Guarantees to freedom of association, a decent minimum wage and a halt to privatisation of essential services such as healthcare, water and education, were among the messages reiterated by members of yet-to-be-registered Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) at its sixth national congress recently.

In a press release, pro-tem secretary-general S Arutchelvan said 13 resolutions were adopted during the meeting held in Penang from June 18 to 20.

He said the party will gradually raise these issues with the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

Other resolutions passed included the call for the registration of PSM to be immediately approved and for efforts to ensure that the judiciary is independent and credible.

Comfortable housing

The party also called on the government to ensure comfortable housing for all, firmly implement price controls on basic goods, prevent further destruction of the environment, ensure credibility of the Anti-Corruption Agency, and stop police brutality and misuse of powers.

On the international front, PSM also demanded that the United States withdraw its forces from Iraq immediately and return sovereignty to Iraqis.

In 1999, the Registrar of Societies (ROS) rejected the PSM application to register as a political party, following its failure to meet requirement to first set up seven state-level branches in order to register at the national level.

Appeals to the Home Ministry and to seek legal intervention to overturn the decision have since failed.