Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has ruled out joining the loose coalition announced by Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday, stating it is not comfortable with the way many of the parties involved play on ethnic issues.
PSM chairman Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj said it had decided against participating in the coalition after internal discussions.
“In that particular coalition that Muhyiddin put together, a lot of those parties play on ethnic issues.
“Whether it’s the Malay parties or the Indian parties, they play on ethnic issues. We feel very uncomfortable in a coalition that does that,” he told FMT.
Jeyakumar also said that joining a coalition was not on the cards for PSM at the moment.
“The party’s general membership has taken the position that we should not join any coalition unless they reform their ways,” he said.
On PSM’s previous electoral pact with Muda, Jeyakumar said a meeting would be held with the youth-based party to understand its reasons for aligning itself with Muhyiddin‘s coalition.
“We will meet and discuss with them on their intentions and perspectives,” he said.
Yesterday, it was reported that 11 opposition parties had agreed to form a loose coalition aimed at holding the government accountable and pressing Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on reform pledges they claimed had remained unfulfilled.
According to Muhyiddin, the coalition comprised Bersatu, PAS, Gerakan, Pejuang, Muda, the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP), Putra, Berjasa, Urimai, the Malaysian Advancement Party (MAP) and the National Indian Muslim Alliance Party (Iman).
