a head, body, and wings.
Its logo represents a red, black and white hornbill in the shape of the letter S.
The GPS coalition was launched on June 12, 2018 after the defeat of Barisan Nasional (BN) in the general elections.
It is made up of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), the United People’s Party of Sarawak (SUPP) and the Democratic Progressive Party (PDP).
Although PBK and GPS feature the same bird, their respective designs are widely separated in terms of design.
The next state elections are due in April 2021.
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