The current state of political discussion in Malaysia is becoming a "circus", and there is a real need to bring the political discourse back to pertinent issues related to living costs and economic hardship, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) said today.

 

Its Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar ( left ) said that the issues dominating the political scene - raised by both sides of the political divide, including the Kajang by-election, were not essential for the people.

 

Thus, PSM sees it as an opportune moment for the party to thrive with its national roadshow campaign to increase awareness not only to the party, but also to its issue-based approach to politics.

 

"The real question is - why, in a country so rich such as this, there is economic hardship for nearly 50 percent of the population?" Jeyakumar said on the sidelines of PSM's roadshow in Petaling Jaya today.

 

"This is what we call memperbodohkan (fooling) the people," Jeyakumar, PSM's sole parliamentarian who was allowed to stand under a PKR banner, said.

 

Today, the party that is so often linked by government to having communist tendencies, will complete its roadshow in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, having already toured Perak.

 

And its secretary-general S Arutchelvan admitted that the party needed to take into consideration the attention it is receiving from the police even though the roadshow, at most times, is small-scale.

Roadshow in Perak, S'gor strongholds

 

"The last time we had a roadshow, we started in Kedah and Johor and we received plenty of attention from the police. That is why, this time we have started in our strongholds of Perak and Selangor," Arutchelvan said.

 

But, Arutchelvan ( left ) senses that some tides are changing in terms of what is perceived of the Malay community's political leanings, which is why the party has begun making inroads in Kelantan and even Perlis - which are traditional Malay heartlands.

 

"Last week alone, we had 18 new members in PSM. And when I looked at the list, I found that 16 of the new members were Malays. This is something abnormal for us," he said.

 

He said that this was an indication that some young Malays are feeling that both BN and Pakatan Rakyat "are the same" and are now demanding a "new kind of politics".

 

"Now we have an unit in Kelantan and Perlis, all these are being led by our Malay comrades," Arutchelvan said.

 

The party, which was not accepted into the Pakatan coalition and had to contest separately against both BN and Pakatan representatives in two state seats in the last general election due to Pakatan's not endorsing them - will next go to Malacca and Negeri Sembilan.

 

The roadshow will run until the end of March, covering the entire breadth of the peninsula in stages.