COMMENT BY YB PROF DR P.RAMASAMY, DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER II, PENANG
PSM’s electoral pact will enhance the role of PH
I am glad that PH has agreed to have an electoral pact with a fraternal party like PSM. Recently, I suggested that PH should form an electoral pact with Muda and PSM to strengthen its position in combating the evil, Umno and BN not to mention Bersatu and its allies in the PN.
I suggested that PSM being socialist political party has many things in common with parties such as DAP and PKR. In 2018 and 2013 general elections, its president Jayakumar contested and won the Sungei Siput parliamentary constituency.
He contested under the banner of PKR.
I am not sure why there was no electoral pact with PH in the 2018 general election. Maybe the need on the part of the PSM to contest under its own banner was not to the satisfaction of the PH.
Minor misunderstandings and differences are common between political parties such as PSM with PKR and DAP. These differences should not be overshadow the commonalities between these political parties.
The overriding concern to better the lot of the poor and disadvantaged among these political parties can cement the relationship.
Moreover their bewilderment at the level of corruption should unite the parties under an electoral front against Umno/BN. The latter being the source of all things wrong with this country. PSM’s long years of sustained hard work among workers and peasants might be something beneficial to the PH.
PH’s broad macro framework of alternative politics might provide the superstructural basis for the ground work done by PSM. The agreement is about a united front electoral pact, not that PSM wants to join PH as another component party.
At least this is not the intention at the moment. Let the electoral pact take effect before both PH and PSM can touch on the more sensitive matter of embracing each in a coalition.
PH might be a bit concerned about the fact that PSM is a socialist party. There is no need to worry because the socialism embraced by PSM is an evolutionary one as opposed to the revolutionary one.
In fact, the socialism of PSM is not different to the version embraced by the DAP. The difference is merely in the emphasis.
Similarly, the diluted subaltern ideology of PKR is not much different to the one of PSM and DAP.
Ideologically, these political parties have much in common.
They function within the parliamentary framework of the country.
PSM in the electoral pact will complement the other political parties in the PH coalition.
Together, they must be focussed first in getting rid of Umno/BN from the country’s political landscape.
