PSM gets thumbs up from Semenyih folk (TMT)

PSM gets thumbs up from Semenyih folk 

Posted: 5:29 pm, April 14, 2013 by editor

KUALA LUMPUR, April 13:  Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s (PSM) S Arutchelvan has decided to re-contest the Semenyih state assembly seat in the 13^th General Election (GE13), which is to be held on May 5th.

The PSM secretary-general,who had failed to win a seat in the 2008 election, has put his disappointments behind and has made up his mind to contest the state seat in the coming election under the PSM party banner.

What’s blocking his way is Pakatan Rakyat (PR) de facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar’s insistence that the party contest using the PKR  banner

Anwar has not given the green light for PSM yet to contest under its own banner, claiming that thelogo will confuse and split the votes in favour of BN.

The Malaysian Times (TMT) conducted a survey among the Semenyih voters to get their views on this contentious issue.

G. Gopalakrishnan, a lorry driver, 55, said that he is aware that the PSM is a PR’s party component.

“Ofcourse, we all know that PSM is under Pakatan,” he said.

On the support for PSM, he said that the party has strong support in Semenyih but there are higher chances for BN, if PR and PSM compete for the seat at the same time.

“The PSM needs a strong platform to contest, while PR needs a winnable candidate to win the seat. Both parties have to come up with a win-win deal,” he suggested.

Gopalakrishnan said that, Arutchelvan is a social worker and a well-known figure among the people in Semenyih and he has a very good chance to win with a big majority.

“If Arul (Arutchelvan) contest against BN candidate one on one, 70 per cent of Indian votes will go for him,” Gopalakrishnan said.

He said that the people of Semenyih are ready for a change and want to see what the opposition has to do for the community.

“Whether the opposition will deliver or not the promises is secondary. Let’s see what they can do. If there are no changes, we (rakyat) will change the leaders in the next election. It is time for people power and the country to move towards a democratic nation,” he said.

Annuar, an employee in the private sector, 40, opined that the internal conflicts among PR party components will only weaken the opposition.

“Many of the people in Semenyih are backing the opposition but the party‘s indecision when  choosing seats and candidates will weaken their chances in the coming election,” he said.  

Annuar said that, as there is no unity in the opposition while the Barisan Nasional has a higher chance to win the Semenyih state seat.

On whether the candidate’s race will be a factor for the voters, Annuar said that, “Race will never be a factor. Voters now are very mature and are politically aware and we know how and who will be the correct choice regardless the person’s racial background.”  

Meanwhile, retired Telekom technician, V. Krishnasamy, 70, said that he is well aware of the PSM party’s work  over the past five years.

“I know the party is under Pakatan Rakyat,” he said.

Krishnasamy said that, the party is very good in looking at the people’s problems  and it has the support of the people from all races in Semenyih.

“Many of my Malay and Chinese friends are strong supporters of the party,” he said.

When asked on Arutchelvan’s candidacy, Krishnasamy said that, “He is a very vibrant person and very helpful for the society. He will be a good choice of candidate here.”  

During the past election, Arutchelvan lost to Datuk Johan Abdul Aziz, of Barisan Nasional (BN), by a majority of 1,140 votes.

Johan polled 11,588 votes to Arutchelvan’s10,448.

The party is scheduled to meet Anwar, the opposition leader, on Sunday to settle seat allocation for the PSM. -TMT