Perak PSM exco member K Kunasekaran said that entering into an alliance to coordinate seats and avoid three-cornered fights did not mean the party was compromising its socialist ideals.

“It is a strategic step to ensure that the people’s voice continues to be heard and that the struggle of the working class is not drowned out within the current two-bloc political system,” he said in a statement.

Kunasekaran said there were only two dominant political blocs in Malaysia, of which Pakatan Harapan has disregarded PSM for the longest time.

PSM must be bold enough to step out of its idealistic comfort zone. “It is time to accept PN’s invitation for cooperation as a pragmatic move to ensure that the struggle for the people’s rights continues to have a platform within the current political structure.”

Kunasekaran said history had shown that once bitter rivals were able to join forces, citing the time DAP and PAS were allies in the now defunct Pakatan Rakyat coalition and Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan are now in the unity government.

Kunasekaran’s call comes months after the party ruled out joining a PN-led loose coalition, on grounds it is not comfortable with the way many of the parties involved play on ethnic issues.

PSM chairman Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj had in August 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 (the coalition members) reform their ways,” he said.