Kuala Lumpur,

In two days time, the tenth National Congress of Parti Sosialis Malaysia
(PSM) will kick off in Port Dickson. The 3-day congress will be attended by
around 150 delegates and observers. This year’s congress is special in that
it commemorates a decade of PSM’s existence in the Malaysian political
scene. It also is the first congress since two party members were voted into
political office in the last general election, breaking the four-decade
drought in which there were no socialist representatives.

A total of 33 resolutions have been tabled by the party’s branches and front
organisations this year. These can be broken down into six categories,
namely internal party policy, the party’s newspaper, national programmes,
the General Election, the party’s registration, membership fees and current
national issues.

Two branches have raised the pertinent issue of party membership. Following up with the resolutions passed last year on the relaxation of the party’s
recruitment policy, both branches have proposed that two types of membership
be created. Although there are slight differences in the details of the two
proposals, the common ground is that members with voting powers should be
subject to more stringent requirements, while those without such powers need
only fulfil requirements which are less strict.

A couple of resolutions have also been proposed regarding on what logo that
PSM should stand under in future general elections if the Party is yet to be
registered. One puts forward the view that PSM should spurn Pakatan Rakyat
and instead contest as independents or under any alternative banner. The
other recommends that the party must be prepared to face 3-cornered fights
and contest under an independent logo. The crucial question would be if PSM
would work towards strengthening the two party system of work towards
building a third force.

Finally the controversial issue of the 1% remittance requirement for
membership rears its head once again in three separate resolutions. Two
propose that the remittance be made optional, while the third suggests that
the money be given to the branches rather than the party’s headquarters. A
lively debate is expected on this matter.

PSM Chairperson, Dr. Nasir Hashim will open the Tenth Congress with his
keynote address on the first day, followed by the Secretary-General S.
Arutchelvan’s report.

This year, papers will be presented by eight speakers on four topics, which
will be followed by debates. The international topic for this congress is on
the worldwide food crisis and its impact on economies and people’s
movements. On the national political front, it will be debated whether the
objective situation is right for a take-over of power from the Barisan
National and whether PSM should form a third way or support a two-party
system. The third debate will be a critique on PSM’s political line which
focuses on economic struggle rather than on other aspects such as culture,
language and religion. The fourth debate would be on how to expand PSM’s
membership base without sacrificing quality.

Overall, this year’s congress looks to be a thrilling one that will set the
tone of the party’s struggle for the year ahead and beyond. With the end of
the party’s first 10 years of existence marked by a breakthrough in the last
general election, the next decade promises to be even more exciting.