Malaysia

By Stephanie Sta Maria, Free Malaysia Today
August 6, 2010 -- PETALING JAYA: Kota Damansara assemblyman and Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) chairman Nasir Hashim is a realist. But he is also fond of quoting Argentinian revolutionary Che Guevara to “be realistic and do the impossible”.
And Nasir is doing the impossible: he is spearheading an ambitious project to eradicate urban poverty in a small community in the vicinity of Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya.

By Lee Way Loon and Hazlan Zakaria, Malaysiakini
August 1, 2010 -- Riot police barred activists from holding candlelight vigils to commemorate the Internal Security Act's 50th anniversary in eight places around the country.

The following statement was released on July 18 by S. Arutchelvan (pictured), Secretary General of the Malaysian Socialist Party in response to government subsidy cuts. See here for information on planned protests.
***
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) views the recent price hike of three types of fossil fuels, sugar and cooking gas as a continuation of the neoliberal agenda of [Malaysian PM Najib Tun Razak's National Front (BN)], which will effectively have a two-prone effect on the rakyat (people). It makes little sense when the government acknowledges that 75% of the Malaysian households are earning below RM3000 while 25% are earning less than RM1000, yet no alternative plan was implemented to ease the hardship of these populations prior to cutting the subsidy. Obviously, the subsidy cut is a recipe to exploit the rakyat for the well-being of a few, as it:

Malaysiakini, 1 June 2010 -- Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) calls for a minimum living wage law to be enacted first, before the government considers withdrawing the various subsidies which is sustaining the lower-income group that consists of 60 percent of households in the country.

Party deputy secretary-general Rani Rasiah said, “For the working people, subsidies compensate somewhat for the government's low-wage policy and the reality of high living costs.
“Without such laws to ensure the producers of wealth are paid a just wage, it would be completely irresponsible of the government to do away with subsidies.”
She claimed that the government is prepared to further enrich the wealthy and the foreign investors with Malaysia'slow wage structure, but chooses to be politically blind to the plight of working class citizens who have been stuck with low wages for the past 52 years.

Pictured: Protest outside th Thai embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Dr Nasir Hashim (left) and S. Arutchelvan (right).
April 14, 2010 -- Today, a delegation of 30 people led by the Socialist Party Malaysia (PSM) staged a protest at the Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Those present included Dr. Nasir Hashim (chairperson of the PSM and Selangor state assemblyperson for Kota Damansara ), Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj (central committe member of PSM and federal member of parliament for Sungai Siput), and S. Arutchelvan (secretary-general of the PSM). There were also representatives of Suaram, a leading human rights organisation in Malaysia, as well as a representative from the Student Federation of Thailand.

By Peter Boyle
The Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) is extraordinary in many ways and on March 18 its member of national Parliament, Dr Jeyakumar Raj, its national chairperson and Selangor state assemblyperson, Dr. Nasir Hashim, and the party’s three local councillors became the only politicians in Malaysia to publicly declare their assets. The declaration of assets and presentation of annual performance reports has become a routine for the party since 2008 when the PSM had its first electoral victories.

March 1, 2010 - Malaysiakini.
The government’s full-paying patient (FPP) scheme has again come under fire from the Coalition Against Health Service Privatisation, which held simultaneous pickets outside four public hospitals nationwide.

In the Klang Valley, short pickets by small groups were held at the Serdang and Sungai Buloh hospitals.

February 16, 2010 -- From the website of the Socialist Party of Malaysia.
Barely 48 hours after the Federal Court had affirmed Zambry Abd Kadir as Perak menteri besar (state chief executive) on Feb 9, a demolition team from the Land Office of Larut Matang and Selama descended on a 15-hectare plot farmed by squatters in the Air Kuning area, on the southern rim of Taiping.

[Pictured:Socialist Party of Malaysia MP Jeyakumar Devaraj addresses a rally against the free trade agreement between Malaysia and the United States.]
By Jeyakumar Devaraj
February 11, 2010 -- Malaysia has only known one ruling coalition in the past 52 years since independence. But the result of the March 2008 election has led to rising hope among many Malaysians that an enormous change might be around the corner – a two-party system under which the people are free to choose between two coalitions, which are both capable of governing the country.

Simon Butler, Green Left Weekly
Pictured: Sivaranjani Manickam
For decades, there was no socialist party of significance in Malaysia. But in 2009, the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) made some impressive gains. The party more than doubled in size and had members elected to state and national parliament for the first time.
PSM activist Sivaranjani Manickam attended the Socialist Alliance national conference, held in Sydney in early January. She told Green Left Weekly that the recent growth in support for the party helped force the Malaysian government to finally grant it legal recognition after a 10-year battle.