'Pakatan must win hearts of rural Malays'

Pakatan Rakyat would be at a disadvantage in the impending 13th general elections if it fails to capture the hearts of the rural Malays, said Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) Sungai Siput MP Dr D Jeyakumar.

He felt the Malay community was not ignorant of Umno's 'corrupt' ways but was afraid that affirmative action would be taken away and were in fear of mortgaging their children's future, should they vote for Pakatan.

Jeyakumar (left) stressed that PSM was not against affirmative action for the poor, which includes many rural Malays, and that the party would strive to bring this message to the community.

"The Pakatan government may feel that if they were to sympathise with the non-Malays, they may lose Malay votes," he said.

"But if the Malays fear that Pakatan favours meritocracy and would abolish affirmative action, we will lose out (in the coming election)," he warned.

Thanksgiving dinner

Jeyakumar was speaking at a packed thanksgiving dinner in Penang last night organised for the six PSM activists recently releasedunder the 1960 Emergency Ordinance.

They were released on July 29.

Others who spoke to the attentive crowd of NGO activists, lawyers and families of the PSM members, include Choo Chon Kai, Sarat Babu, M Sarasvathy (left), M Sukumaran, and A Letchumanan.

The six are charged with 24 others for possession of subversive documents and being members of an unlawful society, and are scheduled to attend court in Butterworth from Oct 10-14.

The authorities have clarified that the six activists were detained for being involved the Bersih 2.0 rally for electoral reforms in Kuala Lumpur on July 9.

Meanwhile, Jeyakumar said the recent crackdown on PSM activists has forced the party to reflect on its own socialist ideology.

He said party leaders were compelled to explain how is socialism in the 21st century is different from communisim.

He added that the party has to clarify its ideological stand so that the Malaysian public could understand more of its struggles, which actually begun at the grassroots level.

"We were never ideological to begin with...we started as an NGO with grassroot groups involved in issues of poverty, urban poor and education.

"But now we have to talk more on our ideology so that the people can judge for themselves for who we are and what we stand for," he ended. - Malaysiakini