Why Pakatan Harapan wants to formally register before GE14
(MMO) – With the general election mere months away, Pakatan Harapan (PH) is scrambling to ensure its long-drawn bid to be formally registered as a coalition is approved.
The pact has accused the Registrar of Societies (RoS) of stalling the process, which the agency denied when highlighting fresh issues with DAP and PPBM: the former owes the RoS the final report on the internal election the agency ordered it to repeat while the latter has not held an annual general meeting as required.
Given that PH’s predecessor, the defunct Pakatan Rakyat, was able to win up to five states in Election 2008 and the popular vote in 2013, why is the Opposition so motivated to have the coalition formalised ahead of the next general election?
What will registration allow PH to do?
Single narrative
For one, it will let the Opposition coalition shape a unified narrative during the general election with which to tap support outside its customary hunting grounds, such as Malay-majority areas outside of the Klang Valley where voters are traditionally Umno supporters.
For PH leaders, it will allow them to deliver a targeted message while potentially letting them sidestep the ideological differences between DAP, PKR, Amanah and PPBM.
It will also permit the four parties present a common facade to voters, benefitting newer parties such as Amanah and PPBM that still struggle with lack of recognition.
“Provided that this formal registration is approved now or in a very near future, this will enable PH to use one single logo — the PH logo — in GE14.
“This provide a crystal clear alternative: PH vs BN. And this will in many ways boost PH’s chances at the poll,” PH chief secretary Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah told Malay Mail Online when contacted.
Most importantly, the pact hopes to use the umbrella entity to minimise the chances of friendly fire when PAS is already set to spoil the fight between PH and the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), even without considering the free-for-alls common in Sabah and Sarawak.
