‘Is Harapan four parties or Dr M?’ - Arul on working within the system

“Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.”

– Hal Borland, Countryman: A Summary of Belief

In this second part of the interview, S Arutchelvan goes into specifics of PSM’s interaction with the new Pakatan Harapan regime. Arutchelvan is not a demagogue and his answer reflect an attitude that only comes with years of working with the grassroots against a hegemonic political system interested in maintaining the status quo but which is currently challenged by a newly awakened electorate.

The system will only change if the public holds them accountable for what they promised, not because of the hate of the former Umno regime.

What do you think the new Harapan government is getting right?

Arutchelvan: In the first place, there is confusion about what we mean by the new Harapan government. Are we talking about the four parties in Harapan (PKR, DAP, Amanah and Bersatu), or Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad?

In any case, what Harapan have gotten right is politically, they managed to create fear around the RM1 trillion debt, which will elicit sympathy if they cannot deliver on some key promises. They even got the rakyat donating to them.

The appointments of some ministers cut across racial lines, and there have been some good appointments as well, like the attorney-general (Tommy Thomas) and the new Election Commission chief (Azhar Harun) (photo), which seem to be good decisions.

Going after former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak immediately after coming into power demonstrates how serious they are. They have also not allowed the royalty to bully the executive, worked to abolish the death penalty, and the media appears to be freer these days.

What do you think the new Harapan government is getting wrong?

Harapan ministers keeping Mahathir in check is totally non-existent. Is seems most ministers have become docile cheerleaders, and are lost.

They are not walking the talk. They have not been transparent in making the reports on institutional reforms available to the public. They have not repealed some critical laws like the Sedition Act 1948, Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, etc.

Other missteps include Education Minister Maszlee Malik’s appointment to the International Islamic University, and Lim Guan Eng’s (photo) graft charges being dropped.

There are also their anti-poor policies – the minimum wage increase of just RM50; subsidies for fishermen and farmers removed; and not fulfilling the manifesto, while at the same time pursuing things not in the manifesto, like the third national car, the ‘crooked bridge’, etc., while getting rid of good infrastructure projects, like the MRT3.

Is there a difference in the way that the Harapan government engages with PSM compared to the BN regime?

We still have to shout and do demonstrations to get attention, but we can now get better access to ministers because we know some of them from before. Most of them do respect the work that PSM does, though they might find us a pain at times. But the government bureaucracy is almost the same. Hardly anything has changed.

What is PSM's position on the issue of Islam when it encroaches on the public and private spheres of citizens in Malaysia?

PSM has always believed that the only way to fight Islamic extremism is through class politics. It is therefore important to build a class-based movement, which among others, has a huge multiracial component which will campaign strongly against racism.

In Malaysia, Islamic extremism is fought by non-Muslim forces, and minority Malay liberal forces. When non-Muslims argue, it creates more problems than solutions.

PSM feels that we must get the working class to have a strong stance against racism, and always highlight and condemn any racist tendency from any group, be it Umno, PAS, Perkasa, Hindraf or the Chinese education movement.

Islam is the biggest religion, and they always feel that they are under siege by the others. It is important to win over working-class Muslims by addressing poverty issues, not through propping up race-based institutions.

This is why PAS continues to get support in Muslim-majority states. We need to win the Muslim masses through social economy programmes, rather than allow radical Islam to fill the vacuum.

What has been the reception to PSM post May 9?

The shocking thing was just after the election, we got a sudden surge in membership. Around 100 new members in the first week. Are they people who were formerly with BN, those with Harapan who now want to be in the opposition, or just those who wanted to encourage PSM not to close shop? We aren’t sure.

But we are now settling down to the new reality. The new government. The rakyat felt that everything would change overnight – prices would go down, life would improve, etc. People now realise that that is not so simple. They still need to fight to live. So our struggle continues to make sense many people.

Now more people are willing to listen to us. They feel we have been truthful then and now. We have less competition from Harapan since they are now the ruling coalition.

We have nothing to stop us moving forward, and hopefully, if the Harapan government is going to be less repressive, that will allow us to build a true people's movement dedicated to the majority class.

PSM has a process in which the candidate has to have had a presence in the constituent he or she is standing in for a year, right?

Currently, the selection process of choosing the candidates remains, but what may differ is that we are in the process of making our division boundaries match electoral boundaries.

So that work at the division level can focus on the constituency, and that any division that wants to contest in the election must ensure that they must have at least 50 percent of the population covered using a unit system.

It is a bit complicated to explain this here, but basically we have come up with a more uniform and organised selection process.

Is PSM a viable opposition to Harapan, if it comes to that, and how does this selection process enable it to be an effective opposition, if the need arises?

I think PAS and Umno as the opposition will raise religious and racial issues. That will be their trump card. Therefore, PSM has the opportunity to bring up issues related to the B40 and M40 demographic.

We have always been seen as the champion of the B40. Our challenge is to make the party relevant to the M40, and these are the people who will make critical decision in the elections.

I think with Harapan winning the election, the route is clear for PSM to become a viable opposition. If the people realise that there is not much difference between the neoliberal BN and the neoliberal Harapan, then people would look for a third force.

All over the world, recent trends show that elections are either won by the far right or far left. So we do have a chance, as voters have become radicalised or when people get fed up.

Does PSM intend to work with the BN opposition?

Currently, we don't have any desire to work with the BN due to ideological reasons. We may work with some ex-BN parties, like Gerakan, if they can put forward a position consistent with our class-based and multiracial political character.

S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. - Mkini