Socialist Party of Malaysia | |
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| Malay name | Parti Sosialis Malaysia ڤرتي سوسياليس مليسيا |
| Chinese name | 馬來西亞社會主義黨 马来西亚社会主义党 Mǎláixīyà Shèhuì Zhǔyì Dǎng |
| Tamil name | மலேசிய சோசியலிஸ்ட் கட்சி Malēciya Cōciyalisṭ Kaṭci |
| Abbreviation | PSM |
| Chairman | Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj |
| Founded | 30 April 1998 |
| Legalised | 19 August 2008 |
| Split from | Parti Rakyat Malaysia |
| Headquarters | 140, Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad,Brickfields, 50470Kuala Lumpur |
| Newspaper | Sosialis Think Left Socialist Perspectives(yearly) |
| Youth wing | Pemuda Sosialis (Socialist Youth) |
| Ideology | Socialism Democratic socialism Left-wing populism Progressivism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| National affiliation | Electoral pact Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (since 2023) |
| Colours | Maroon |
| Slogan | Kuasa Ketiga, Kuasa Kita (Third Force, Our Power) Pilih SuaraMarhaen (Choose the Commoners' Voice) Bersama Membina Kuasa Rakyat (Together Building People's Power) Dinamik, Berani, Berprinsip (Dynamic, Courageous, Principled) |
| Anthem | Internasionale |
| Dewan Negara: | 0 / 70 |
| Dewan Rakyat: | 0 / 222 |
| Dewan Undangan Negeri: | 0 / 607 |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| partisosialis | |
Socialist Party of Malaysia onFacebook | |
TheSocialist Party of Malaysia (PSM,Malay:Parti Sosialis Malaysia;Chinese:马来西亚社会主义党;Tamil:மலேசிய சோசியலிஸ்ட் கட்சி), is asocialistpolitical party inMalaysia and an offshoot ofParti Rakyat Malaysia, which originally upheld the same ideology.[1]
For ten years following its founding in 1998, the party was denied registration as a political party by theFederal Government of Malaysia, on the grounds that it was a threat to national security.[2]
However, the Home Ministry gave them the green light in June 2008, shortly after PSM enjoyed its electoral breakthrough when it won its first parliamentary and state seats inSungai Siput andKota Damansara respectively.[3]
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| Politics of Malaysia |
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The last socialist party to exist in Malaysia, Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia (PSRM), reverted to its original name toParti Rakyat Malaysia in 1990 before merging withParti Keadilan Rakyat in 2003.
In 1991, severalgrassroots based organisations working with the urban and rural poor in Malaysia formed an alliance. These included the Jawatankuasa Sokongan Peneroka Bandar led by DrMohd Nasir Hashim, Alaigal led by DrMichael Jeyakumar Devaraj and Pusat Pembangunan Masyarakat, which was headed byS. Arutchelvan.[4]
In 1994, the groups staged a massive Labour Daydemonstration at the heart ofKuala Lumpur, surprising many people. The last major demonstration called by the working class in the capital city was in the 1970s.
In 1995, these grassroots organisation who already had their strong support among theplantation 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 rulingBarisan Nasional and hastened this process.
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]
The Federal Government then rejected the application to register as a political party, alleging that PSM was a threat to national security.
However, because the right to form a political party is guaranteed in the constitution, PSM took the government and the Home Minister to court for abusing their power. Although theCourt of Appeal dismissed the national security argument on 16 August 2006, it upheld a separate reason to deny the registration of the PSM as a political party.
PSM then filed an appeal against the Court of Appeal's decision to theFederal Court of Malaysia. However, on 17 June 2008, the Home Ministry approved PSM's application as a political party just before Federal Court proceedings started, ending a 10-year tussle.[5][6]
In 1999, the party decided to contest inthe year's general election. Since PSM was not registered, it had to contest under some other party's logo. In 1999, the candidates contested under aDemocratic Action Party ticket. The main intention was to popularise the party, while it lost the contest, Jeyakumar managed to reduce his opponent's majority by 10,000 votes.
After the 1999 election, PSM opened its service centre in Sungai Siput. The party claimed that DAP was not happy with this and demanded that Jeyakumar join DAP if he wished to stand again.
He declined and sought a meeting with Keadilan leader DrWan Azizah Wan Ismail. As a result PSM was able to contest under the logo of Parti Keadilan Nasional (now known asParti Keadilan Rakyat).[7]
Three PSM members contested in the2008 general election under the PKR banner while another ran as an independent. Two of these candidates won PSM's first ever seats.
Candidate Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj won PSM's first everfederal parliamentary seat by defeating then president ofMalaysian Indian Congress and long-serving Minister of WorksSamy Vellu in Sungai Siput.
At the same time, PSM presidentMohd Nasir Hashim won the Kota Damansara seat in theSelangor state legislative assembly.
AlthoughArutchelvan Subramaniam lost, PSM's election campaigning resulted in an increase in membership inSemenyih.
The remaining member who contested Jelapang as an independent was M. Sarasvathy.[8]
The two PSM incumbents, Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj and Nasir Hashim, recontested their seats in the2013 general election under Keadilan.
Jeyakumar retained the PSM'sparliamentary seat of Sungai Siput, but PSM president Nasir lost the Kota Damansara state seat to aUnited Malays National Organisation (UMNO) candidate. This came after a PAS member joined the contest to split the opposition vote.[9]
S. Arutchelvan and M. Sarasvathy also recontested the same seats, this time under the PSM ticket, and lost heavily.[10]
For the2018 general election, PSM contested in five federal constituencies and 14 state constituencies. All PSM candidates for this general election competed under PSM name and logo, as opposed to the previous elections, meaning that its cooperation with parties like PKR and DAP came to an end .[11]
Unlike in previous elections, Nasir Hashim announced that he was not running in the 2018 election.
PSM did not succeed in winning any seats this election and lost theSungai Siput parliamentary seat that it had held since 2008.[12]
Due in part to the decision to contest independently of thePakatan Harapan coalition, PSM suffered a heavy defeat with all candidates, including Dr Jeyakumar, losing their deposits.[13]
In the 2022 General elections, PSM took a back seat, with Dr Jeyakumar declining to run in Sungai Siput.[14]
On 15 July 2023, PSM andMalaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) announced a political alliance for the2023 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."[15]
In July 2024, the party held its 26th annual congress, at which Sivaranjani Manickam was elected secretary-general replacing A Sivarajan.[16]
Over the years, the party's three main front organisations established more than a hundred sub-fronts, and it still believes in grassroots work done with the masses especially the plantation workers, the urban poor, industrial workers, peasants and also collaborates with the progressive student movement.
PSM was also at the forefront of the successful battle to establish a minimum wage in Malaysia.[17]
PSM has a seven-point manifesto which lists the following policies:[18]
| Election | Total seats won | Seats contested | Total votes | Voting Percentage | Outcome of election | Election leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 0 / 193 | 25 |  ;No representation in Parliament | Mohd Nasir Hashim | ||
| 2004 | 0 / 219 | 33 | ;No representation in Parliament | Mohd Nasir Hashim | ||
| 2008 | 1 / 222 | 11 | 16,458 |  1 seat;Opposition coalition(PR) | Mohd Nasir Hashim | |
| 2013 | 1 / 222 | 9 | 21,593 | ;Opposition coalition (PR) | Mohd Nasir Hashim | |
| 2018 | 0 / 222 | 5 | 3,782 | 0.03% |  1 seat;No representation in Parliament | Mohd Nasir Hashim |
| 2022 | 0 / 222 | 1 | 779 | 0.01% | ;No representation in Parliament(allied withPRM) | Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj |
| State election | State Legislative Assembly | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelantan | Penang | Perak | Pahang | Selangor | Johor | Total won / Total contested | |
| 2/3 majority | 2 / 3 | 2 / 3 | 2 / 3 | 2 / 3 | 2 / 3 | 2 / 3 | |
| 2004 | 0 / 59 | 0 / 56 | 0 / 2 | ||||
| 2008 | 0 / 59 | 1 / 56 | 1 / 3 | ||||
| 2013 | 0 / 59 | 0 / 56 | 0 / 3 | ||||
| 2018 | 0 / 45 | 0 / 40 | 0 / 59 | 0 / 42 | 0 / 56 | 0 / 12 | |
| 2022 | 0 / 56 | 0 / 1 | |||||
| 2023 | 0 / 56 | 0 / 4 | |||||
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| National | |
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