Johor polls: Emergence of new parties sign of maturing democracy, says PSM chief

JOHOR BARU, Feb 27 — The participation of new parties in the Johor state election is a sign of a maturing democracy in Malaysia, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) chairman Dr Micheal Jayakumar Deveraj said today.

He said the emergence of many new political parties of late is an indication that the country has migrated from two-party politics helmed by Barisan Nasional and  Pakatan Harapan (PH).

“The people can assess whether a party can champion their issues,” he told a media conference here today.

Echoing Dr Jeyakumar views, PSM secretary-general A. Sivarajan said having more new parties in the country’s political landscape is a healthy development for the democratic system.

“In a healthy democracy, it is important for the elected representative not to be tied to any (political) blocks so as to be able to rightfully represent the people.

“As such, PSM feels that it is important for the involvement of assemblymen from various parties who can bring a host of issues in the state legislative assembly, and this will surely improve the democratic process in Johor,” he said.

The Johor state election will see the participation of 15 political parties involving three major coalitions, namely Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN) and, Pakatan Harapan (PH) besides the maiden entry of new parties such as Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang), Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), Parti Warisan and Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM).

Also contesting in one seat each are PSM and Parti Bumiputra Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) while there are also 16 Independent candidates in the fray.

PSM today launched its election manifesto for the Kota Iskandar seat, and its candidate R. Arangkannal pledged to champion housing, cost of living and employment issues.

Arangkannal will be in a five-cornered fight against Johor Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) deputy chairman and seat incumbent Dzulkelfy Ahmad, BN’s Pandak Ahmad, Samsudin Ismail of PN and Dr Zaini Abu Bakar representing Pejuang.

Polling day is on March 12 and early voting on March 8. — Bernama