PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia's Election Commission (EC) said on Wednesday (April 18) that it has no objections for the opposition to use the logo of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) for the general election.

The EC, which oversees elections in Malaysia, said in a statement that the permission for any candidate to contest under the PKR ticket and to use its logo is to be decided by PKR, and not the EC.

This means that candidates from all four opposition parties grouped under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) pact are free to contest under the PKR banner.

The PH parties are Malay-led multiracial party PKR, Chinese-based Democratic Action Party, Islam-leaning Parti Amanah Negara and Malay-centric Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM).

The PH parties announced recently that they plan to contest the 14th general election using the PKR banner.

This came about after PPBM, which was founded by former premier Mahathir Mohamad, was early this month issued a temporary disbandment order by the Registrar of Societies due to the party's alleged failure to submit required documents and information.

The EC said on Wednesday that to contest in the May 9 General Election, "political parties must be parties that are registered and allowed to carry out its activities under the Societies Act 1966".

"For parties that allow its potential candidates to contest representing the said political party (PKR), they are required to bring along the written authority," EC chairman Mohd Hashim Abdullah said in a statement.

He said the written authority from PKR has to be signed by "a responsible official".

An eligible candidate who did not get a written authority from PKR that he or she wanted to represent would be issued an existing election symbol by the returning officer on Nomination Day, which is on April 28.