The Malaysian People's Party (abbreviation: PRM; Malay: Parti Rakyat Malaysia) is a political party in Malaysia. Founded on 11 November 1955 as Partai Ra'ayat, it is one of the older political parties in Malaysia and traces its pedigree to the anti-colonial movements from the pre World War II period like the Kesatuan Melayu Muda.[1]
It was part of the Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front coalition with the Labour Party of Malaya and was a force in the late 1950s and 1960s although the coalition was eventually decimated by politically-motivated detentions.[2] In 1965, the party renamed itself Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia in keeping with its scientific socialist ideology, but this was reversed in 1989.[3]
Eventually, the party merged with Parti Keadilan Nasional to form Parti Keadilan Rakyat in 2003, but was revived by a minority of its former membership in 2005. It contested in the states of Penang, Kedah and Selangor in the 2018 elections after a period of political inactivity but failed to win a single seat. It is unrepresented in the Dewan Rakyat and state legislative assemblies of Malaysia.
The founder of PRM, Ahmad Boestamam, was an activist of the leftist Kesatuan Melayu Muda (Young Malays Union; KMM). During the Japanese occupation of Malaya, he had briefly served as with the Japanese sponsored militia known as the Pembela Tanah Ayer (Defender of the Homeland) and later helped to organise co-operative communes run by the KMM.[4][5][6]
With the capitulation of the Japanese in 1945, movements that collaborated with the Japanese like KMM likewise collapsed and the leftist Malay activists regrouped to organise various political movements, such as the Malay Nationalist Party (Malay: Partai Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya; PKMM) led by Burhanuddin al-Helmy, the Angkatan Pemuda Insaf (Awakened Youth Organisation; API) led by Ahmad Boestamam and the Angkatan Wanita Sedar (Cohort of Awakened Women; AWAS) led by Shamsiah Fakeh. Boestamam was part of the PKMM and API delegation that participated in the Pan-Malayan Malay Congress in 1946 and was instrumental in keeping the Malay leftist movements out of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) that resulted out of the congress.[7]
Growing opposition to the Malayan Union confederation led the British colonial authorities to consider an alternative constitutional framework for the country. A proposal known as the "Constitutional Proposals for Malaya"[8] was developed in co-operation with UMNO and representatives of the Malay rulers. This proposal was opposed by a large segment of the non-Malay population of the country who saw it as discriminatory as well as a sizeable portion of the nationalists who saw it as delaying the self-determination and independence of Malaya.
A combination of anti-British sentiments and economic hardships saw the coalescing of the various political movements representing the Malay and non-Malay populations and eventually led to the formation of a broad coalition with the Malay movements represented in Pusat Tenaga Ra'ayat (People's United Front; PUTERA), itself a coalition of movements like PKMM, API, AWAS and others, and the non-Malay movements represented in the All-Malaya Council of Joint Action (AMCJA), another coalition of movements such as the Malayan Indian Congress, Malayan Democratic Union, and others.[9]
The PUTERA-AMCJA tabled an alternative proposal known as the People's Constitutional Proposal[10] and attempted to lobby for a Royal Commission to be formed to review the original proposals. The PUTERA-AMCJA also launched a successful nationwide hartal was organised on 20 October 1947, the same date where the constitutional proposals were due to be deliberated by the House of Commons in London.[11]
Despite these efforts, PUTERA-AMCJA failed to overturn the decision to adopt the Constitutional Proposals which led to the formation of the Federation of Malaya on 31 January 1948. API was banned on 20 March 1948, gaining the distinction of being the first political movement in Malaya to be banned by the authorities[12] and Boestamam was arrested on 1 July 1948.[4] A declaration of emergency was extended nationwide on 12 July 1948 in what became the Malayan Emergency and resulted in the arrests and incarceration of many leftist and nationalist activists. Many who managed to escaped the dragnet joined the armed rebellion coordinated by the Communist Party of Malaya.
Foundation
Upon his release from incarceration in 1955, Boestamam regrouped his supporters to form Partai Ra'ayat Malaya (People's Party). The new party was inaugurated on 11 November 1955 embracing a philosophy of nationalistic social democracy focussing on the poor known as Marhaenism, a phrase coined by Sukarno. It formed a coalition with the Labour Party of Malaya (LPM) led by another PKMM veteran, Ishak Haji Muhammad, which became known as the Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front (Malay: Barisan Sosialis Rakyat Malaya) or the Socialist Front in 1957.[13]
Branches of PRM was formed in the neighbouring British protectorate of Brunei and the colony of Singapore in what eventually became the Brunei People's Party and Partai Rakyat Singapore (Singapore People's Party – not to be mistaken with the current Singapore People's Party). Both these branches eventually disappeared from active politics by the mid 1960s with the PRB banned in 1962 as a result of the Brunei revolt and the PRS never gaining enough support in Singapore for electoral success, with its president Said Zahari being arrested under Operation Coldstore before the 1963 Singaporean general election.
Early successes
The party contested as part of the Socialist Front in both the 1959 Malayan state and federal elections and the coalition managed to capture a total of 16 state and eight federal seats.
The coalition had most support in Penang and Selangor, and garnered a total of 12.91% of the popular vote in the federal election, becoming the third-largest party in parliament after the UMNO-led Alliance Party and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, which was also led by a former member of KMM and PKMM, Burhanuddin al-Helmy.
While a majority of the coalition's elected representatives were from the Labour Party, Boestamam was elected Setapak MP and Karam Singh Veriah was elected MP for Damansara, giving PRM its only two elected MPs.[14]
The SF further consolidated its gains in municipal elections including the City Council of Georgetown, Penang where it won 14 of the 15 seats in the Council during the 1961 Local Elections.[13] The SF was further strengthened when the former Minister of Agriculture, Aziz Ishak, brought his National Convention Party (NCP) into the coalition.[15]
Tunku Abdul Rahman's announcement for the expansion of Malaya into a larger federation known as Malaysia in 1961 galvanised the co-operation between the various Opposition parties in the Parliament. The SF found itself working on the same side as Parti Negara, the People's Progressive Party, the United Democratic Party, and the Pan-Malayan Islamic Party, in opposing the proposal due to the perception that it was being formulated by the Alliance without the consent of the people of the territories.
Persecution
However, with the onset of the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation in 1962, opposition to the new federation came to be seen as being pro-Indonesia and anti-national. Boestamam, Ishak Muhammad, Aziz Ishak, and hundreds of others were subsequently arrested under the Internal Security Act. These factors cost the SF significant losses in the 1964 general election where PRM and the NCP failed to gain any seats at all and the LPM lost a significant number of seats, ending with just two.[15]
With most of the senior leadership and a considerable number of members arrested, the coalition suffered organisationally. Furthermore, disagreements between PRM and LPM over the country's official language led to the coalition's demise in 1966.[13]
Radicalisation
The party underwent a radical change in 1965 when a group of young intellectuals led by Kassim Ahmad and Syed Husin Ali took over from Boestamam, who left the party to form Parti Marhaen Malaysia in 1968.
PRM itself was renamed Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia (Malaysian People's Socialist Party; PSRM) and it officially adopted scientific socialism as its ideology.
While an understanding was reached in 1969 between PSRM and LPM, it did not result in any cooperation between the two parties.
Its final victories as an electoral force were in the 1969 elections when PSRM won two state seats in Pahang through Dzulkifli Ismail (Ulu Kuantan) and S. Sivasubramaniam (Tanah Puteh) and one in Penang through Abdul Rahman Yunus (Balik Pulau).[16]
However, the 1969 racial riots and the subsequent suspension of parliament meant they did not take their seats. The formation of the Barisan Nasional coalition together with the post-riot political climate meant that the party remained on the sidelines.
Other leaders were also arrested under the ISA like Syed Husin Ali in 1974[17] and Kassim himself in 1976.[18] This cost the party significant organisational cohesiveness that continued to plague it right into the next decade. Leaders like Kampo Radjo, Syed Husin and Abdul Razak Ahmad helped keep the party intact over the next decade.
Consolidation
In the party's congress in 1989, PSRM decided to revert to its previous name but retain the term "Malaysia". A new leadership was also elected and Syed Husin was named party president while academic Sanusi Osman was elected secretary-general. The reversion to the name Parti Rakyat Malaysia and dropping of the socialist tag was not without controversy and a group led by Mohd Nasir Hashim left the party. This group eventually formed the core that founded the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM).
The Gagasan Rakyat coalition did not survive the 1995 elections after the withdrawal of PBS and the dissolution of Semangat 46. Nonetheless, this was soon followed by the Reformasi movement that saw the creation of a new coalition known as Barisan Alternatif (Alternative Front) that grouped PRM, DAP, PMIP (now known as PAS) and the newly formed Parti Keadilan Nasional (National Justice Party; KeADILan).
PRM also gained an influx of younger members from the interest and political consciousness generated by the Reformasi movement during this period which rejuvenated the youth wing of the party. BA contested the 1999 general elections with PRM contesting three parliamentary seats in three state seats. The BA won 40.23% of the popular vote but PRM failed again to win any seats, although it did only lose one seat by a narrow margin of 8.4%.
Merger and revival
Following the 1999 general elections, KeADILan began to explore the possibility of a merger between the two parties.
At the PRM annual congress in 2002 the concept of the merger was approved with nearly 80 percent of delegates voting in support.
The two parties officially merged on 3 August 2003 becoming Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People's Justice Party; PKR). PRM had to contest the 2004 general elections under Keadilan's symbol as the merger had yet to be approved by the authorities.
However, the 2004 elections almost routed the BA, with the coalition losing 22 seats out of the 42 it previously held. The poor performance of the new party led some former PRM members to question the merger.
In April 2005, the dissidents convened a National Congress in Johor Bahru, taking advantage of the fact that the party had yet to be de-registered by the authorities, and elected a new executive committee led by former PRM youth leader Hassan Abdul Karim. Other PRM stalwarts who took part in resurrecting the party included academic Rohana Ariffin and former political detainee Koh Swee Yong. However, Hassan would later make a switch back to PKR in 2009 after his proposal to join the Pakatan Rakyat coalition was rejected by the party congress.
Former PRM leaders who eventually gained or sustained a degree of prominence while in PKR included Syed Husin Ali, who served two terms in the Dewan Negara,[19] and Hassan Abdul Karim who was elected Pasir Gudang MP in 2018 and elected to a second term in 2022.
Another notable figure who made the move from PRM to PKR was Sivarasa Rasiah who was a three-term MP from 2008 to 2022 and served as deputy minister for rural development from 2018 to 2020.
Others who were in both parties were unionist Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud who was MTUC president from 2005 to 2010 [20] and later served in the Dewan Negara from 2012 to 2015, and lawyer Latheefa Koya who was appointed as Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief in 2019.[21]
Recent activity
PRM contested in the general elections of 2008, 2018 and 2022, without winning any federal or state legislative seats. PRM did not join the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat (2008–2015) or its successor Pakatan Harapan (2015–present).
After Hassan returned to PKR, the position of PRM president was taken up by Dr Rohana Ariffin from 2010 to 2015. She eventually stepped down to be replaced by Ariffin Salimon.
In the lead-up to the 2018 general election, the party was joined by former DAP assemblywoman for Teratai, Jenice Lee Ying Ha, and former Kapar MP, S. Manikavasagam who had previously represented PKR. Both contested in the election but failed to win their seats.
Ahead of the 2022 general election, the party announced that it would be contesting in 28 parliamentary seats, including all 14 seats in the state of Kelantan.[citation needed] The party ultimately nominated 16 candidates, all of whom lost their deposits. In the aftermath of the election, the PRM central committee unanimously voted to appoint former Umno and PKR politician Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor as deputy president of the party.[22]
Former party president Rohana Ariffin called this "tragic" news and asserted: "the party has shifted to the right-wing and we are seeing the demise of a left-wing party."[23]
Ezam, a former Dewan Negara member, confirmed the party would run alone in 2023 Malaysian state elections, while stating that the party opposed both socialism and capitalism, in particular crony capitalism. It claimed both the ruling unity government and Perikatan Nasional committed corruption and theft and accused both uniracial and multiracial parties of playing divisive politics on racial and religious grounds.[24]
Factional dispute
Following the death of Ariffin Salimon in December 2023, the party entered a period of instability with one faction headed by Ahmad Jufliz Faizal and Koh Swee Yong while another faction was headed by Rohana and Ezam. On 2 March 2024, the latter faction held a controversial extraordinary general meeting (EGM) which was proposed and decided by the party central committee on 28 January 2024, electing Rohana as the new party president and reelecting Mohd Ezam as the party deputy president. Former Member of the Kedah State Executive Council (EXCO) Tan Chow Kang, former Member of Parliament (MP) for KaparS. Manikavasagam and youth leader Sarah Afiqah Zainol Ariff were elected new party vice presidents. RN Raj was appointed secretary general to replace his long-serving predecessor Koh.
However, Rohana clarified that the Registrar of Socities (RoS) has yet to declare which faction was legitimate.[25][26]
In related news, Koh and Manickavasagam were involved in a legal tangle when Koh accused the latter of Jaya by sending an insulting message with intent to incite anger and breach the peace on January 4, 2024.
He pleaded guilty in the magistrates’ court to the charge on February 13, but on March 22, the Shah Alam High Court set aside the conviction.
Justice Aslam Zainuddin also granted Manickavasagam a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) from a charge under Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955.[27]
PRM is currently centre-left in orientation and stresses the promotion of progressive values, of economic, political and human progress, democracy and basic human rights, unity of the people, ethical and cultural values, and the protection of the environment.
The United Malays National Organisation ; abbreviated UMNO or less commonly PEKEMBAR, is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party within Malaysia, UMNO has been known as Malaysia's "Grand Old Party".
The People's Justice Party ; often known simply as KEADILAN or PKR, is a reformist political party in Malaysia formed on 3 August 2003 through a merger of the party's predecessor, the National Justice Party, with the socialist Malaysian People's Party. The party's predecessor was founded by Wan Azizah Wan Ismail during the height of the Reformasi movement on 4 April 1999 after the arrest of her husband, former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The party is one of main partners of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.
Reformasi is a political movement in Malaysia. It was initiated in September 1998 by Anwar Ibrahim, former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, after he was sacked from his position by Malaysia's then-Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad. The movement, which began while the country hosted the Commonwealth Games, initially demanded the resignation of Malaysia's then-Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, and for the end of the Barisan Nasional-led (BN) government. It later became a reformist movement demanding social equality and social justice in Malaysia. The movement consisted of civil disobedience, demonstrations, sit-ins, rioting, occupations and online activism.
Mohamed Azmin bin Ali is a Malaysian politician who is the current Leader of the Opposition of Selangor and member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly for Hulu Kelang since August 2023. Formerly a member of the Malaysian Parliament for Gombak from 2008 to 2022, Azmin served in the cabinets of Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob as Senior Minister of the Economic Cluster and Minister of International Trade and Industry from 2020 to 2022. A member of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (BERSATU), which is a component party of Perikatan Nasional coalition, Azmin also served as a member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly for Bukit Antarabangsa from 2008 to 2023.
Ahmad Boestamam, or Abdullah Thani bin Raja Kechil, was a Malaysian freedom fighter, politician and was the founding president of Parti Rakyat Malaysia and Parti Marhaen Malaysia.
The Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress is a political party in Malaysia which seeks to represent the interests of Muslim people of Indian descent in the country.
Johari bin Abdul is a Malaysian politician who has served as the 11th Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat since December 2022. He served as the State Leader of the Opposition of Kedah from October 2022 and Member of the Kedah State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Gurun from May 2018 to his resignations in December 2022, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sungai Petani from March 2008 and Chairman of the Pakatan Harapan Backbenchers Club (PHBBC) from August 2018 to November 2022 respectively. He is a member of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.
Manikavasagam s/o Sundram is a Malaysian politician and social activist who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kapar from March 2008 to May 2013. He is a member of the Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM), a component party of formerly Barisan Alternatif (BA) coalition and was a member of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and formerly Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and BA coalitions. He has served as the Vice President of PRM since March 2024.
Ikatan Masyarakat Islam Malaysia was a minor Islamic political party formed in 1991 and based in Terengganu.
The Sang Saka Malaya, sometimes shortened from Sang Pusaka Malaya, is known as the flag of the Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya. It is also known as Bendera Rakyat. The flag features twelve stars arranged in three rows of four columns. It was introduced in 1947 by the combination of two political parties, Pusat Tenaga Ra'ayat (PUTERA) and the All-Malaya Council of Joint Action (AMCJA), as a proposal to the flag of an independent Federation of Malaya. According to a report by The Straits Times in 1947, The twelve stars represent the 12 states of the Malay Peninsula. It follows the concept of the American flag with 50 stars representing the 50 states that make up the United States.
The Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front or better known as Socialist Front (SF) or Barisan Sosialis (BS) was a left-wing coalition of Malaysian socialist parties. It was among the longest-standing opposition coalitions in Malaysian general election history. The coalition was formed by Parti Rakyat Malaya (PRM) and the Labour Party of Malaya on Hari Merdeka in 1957. In 1964, the National Convention Party (NCP) joined the coalition. PRM left the coalition in 1965 and NCP soon become inactive. The Labour Party, the only remaining party in SF, abandoned it on 10 January 1966 and reverted to its own banner.
Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM), also known as the Malay Nationalist Party, was founded on 17 October 1945 in Ipoh, Perak. The party was the first Malay political party formed after the Japanese occupation of Malaya.
A by-election was held on 4 August 2018 for the Selangor State Legislative Assembly seat of Sungai Kandis. The seat became vacant after the death of the former assemblyman, Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei from lymphatic cancer on 2 July 2018. Mat Shuhaimi was a member of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat, a component party of the state ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition. He won his seat after defeating BN, PAS and PRM candidates with a majority of 12,480 votes. It is the first by-election since the historic May 2018 general election that saw the first-ever change of federal government since independence.
A by-election was held on 13 October 2018 for the Dewan Rakyat seat of Port Dickson. The seat became vacant after the resignation of the incumbent member Danyal Balagopal Abdullah, a member of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and the governing Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition. This was the first federal by-election since the 9 May 2018 general election (GE14), which saw the first-ever change of federal government in Malaysia's history.
Hassan bin Abdul Karim is a Malaysian politician and lawyer who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pasir Gudang since May 2018. He served as Chairman of the Federal-State Relations Select Committee from December 2018 to November 2022. He is a member of the People's Justice Party (PKR), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and formerly Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalitions and was a member of the Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM), a component party of the Barisan Alternatif (BA) coalition. He served as the State Chairman of PKR of Johor from 2014 to his resignation in July 2019 and the 5th President of PRM from April 2005 to November 2009. He often analyses and comments on Malaysian politics and news as well as advising Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
The 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis was triggered after several Members of Parliament (MPs) of the 14th Malaysian Parliament changed party support, leading to the loss of a parliamentary majority, the collapse of two successive coalition governments, and the resignation of two Prime Ministers. The political crisis culminated in a 2022 snap general election and eventual formation of a coalition government.
Dr Syed Husin Ali is a retired academic and politician who served as president of the left-wing Parti (Sosialis) Rakyat Malaysia. He is also a prominent political detainee, who was held for six years without trial under Malaysia's Internal Security Act, from 1974 to 1980. Following the merger of Parti Rakyat Malaysia with Parti Keadilan Nasional, he held the position of deputy president of the merged entity Parti Keadilan Rakyat from 2003 to 2010. He also served two terms in Malaysia's Senate from 2009 to 2015.
Abdul Razak Ahmad was a human rights lawyer and socialist politician who served as deputy president of the Parti Rakyat Malaysia in the 1980s and 1990s. He contested in general elections from the 1970s to 2004 but did not win a seat in 14 contests, although he once came within 22 votes of defeating his opponent. He also gained nationwide notoriety for protesting against a visit to Singapore by an Israeli president by lying across a railway track. Razak died at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru where he had been admitted after suffering from chest pains. At the time of his passing in 2007, he left behind his wife Kintan Mohd Amin and four children Zulkifli, Juliah, Faizal and Azlina.
The 12th Perak state election was held on 8 March 2008. Polling took place in 59 constituencies throughout the State of Perak, with each electing a state assemblyman to the Perak State Legislative Assembly. The election was conducted by the Malaysian Election Commission. The state election was held concurrently with the 2008 Malaysian general election.
The 13th Kedah state election was held on 5 May 2013. Polling took place in 36 constituencies throughout the Malaysian state of Kedah, with each electing a State Assemblyman to the Kedah State Legislative Assembly. The election was conducted by the Malaysian Election Commission. The state election was held concurrently with the 2013 Malaysian general election.
1 2 Weiss, Meredith Leigh (2005). Protest and Possibilities: Civil Society and Coalitions for Political Change in Malaysia. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press. p.324. ISBN0-8047-5295-8.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
