A POLITICAL idea or concept more often than not does not require a well-oiled mammoth organisation to execute. Sometimes it only takes a few dedicated, headstrong people to affect change, trigger things into motion or even start revolutions. We see this many times.

Even in conservative, relatively non-confrontational Malaysia. It was, in no small part, the actions of a few in a couple of rallies in the early to mid-2000s that changed the way Malaysians saw street rallies, and democratised this form of expression from something which was a thing for boisterous protestors to a mainstream event that belonged to anyone who had anything to say.

As such, an organisation’s influence should not merely be determined by its membership size, but the value of its ideas, its economic, social and political contributions, and their ability to spread their ideals, where positive, to more people to affect real change and advance the betterment of society.

An example of one such organisation would be Parti Sosialis Malaysia, PSM.

Although relatively young, this party has made impressive inroads especially among the marginalised estate and plantation worker groups, via NGOs that they run. Likewise, though relatively small, it conducts a disproportionally large number of workshops, forums and seminars expounding their preferred ideology – Marxism.   

Their sole elected representative in Parliament, the soft-spoken Dr Michael Jeyakumar, is knowledgeable and has a good grasp of international and local politics and it shows in his debate speeches. This is his second term as MP of Sungai Siput, after two previous unsuccessful attempts.

Probably the most recognisable face of the party is Arul, a common fixture is most protest photos, with his trademark black vest, red bandana on forehead, always seeming to be pushed either out of an office, or into a transport vehicle by men in uniform.

The two represent the two approaches PSM takes – physical solidarity with people whom they feel have been unfairly oppressed, and intellectual discourse. Both are used to educate (or re-educate) the public about their ideology and generally on democracy, society, and economics, largely to fill the gap left by the many left-leaning parties and organisations from the 60s to the early 90s, a time where Malaysian politics was a battle of ideologies rather than a crowded jostle between parties that share similar nationalistic or religionist tendencies.

This simple yet underrated approach, added with the party image as a clean and sincere party, have led PSM to have a popular image, especially with the urban crowd, some of whom even view the party as the last truly decent party around.

Pakatan Harapan have more than enough internal issues to tackle in this election – the addition of two new component parties and the departure of PAS, further complicated by PAS’ still-present position in the Selangor government, will make Malay-majority seats a complex negotiation.

To deal with the combined machineries of both Barisan Nasional and Gagasan Sejahtera would not be an easy feat. Instead of trying to grab as many seats as possible, energy should instead be spent in ensuring the current seats are secure, and allocating more resources to capture potential borderline seats.

Arguments on traditional seats are rather illogical as our political alliances change with every election. Sungai Siput, for example, have over the years been contested by MIC, against PAS, DAP, PKR, the now BN component PPP and the now largely-defunct MDP and SDP. 

Balancing service to the people, development and key causes is what coalitions should aim for when presenting their candidate line up. The combined image of these candidates present the general overview of a coalition.

As such, perhaps the coalition should just allow PSM to continue their work. Their grassroots activism and strong pro-labour stance would likely win a considerable amount of support from the worker class, as well as the urban and suburban voters who are disillusioned with the present system, and their squeaky clean image would help increase the credibility of Pakatan Harapan.

With time and resources for this crucial elections being strained by the high number of parties contesting, less than cheery economic outlook, lack of time to win the hearts of and recapture the imagination of an increasingly impatient and politically weary electorate, Pakatan Harapan should choose its quarrels wisely.  

They should leave PSM alone, and Sungai Siput is a good place to start. – November 21, 2017.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.