GEORGE TOWN, Sept 27 — Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) should consider joining Pakatan Harapan (PH) as part of its electoral front for the 15th general election, Penang DAP deputy chairman P. Ramasamy said today.
He described PSM as a principled party that might enhance the image of the Opposition bloc.
The Penang deputy chief minister added that PSM had a history of working with the Opposition.
"Ideologically, PSM doesn’t have many differences with the PH component parties such as the DAP or PKR,” he said in a statement today.
The Penang lawmaker pointed out that PSM president Michael Jayakumar Deveraj contested and won in the Sungei Siput parliamentary constituency in the 2008 and 2013 general elections under the PKR banner.
"I am not sure why PSM parted ways with PH in the subsequent 2018 general election but it might have to do with the fact that the party wanted its candidates to contest under its own banner,” he said.
He said PSM is a socialist party while DAP subscribes to the notion of democratic socialism.
The Perai assemblyman said PSM is a class-based party that emphasises the emancipation of class exploitation through education, awareness and agitation.
He said DAP might not focus on the class question because it believes that racial and religious discrimination must be addressed first, but party leaders still take up labour and trade union issues.
"Essentially, both the parties, despite the differences in emphasis, want a society that is egalitarian, fair and just for all Malaysians irrespective of their background,” he said.
As for PKR, he said the party is concerned about issues affecting the poorer segments of society.
"I don’t think that there are fundamental differences between PSM, DAP and PKR,” he said.
He said all three shared a common vision of a society where the inequality between classes is reduced, racial and ethnic discrimination eliminated, and corruption and the abuse of political power reduced.
