I refer to the malaysiakini report The left-wing's vanishing dream .

I went up to Sungai Siput to help PSM Dr M Jeyakumar's campaign against BN's S Samy Vellu in 1999 and we managed to cut Samy Vellu's majority to about 5,000 if I recall right.

One thing I have observed about Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) is that they campaign among the lower-income group and the disadvantaged all year round while most other middle-class opposition parties campaign feverishly only at election time and ease off in between. The only exception perhaps being PAS which seems to continue its work among its constituents on an ongoing basis.

PSM's work is not based upon just winning seats in Parliament every four or five years but of building links with its supporters in the working class movement, especially the plantation workers and squatters. They also have built a base of potential leaders to carry on their work when its current leaders retire.

Also, PSM does not rely solely on ineffectual freedom on the Internet (gratis of the Barisan Nasional government) to spread its message and build its support base. Instead, it relies on personal contact, especially among those who not only don't have computers but don't even have the electricity to power them.

Netto had better get his head out of cyberspace and smell the roses a bit.