PSM's Arul to contest in Kajang, pledges to improve his hometown

SHAH ALAM - Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) deputy chief S Arutchelvan is rooting for tackling climate change, upgrading low-cost flats, and making Kajang a livable city.

In an interview with Sinar Daily, Arutchelvan expressed his desire to transform Kajang into a livable city instead of proposing more big development projects.

"Kajang is filled with public transportation; therefore, we are pushing Kajang into a livable city, which means we are not proposing any big development projects."

"Instead, the government should upgrade all low-cost flats in the Kajang area," he said.

Arutchelvan also wants to focus on curbing flood issues around the Kajang area.

"Floods are happening in the same place for many years, so we are looking at specific projects where the flood issue can be resolved easily, also addressing climate change," he said.

Being in a socialist party, Arutchelvan believes that public's involvement in every discussion was crucial.

"We must involve the people in every discussion; for example, if there is a playground in a neighborhood, the residents should maintain it."

"We give the provisions and they manage it, so people can participate in the democracy," he said.

When asked about the decision to contest in Kajang, Arutchelvan said that he knows the community better as it is his hometown.

"It all started from his university days where Arutchelvan, as a student, would participate in community works," he said.

Talking about his chances in the state election, Arutchelvan agrees that the chances for a third force party are quite bad due to the first-past-the-post system.

Arutchelvan further said that Malaysians are voting based on 'fear,' due to influence of race base politics.

"The current political climate in this country is very toxic because people are voting another party out of fear.

"For the Malays, they are always being told that if Pakatan Harapan (PH) wins, DAP will come in and the Malay rights will be gone and the same thing goes to another side, if they vote for Perikatan Nasional (PN), the non-Malay rights will be gone.

"So both parties basically play the same form of racial politics.

"Voters are getting fed-up of this kind of politics," he added.

Therefore, Arutchelvan urged voters, especially youths, to vote for small parties like PSM and Muda as they will be more representative in the state assembly.

Arutchelvan is a full-time grassroots activist for over 30 years and he is currently a member of the Central Committee and also the Deputy Chief of PSM.

He has served as Secretary General of PSM from 1998 to 2015.

Arutchelvan has worked at Suaram, a leading human rights NGO in Malaysia from 1995 to 2006.

He also served as a local councilor in Semenyih district from 2008 to 2013

Arutchelvan has championed and led various issues including fuel hike, decent housing, minimum wage action, layoffs for workers and many more.

He has been arrested more than 40 times while defending the rights of marginalised people.