KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) has announced that it will contest in the upcoming Ayer Kuning by-election.
PSM deputy chairman S. Arutchelvan in a statement on Saturday (March 22) said that the party's central committee decided to support Perak PSM in their bid to contest for the seat in the April 26 by-election.
"We will announce our candidate and launch the main operations room for the by-election on April 8 in Pekan Air Kuning," he said.
He addded that putting an alternative third candidate in the fight between two giant coalitions was a difficult decision.
"We decided to compete based on various reasons, including the fact that PSM contested for the seat in the previous General Election," he said.
Arutchelvan this was one of the areas where the party had done grassroots work.
"This can be a measuring stick to see if the people's support for PSM has increased or decreased.
"With PSM in the mix, voters can choose a party based on merit and principles," he said.
He said the Ayer Kuning seat in Perak needs a representative who can voice the people's needs and highlight serious issues plaguing the state.
"They need to highlight environmental issues, forest destruction, flood management, housing policy and the rights of the marginalised community there," he said.
The by-election will be held following the death of Barisan Nasional's Ishsam Shahruddin, 58, who collapsed while participating in a friendly football match in George Town and died at the Penang Hospital on Feb 22.
In the 2022 General Election, Ishsam polled 9,088 votes and won by a 2,213 majority, defeating Amanah's Mohd Nazri Hashim, PAS' Muhammad Noor Farid, PSM's KS Bawani and Pejuang's Maziah Salim.
