COMMENT | “I went into politics to bring a different political culture and I see it as a long-term fight. I will continue doing what I’ve been doing here (even if I lose).”

– Sungai Siput MP Dr D Michael Jeyakumar

Truth is, I am from the school that thinks politicians should only be given two terms to either prove that they can actually make a difference, or (this is more likely) offer crappy solutions to problems that they invent. That is politics and democracy in a nutshell, but it is the best option we have.

Having said that, the reality that Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s Dr D Michael Jeyakumar may lose his place among the people chosen to represent the interests of the ordinary rakyat after two terms proves that sometimes, there are exceptions to the rule.

The DAP hopeful that he is up against – not counting the other hopefuls – is A Sivanesan, who the good doctor had sued for defamation for “casting doubt on the former's asset declaration exercise and claiming that the PSM lawmaker had hidden some of his assets”. Losing to this particular candidate would bruise the ego of the average Malaysian but not to someone like Jeyakumar.

Sivanesan is upbeat because he understands that racial politics means that the Rocket candidate will score in the demographic that counts, and for the marginalised Indian demographic, it means shutting up and being thankful you are allowed a place on the table.

Just to recap my position on PSM and the knowledge that my pieces on PSM will not make a difference – “However, I know nothing I say will change minds. While I do not agree with the ideological foundations of PSM, there is nothing in their manifesto that puts them at odds with the opposition. Even their stand on religion is clear and unequivocal, which probably means that there could be an issue with Muslims in Pakatan who do not seem to have any trouble getting support from the so-called secular types in the opposition.”

DAP political operatives knowing of my support of the grassroots movements like PSM tell me that the latter started this fight first by daring to contest in “traditional” DAP seats. This is somewhat funny, of course, because it means that just because a political party has marked a territory, no other political party can contest there, especially so-called political allies. It is a fair enough argument to make. PSM is picking a fight with another political hegemon relying on a specific racial demographic to achieve electoral victory.

In many articles, I have made the case as to why a grassroots-level outfit like PSM would be an asset not only to the oppositional forces in this country, but specifically to DAP. PSM could be the conduit to the marginalised Malay underclass, and the brewing class dialectic in the greater Malay polity. Relying on the religiosity of Amanah and the old school racial demagoguery of Bersatu is not going to create the environment that sustains the kind of change the opposition claims it wants for Malaysia...