After more than a decade of struggling for official recognition, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) is now a formally registered political party.

According to sources, the government approved PSM's registration after the party filed a fresh application with the Registrar of Society (ROS).

arutchelvan and psm When contacted, PSM pro-tem secretary-general S Arutchelvan declined to provide details on the matter, saying a press conference would be held tomorrow regarding this.

"We will also discuss the future of socialism at the press conference tomorrow," he said.

PSM’s application was rejected in September 1999 - more than a year and a half after its submission - by then home minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Soon after, PSM filed a lawsuit to challenge the government’s decision.

National security threat

However, the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Jan 13, 2003, ruled that it concurred with the government that the socialist party posed a threat to national security.

Three years later, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision, but ruled that the party was not a national security threat, clearing one of the major hurdles for PSM.

PSM was told in June this year - while its appeal at the Federal Court was being heard - that the Home Ministry now supported PSM's registration and that it should submit a fresh application to the ROS.

Unable to operate as a full-fledged political party, PSM leaders have contested in the past three general elections under the banners of two other opposition parties - DAP and PKR.

In the March 8 elections, the party won one state seat and one parliamentary seat under the PKR ticket.

Given PSM’s new status, one question expected to be addressed tomorrow is the status of its elected representatives: Kota Damansara state assemblyperson Dr Mohd Nasir Hashim and Sungai Siput member of parliament Dr Michael D Jeyakumar.

It is not yet known whether PSM will join the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition, which currently consists of DAP, PKR and PAS.

Other than Jeyakumar, Pakatan Rakyat has 80 MPs in parliament.

PKR de facto leader and Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has pledged to gain at least 30 more MPs through defections in order to form a new government.