Socialist Party of Malaysia

Formation

The party's lineage can be traced to Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia (PSRM), which reverted to its original name of Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) in 1990.^[2] PRM merged with Parti Keadilan Nasional in 2003.

In 1991, several grassroots based organisations working with the urban and rural poor in Malaysia formed an alliance. These included the Jawatankuasa Sokongan Peneroka Bandar led by Mohd Nasir Hashim, Alaigal led by Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, and Pusat Pembangunan Masyarakat headed by Arutchelvan Subramaniam.^[3]

In 1994, the groups staged a massive Labour Day demonstration at the heart of Kuala Lumpur, surprising many people. The last major demonstration called by the working class in the capital city was in the 1970s.^{[citation needed]}

In 1995, these grassroots organisation who already had their strong support among the plantation workers, the urban poor, and industrial workers mooted the idea for a political party to represent the aspirations of the poor and the marginalised. The election results in 1995 gave a sweeping win to the ruling Barisan Nasional and hastened this process.^{[citation needed]}

After years of discussion and consolidations, it was finally agreed that a party with socialist ideology was needed to liberate the masses from their current conditions. With this in mind, the groups took more than two and the half years to draft the party's constitution, which was ready by the end of 1997. After further consultation with their electoral base, on 1 May 1998, the new party known as the Socialist Party of Malaysia officially submitted its application for registration. Former PSRM central committee member and ex-ISA detainee Mohd Nasir Hashim was named pro-tem party chairman during this time.^{[citation needed]}

Legal issues

The Malaysian government rejected PSM's application to register as a political party, alleging that it represented a threat to national security. The party sued the government in response, bringing the matter to the High Court, Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court.

While the Court of Appeal rejected the government's argument that PSM represented a threat to national security, it upheld the High Court's ruling against PSM. The Malaysian government approved PSM's application on 17 June 2008, just before Federal Court proceedings started, ending a 10-year legal battle.^[4] Its registration was approved on 19 August 2008.^[5]

The party's symbol, a clenched fist, was initially rejected by the Electoral Commission when it sought registration with the body, with the argument that it contained "connotations of violence" and was "morally unsuitable". It was later approved.^[6][7]

1999–2018

1999 and 2008 general elections

In 1999, the party decided to contest in that year's general election. Since PSM was not registered, it had to contest using another party's logo. In 1999, it contested under a Democratic Action Party (DAP) ticket in Sungai Siput. The main intention was to popularise the party.^[3]

Following the 1999 election, PSM opened its service centre in Sungai Siput. This reportedly caused friction with DAP,^[3] and seat negotiations ahead of the 2004 general election broke down.^[8] The party instead entered into an agreement with Parti Keadilan Nasional (KeADILan) to use its symbol to contest the federal seats of Sungai Siput and Subang, and the state seats of Jalong and Bukit Lanjan in that election.^[3]

The party achieved its electoral breakthrough in the 2008 general election. Three of its candidates ran using the symbol of People's Justice Party (PKR), which succeeded KeADILan, while another ran as an independent. Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj won PSM's first ever federal parliamentary seat in Sungai Siput, defeating Samy Vellu, president of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), who had represented the constituency for 34 years.^[9] PSM chairman Mohd Nasir Hashim won the Kota Damansara seat in the Selangor state legislative assembly. Arutchelvan and Sarasvathy Muthu unsuccessfully contested the seats of Semenyih and Jelapang, the latter as an independent.^[10]

Since 2019

Nasir Hashim and M Sarasvathy stood down as the party's chairman and deputy chairman in 2019.^[22] Michael Jeyakumar and Arutchelvan were elected as their replacements.^[23]

In the 2022 general election, PSM failed to reached an understanding with Pakatan Harapan and ran only a single candidate in Rembau.^[24] The party had initially sought to have its chairman, Michael Jeyakumar re-contest Sungai Siput, or be allowed to contest three seats in which the coalition had no incumbency.^[25][26]

On 15 July 2023, PSM and the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) announced a political alliance for the 2023 state elections. The elections were held in Selangor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah and Penang on 12 August 2023, and the PSM/MUDA alliance attempted to position itself as the "third choice" for voters "who are unhappy and bored with the politicians now and want to protest."^[27]

In July 2024, the party held its 26th annual congress, at which Sivaranjani Manickam was elected secretary-general replacing A Sivarajan.^[28][29][30]

Seven-Point Manifesto

PSM has a seven-point manifesto which lists the following policies:^[35]

1. Workers' rights will be safeguarded (e.g. minimum wage, automatic recognition of workers unions and 90-day maternal leave).
2. The eradication of neo-liberal policies (e.g. halting privatisation of health care, education and other public necessities).
3. Stopping the Free Trade Agreement with western imperial powers.
4. Provide comfortable and humane housing for both rural and urban inhabitants.
5. Stopping racial and religious politics to foster greater unity among the people.
6. Eradication of corruption and abuse of power.
7. Stopping the destruction of the environment.