Political Parties and Associations (Malaysia)

Last modified: 2001-11-03 by santiago dotor
Keywords: malaysia | politics | hakka | handshake | arrow | rocket | circle (blue) | torch | disc (black) | star: 14 points (yellow) | triangle (green) | paddy | bull: gaur (black) | cogwheel (white) | ellipse (white) | disc (white) | disc (b |
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• Akar Bersatu
• Democratic Action Party (Parti Tindakan Demokratik)
• Liberal Democratic Party
• Malaysian Chinese Association
• Malaysian People's Movement Party (Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia)
• Malaysian People's Party (Parti Rakyat Malaysia / PRM)
• National Justice Party (Parti Keadilan Nasional)
• Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (Parti Islam SeMalaysia)
• Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu
• People's Progressive Party
• United Malays National Organization (Perrtubukan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu)
• Other Associations:
  • Federation of Hakka Association in Malaysia

See also:

• Political Parties (Sabah)
• Political Parties (Sarawak)
• Malaysia

by António Martins

Bigger version of the symbol at the same page. From Akar Bersatu Official Website:

The flag of the party shall be a rectangular shape partitioned vertically in three segments. The left portion shall be red in colour to signify courage, strength and life. The middle portion shall be golden yellow to signify dignity, productivity, progress and prosperity for the State of Sabah. The right portion shall be blue to signify harmony, purity, peacefulness and stability of the Country. The width of each colour stripe is expended progressively to denote growth. The golden yellow is double the width of the blue and like wise, the red is double that of the golden yellow colour. The symbol and badge of the Party shall be printed on the upper half of the left (red) segment of the flag with the Party's acronym "AKAR BERSATU" imprinted in white immediately beneath the symbol.

Dov Gutterman, 19 March 1999

Parti Tindakan Demokratik

from the Democratic Action Party website

DAP is using a banner of a rocket on white. It is really in use [as could be seen at a now broken link]. And from Democratic Action Party website:

The meaning of the rocket
The blue circle stands for the unity of the multi-racial people of Malaysia. The white background stands for purity and incorruptibility. The red rocket symbolizes the Party's aspiration for a modern, dynamic and progressive society. The four rocket boosters represent the support and drive given to the Party objectives by the three major races and others.

Dov Gutterman, 19 March 1999

The blue circle also comes from the PAP (Singapore) logo, from whom the DAP is descended, which has a lightning bolt instead of the rocket. The two parties split in 1965 when Singapore left Malaysia.

Andrew Yong, 20 March 1999

by António Martins

Source: Barisan Nasional Malaysia Official Website [broken link].

by Ivan Sache

From the Malaysian Chinese Association website: "The flag of the Party is a fourteen point yellow star on a blue background". There are also pictures of actual flags there. The MCA's political ideology and conception are prescribed in its Party Constitution. They are, in brief:

• to safeguard democracy and freedom
• to strive for equal status for all races in the country
• to uphold social justice
• to promote racial harmony and national unity
• to promote national economic and social development
• to safeguard the legitimate rights of the Chinese community

Dov Gutterman, 18 March 1999

Obviously based on the Kuomintang flag.

Andrew Yong, 18 March 1999

Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia

by António Martins

The flag of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia is its logo on red. From the Malaysian People's Movement Party website [broken link]:

Party Symbol: Five paddy stalks represent 5 communities. They are the Malays, Chinese, Indians, the Orang Asli (indigenous peoples) and others. They are united by common bond. All communities value rice. It is the unifying symbol. 12 grains of paddy in each stalk represent 12 months of prosperity, harmony, justice and purity for all. Total 60 grains of paddy represent the Election cycles, one term of office to ensure the above.

Dov Gutterman, 19 March 1999

Parti Rakyat Malaysia / PRM

Editor's note: the cogwheel in this image has only 12 teeth, the picture below appears to be more correct with 13.
from the Malaysian People's Party website

Translated from the Malay in this website:

The flag is rectangle with the stylised black silhoutte of the head of a Malayan Gaur (an indigenous bovine — seladang in Malay) on a white cogwheel against a dark red background. The symbolism of the flag:

• The symbol of the Gaur means bravery, mutual help and protection of the weak (characteristics of the species).
• The cogwheel with the thirteen teeth means industrial advancement and a united people under the Federation of the 13 states in Malaysia.
• Red symbolises bravery, black for tenacity and white for purity.

Robert Kee, 15 August 1999

I found this photo and caption [in Yahoo! News 23 November 1999] which shows the flag of a Malay political party:

A supporter of opposition Malaysian People's Party (PRM) holds a party flag on a street during a campaign Tuesday, Nov. 23, 1999 in Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysians will vote in the country's most crucial general elections in the decades on Nov. 29. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's National Front has ruled the nation since its independence in 1957. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Steve Stringfellow, 24 November 1999

Interestingly, this black bull on red was also used in Indonesia, by the Sukarnoputri party, if I remember correctly. Is there a connection?

Jorge Candeias, 24 November 1999

Regarding the possible connection between the bull symbolism in the Malaysian Peoples' Party (Malay language acronym PRM) logo/flag with Indonesia's Democratic Party - Struggle (PDI-P)'s logo/flag, PRM sees its political struggle as having its roots from the pan-Malay progressive nationalist struggle spearheaded by the Malay Nationalist Party and its predecessors in the 30's and 40's. Incidentally the flag used by the Malay Nationalist Party is similar to the current flag of Indonesia. This is probably due to the historical significance of the Majapahit Empire which united the Malay archipelago in the 13th - 14th centuries.

When PRM was founded in 1955 (as Partai Ra'ayat or Peoples' Party), it had fraternal organisations in Indonesia (Independent Malaya Union), Singapore and Brunei. The original flag for PRM was the black gaur superimposed in the middle of the Malay Nationalist banner (read the present Indonesian flag). This is probably also why UMNO, which originated as a federation of conservative Malay political organisations; still maintains the incorporation of same banner in its present day logo. The banner was eventually discarded from PRM's logo when the separate independence of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei became de facto with the conclusion of the Indonesian-Malaysian confrontation and the federation of Malaya, Singapore and British Borneo as Malaysia. The Bruneian counterpart of PRM has since been effectively rendered impotent with the conclusion of the Brunei Revolt. It probably was also symbolic to PRM as it started reorganising itself as a multi ethnic national party in Malaysia.

PDI-P being a nationalist party in Indonesia probably derives its political struggle from the same pan Malay nationalist heritage, which is why PDI-P and a few other Indonesian political parties continue to use the black gaur on a red background as their symbols.

Robert Kee, 5 February 2001

Parti Keadilan Nasional

by António Martins

Translated from Malay in the Parti Keadilan Nasional Official Website:

The flag shall be a sky blue rectangle. In the middle is a white sphere with a sky blue circle within. The white sphere represents the global nature of a noble struggle. The sky blue circle represents justice for all.

Robert L.S. Kee, 15 August 1999

Parti Islam SeMalaysia

2:3
by Ivan Sache

The correct name for the party in English is Pan Malaysian Islamic Party. The flag is a rectangle with a white circle [and] around a green background.

Robert L.S. Kee, 15 August 1999

The PAS flag is green with a white full moon, roughly 2:3.

Andrew Yong, 15 January 2000

from the Barisan Nasional Malaysia Official Website

by Thanh-Tâm Lê (conjectural ratio, see original image from the PPP website here)

From the People's Progressive Party website: "Six-pointed Blue Colour Star, representing 6 different communities and the major principles of the Party, i.e. People, Progress, Purpose, Protect, Principle and Peace."

Dov Gutterman, 17 March 1999

Perrtubukan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu

by António Martins

Source: United Malays National Organization website [broken link].

Smith 1975, pp. 340-341 ("Symbols in politics"): "United Malays National Organization. Horizontal red over white, in the middle a yellow disk outline in red and including a kriss (Malayan curved dagger)".

Ivan Sache, 6 August 1999

from the Federation of Hakka Association in Malaysia website

According to the Danish encyclopedia: Hakka (cantonese 'stranger', standard chinese /keija/) term for approx. 35 million people living spread in the rural areas in southern China and on Taiwan, and for their distinctive dialect.

Ole Andersen, 19 August 1999

Hakkas or Kheks (meaning Guests) are a dialect group from China... popularly believed to be descended from Northern Chinese who migrated to the South during the Hun invasions. Hakkas form a large minority of Overseas Chinese and can be found wherever Chinese are located. This association is an umbrella organisation of Hakka Clan associations in Malaysia. Even Sun Yat-Sen, the father of modern China was reputedly Hakka.

Robert L.S. Kee, 19 August 1999