Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has courted flak from supporters of Pakatan Harapan over its decision to field candidates in the coming general election, which would lead to multi-cornered contests.

Opposition supporters have called on PSM to focus on the “bigger picture,” which is to defeat Umno and BN.

At a press conference in Kajang today, PSM's sole federal lawmaker Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj explained the reason behind the party's decision to contest.

The two-term Sungai Siput MP, who vanquished eight-term incumbent former MIC president S Samy Vellu in the 2008 general election, put forth the carbonated drink analogy.

He explained that PSM is also looking at the “bigger picture,” but from a different vantage point.

“People say we should look at the bigger picture and work together to change the government, but we are looking at the bigger picture.

“We want to change the type of politics and the type of leadership (we currently have). We are thinking about a different politics for the country.

“It's not just about kicking out BN because what do you replace BN with? We don’t just want to change from Coca-Cola to Pepsi,” he said.

At the same press conference earlier, PSM central committee member S Arutchelvan suggested a win-win solution for voters.

He urged voters to back PSM candidates in the seats they were contesting, but to cast their ballots for Harapan candidates in the remaining 97 percent of constituencies.

Arutchelvan also pointed out that PSM would only field candidates in constituencies where the party has carried out extensive work.

Apart from PSM, Harapan candidates would also have to face PAS, which has formed its own opposition alliance called Gagasan Sejathera.