PARTI Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) lost its debut election in Johor, where the party contested for the huge Kota Iskandar seat.
Our candidate, Arangkannal Rajoo (Ara), received close to a thousand vote (997) and was unable to secure his deposit as well. Nevertheless, we congratulate the winners and concede defeat.
PSM takes note that all the parties which won the election were part of a coalition – Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan; while all political parties who were not part of any coalition like Parti Pejuang Tanah Air, Parti Warisan Sabah, Parti Bangsa Malaysia, Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia and PSM lost the election, as well as our deposits.
The result of the polls is not surprising given the very low voter turnout. PSM believes that the rakyat is not wrong in not showing enthusiasm in this election as it was forced on them, while the nation is still recovering from the pandemic.
Many voters from Singapore also did not turn up. If the turnout was larger, definitely the outcome would be different.
On the contrary, PSM is quite encouraged with the results and consider our debut outing as successful and satisfactory. The party managed to raise many issues of public interest from housing, jobs, environment to basic facilities.
To seek cooperation with other parties
We also managed to distribute our leaflets and the party also received tremendous financial aid from the public, which did offset our deposit and helped us conduct a decent campaign. We are also proud to have carried out a clean, spirited campaign with no racial and religious rhetoric being brought up.
The results will encourage us to seek genuine partnership with other parties in the future as well as expand our base in Johor. We thank all the people who worked in our election machinery from party members, supporters, donors, NGOs and other political parties.
The hard work was put with no financial inducement; just mere spirit and courage has given us hope that we will persevere.
As the only party offering a socialist alternative and class-based politics, we believe our presence in elections is vital and it will take time for our initiatives to bear fruits. The fight goes on.
Struggle we will, win we shall!
S Arutchelvan is Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s deputy chairperson
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
