Malaysia: PSM’s manifesto for the 15th general election
Parti Sosialis Malaysia will be running in the Rembau parliamentary seat and the Ayer Kuning seat in the Perak state assembly. Here is our manifesto for the 15th General Election.
Preface
The Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) is prepared to offer a breath of fresh air to the political, economic and social reform efforts in Malaysia by participating in the Fifteenth General Election.
Our country is being hit by various crises: the global economic crisis; the health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has greatly affected the general public; the global climate crisis that threatens humanity; the uncertainties in the ordinary people’s lives; the widening wealth gap; the public trust deficit in the national administration system; the threat of extremist politics that divides the people; among others. The marhaen—ordinary people consisting of workers, farmers, fisherfolk, the unemployed, students, street vendors, small traders, B40 and M40 citizens, and so on—are the group that has to bear the brunt of this crisis.
Until now, however, the government has yet to deal with these problems effectively by coming up with sustainable solutions. This is because all the governments of the day thus far have failed to implement meaningful political, economic and social reforms as the foundation for solving these problems.
Our country thus needs a new political power that has a solution to the problems that plague the ordinary people. We need a voice that can truly represent the people in the Federal Parliament and the State Legislative Assemblies.
Born from the struggles of the ordinary people, PSM has always upheld the people’s voice and is determined to bring it into the legislature. A strident voice in Parliament and the State Legislative Assemblies, fighting for reform, will act as a force to compel the government to implement reforms that can solve the people’s problems and secure the well-being of the community more effectively. Choose the People’s Voice!
The 6 cores
1. Jobs guarantee scheme
2. Food security
3. Improving social protection
4. Housing for the people
5. Addressing the climate crisis
6. Reform of federal government institutions
These 6 cores will be the basis of our struggle towards a goal of implementation if we are successfully elected as your representatives in Parliament or State Assembly.
1. Jobs Guarantee Scheme
1. Put the onus of providing and securing employment for every Malaysian citizen on the government.
2. Increase recruitment for elderly care and pre-school child care. Also increase the number of social workers to identify and directly deliver assistance to the poor and disabled.
3. Increase the recruitment of health workers, nurses, doctors, laboratory technicians and so on.
4. Create jobs for science and technical graduates in the new industry of electric and hydrogen bus manufacturing, thus also improving public transport services in the country.
5. Invest in clean energy education, and create jobs in the related industries. Also create jobs in forest and river restoration, as well as domestic waste processing and reuse technologies.
2. Food security
1. Aggressively use the land stock of government-linked companies to plant daily food crops and increase agricultural land, thus reducing the dependence on imported food.
2. Retain existing food manufacturers:
- vegetable farmers on government land;
- fisherfolk threatened by sea reclamation projects;
- cattle breeders in oil palm plantations.
Immediately halt their eviction or confiscation of their land and sea areas!
3. Set price ceilings to control food prices. Give subsidies to farmers to reduce the cost of agricultural inputs.
4. Support peace efforts and avoid wars at the international level (for example, the Ukraine-Russia War) that will raise the cost of imported foods.
3. Improving social protection
1. A RM500 monthly pension to all seniors (> 65 years old) who are not recipients of government pensions or other benefits such as SOCSO.
2. SOCSO Scheme benefits to all informal workers, including contract workers, rubber farmers, paddy farmers, fisherfolk, small traders, gig workers and housewives. This contribution is borne 100% by the government.
3. Cash assistance of RM200 per month to all B40 families until price hikes of food items are controlled.
4. Stop all unfair policies, practices, dealings with the Orang Asli, people with disabilities (PWDs) and sexual minorities through an approach that pays special attention to the needs of each group. Enact an anti-discrimination law to prevent any form of discrimination based on race, religion, sexual identity and physical or mental abilities.
4. Housing for the people
1. Build 10,000 PPR houses a year to be leased to B40 citizens. Establish a special Housing Board (a non-profit body) to build and sell affordable houses priced at less than RM100,000 per unit, specially for the B40 and M40 citizens.
2. Have city and municipal councils take over maintenance of low-cost flats. Allocate an annual budget of RM2 billion for this.
3. Give the original urban settler occupant land rights with a reasonable premium.
4. Impose the Land Acquisition Act on farm owners who fail to provide housing for their workers. Farm workers who serve for more than 10 years should be given one house per family.
5. Penalise owners of long-unoccupied houses/apartments. Reduce speculation in the housing market through measures such as by taxing those who own more than 2 houses/apartments.
5. Addressing the climate crisis
1. Declare a Climate Emergency to raise awareness of both people and the government that we need to act quickly.
2. Immediately halt logging and mining in Permanent Forest Reserves. Launch a forest recovery programme with the cooperation of NGOs.
3. Accelerate renewable energy programmes, including solar panels, electricity generation from sewage plant and oil palm factory wastes.
4. Introduce permit fees for purchases of new luxury cars. The collected fees will be used for the operation of the electric/hydrogen buses to be used in public transportation in the whole country.
5. Directly transfer subsidies of RM300 per month to B40 motorists to ensure the success of targeted diesel/petrol subsidies.
6. Halt the use of coal as an electricity generation fuel by 2028.
7. Increase the facilities, and build the capacity of society, especially marginalised communities, to prepare for climate change effects such as rising sea level, floods, droughts, heat waves and many more.
6. Reform of federal government institutions
1. Prioritise transparency and accountability to prevent executive interference in the appointment of the Chief Justice, Chief Commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Election Commission Chairperson and Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) Chairperson. Form a bi-partisan Special Appointments Commission consisting of Parliament members, with the participation and input of civil society organisations.
2. Enact a Public Funding for Political Parties law, the details of which include an annual budget of RM200 million that will be disseminated to political parties in proportion with the popular vote received by each party.
3. Abolish laws that have become government instruments of political oppression, such as the Sedition Act, Printing Presses and Publications Act, Security Offences (Special Measures) Act, and so on. Reject the Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC), and approve the establishment of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) immediately.
4. Empower the Auditor General of Malaysia to firmly act in stopping public budget leakages that have reached RM40 billion a year.
5. Limit the tenure of the Prime Minister and Menteri Besar/Chief Minister to 2 terms (10 years).
6. Bring back local council elections to strengthen local democracy and ensure local government accountability to the people.
PSM candidate’s pledge
1. I will not play ethnic sentiments at any time in any election campaign.
2. If chosen as your representative, I will not abuse this position to amass personal wealth.
3. If I win, I will publicly announce my assets every year.
4. I will always go to the ground to understand the people’s issues and try my best to resolve and voice them out in Parliament/State Legislative Assembly.
5. I uphold the principle that the position of a People’s Representative is a sacred trust by the citizens, which has to be used for the public good and not for personal interest.