Parti-Parti Politik Kiri dalam Pilihan Raya Umum Ke-14 (Left Political Parties In 14th General Election)

Abstract

The Malaysian 14th General Election (GE14) saw an increase of DUN and Parliamentary seats contested by two left-wing parties: Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM). GE14 was also the first attempt for PSM to use its own logo when in the previous two general elections the party had been contesting under Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) ticket. Despite the increased number of contested seats, all candidates from PRM and PSM suffered heavy losses and lost their deposits. This article discusses the involvement of both parties in GE14. We argue that the result of GE14 does not reflect a total rejection towards left ideals and parties in Malaysia since electoral participation is not the only means for left-wing parties to achieve their political objectives. Nevertheless, PRM and PSM had failed to prove themselves as a viable alternative to the current Malaysian two-party system, thus justifying public perception that GE14 was merely a struggle between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH).