PARTI Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has quite the story to tell when it comes to its formative years.
Founded in 1998, the socialist political party – an offshoot of Parti Rakyat Malaysia – was initially denied registration as a political party by the Federal Government on grounds that it was a “threat to national security”.
The party was only given the green light by the Registrar of Societies in June 2008, in a series of reforms embarked on by then-prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi following the drubbing Barisan Nasional (BN) received at the general election.
Interestingly, PSM is the only party of its kind – that is, a socialist party – in the country.
“Currently there is no other party registered with the word ‘socialist’ in Malaysia. Historically, Parti Rakyat Sosialis Malaysia (PRSM) was the last party that used the term,” PSM deputy chairman S. Arutchelvan told FocusM, in an exclusive interview.
Prior to the formation of the party in 2008, he explained that there were already plans to form the outfit as early as in 1994.
“We looked into forming the party in 1996 and put in the registration in 1998. It took us 10 years to get registered,” Arutchelvan recalled, adding that PSM primarily deals with the opposite of what a right-wing party usually does.
“For example, when dealing with issues such as immigration, right-wing parties would call for migrants to leave the country whereas a left-wing party would do the opposite.”
In terms of ideology, where most would prioritise good governance, PSM attempts to ensure fair distribution of wealth in a democratic and equal society, that is free from exploitation.
Working with plantation workers, the urban poor, industrial workers as well as progressive student movements, PSM emphasises issues related to the poor in terms of low wages, forced evictions and retrenchment. – Feb 2, 2022
