Leaders of Muda and PSM have welcomed the opportunity to strengthen ties as offered by newly elected Parti Rakyat Malaysia president Rohana Arifin.
This comes after a faction of PRM met at an extraordinary general meeting in Port Klang on Saturday to elect a new leadership, headed by former party president Rohana.
“PRM is still a progressive, leftist party and we shall be linking up and trying to work together with political parties like PSM, and also would be seeking cooperation with Muda, Bersih, and Anak Bangsa Malaysia,” said Rohana.
According to Rohana, a factional rift in the party began when its previous president Ariffin Salimon passed away in December 2023.
She claimed that the Registrar of Societies has not decided which faction is currently legitimate but that the proposal to hold a special congress was decided by the party’s central committee on Jan 28, 2024.
PSM deputy president S Arutchelvan said he was optimistic that with Rohana at the helm, the parties could work together and build a coalition of progressive forces.
“I think PRM has a great history and it is sad that, lately, the party spent a lot of time infighting at the ROS rather than fighting for other causes.
“Rohana’s re-entry is welcomed since she is ideologically socialist and not opportunist. She would help build a leftist coalition with PSM and others.
“We would very much welcome that as Malaysian politics is about coalitions and there were two great left coalitions before. The Putera- AMJCA pre-Merdeka and the Barisan Socialist post-Merdeka,” he said.
Rohana told Malaysiakini that the special congress at Port Klang saw her voted in as president while former Dewan Negara member Ezam Mohamad Nor was retained as deputy president.
RN Raj was named secretary-general, while the three vice-presidents are now former Kapar MP S Manickavasagam, former Kedah exco Tan Chow Kang, and Sarah Afiqah Zainol Ariff.
‘Positive development to Malaysian politics’
Muda secretary-general Amir Hadi also congratulated Rohana, who had previously led PRM from 2010-2015.
“She is an individual who greatly inspires many individuals in the progressive struggle, even myself.
“Muda welcomes Rohana’s return to the political scene and believe it will definitely bring PRM back to the past glories.
“PRM is a political party that has a long history with its establishment by the late Ahmad Boestamam, who was one of the heroes of the independence struggle.
“As a party that promotes a progressive agenda, Muda sees this as a positive development in Malaysian politics,” he said in a statement.
PRM was originally formed in 1955 and gained prominence as part of the Socialist Front coalition with the Labour Party of Malaysia.
However, it was decimated by repeated ISA detentions in the 1960s and 1970s, eventually merging with Parti Keadilan Nasional in 2002 to form today’s PKR.
Rohana (above) was part of a group of dissidents who opposed the merger and revived the party through a legal challenge.
After current Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim returned to PKR, Rohana served as party president from 2010 to 2015.
In recent years, the party became home to former Dewan Negara member Ezam, former DAP assemblyperson Jenice Lee, and ex-Kapar MP S Manikavasagam. It fielded 16 candidates in the 2022 general election but all lost their deposits. - Mkini
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