Asked whether the party will once again apply to join the Opposition pact, its chairman Dr Nasir Hashim said he had no problem working with them on people’s issues, but without actually being in the pact.
These issues included taking part in rallies against the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and Goods and Services Tax (GST).
“But does Pakatan wants us or not?” he asked FMT after giving the keynote address for their 18th National Congress here today.
“They (Opposition) are all my friends, but our stand on things is different. We want to overhaul, not fine-tune the system.
“We can work together on many things such as TPPA, GST and Bersih, but there are some things we can’t work together on.”
PSM had applied to join the now defunct Pakatan Rakyat in 2012, but gave up after receiving no answer from Pakatan two years later. The pact then had PKR, DAP and PAS as members.
Pakatan Harapan was formed in 2015 with PKR, DAP and Amanah, a new party formed by disgruntled former members of PAS after party elections last year.
Dr Nasir, former Kota Damansara state assemblyman from 2008 to 2013, insisted that the party, which now has one seat in Parliament, considers that working with people is better than playing politics and gaining political positions.
“Our way isn’t by giving money, helping and then smile. We will go to the people and discuss why they have problems.
“We want them to be able to fight for themselves. When they ask for my help, I ask them to form a committee first. They need to be instilled with an independent spirit.”
At this year’s congress, PSM chose the “Towards 21st Century Socialism” theme, with Nasir outlining that the world was now beginning to accept socialism as the capitalism structure began to crumble.
Among the guests were Amanah President Mohamad Sabu, Amanah Secretary-General Anuar Tahir and PKR’s Kota Damansara Coordinator Radzlan Jalal.
Long-time leftist and former Batu PAS Chief Ishak Surin was also among the guests of honour at the event.
Nasir admitted that the road to socialism in Malaysia was still long and winding for the small party.
“We want to have socialism ala Malaysia. There is history here.
“People are the most important thing to us. We want the changes to come from the bottom to the top.”