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What is in a symbol? PSM heads to another long battle!
Malaysian Socialist Party - March 24, 2009
It appears as if the Government made a mistake by giving PSM a license in August last year and after realizing this mistake, they went on to use the "independent" Election Commission to deny PSM to use its symbol for election. The decision by the EC to refer the PSM logo issue back to the Registrar Of Society (ROS) who have earlier given approval to the symbol tantamount to rejecting PSM to stand for election.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) would go into history as the party which took the most number of years to get registered as well as being the most scrutinized. PSM struggle had taken many fronts from letter writing to street demonstration, from negotiations to court battles and now back to the battleground.
PSM started to use the fist symbol since 1998 when the party first applied for registration. We have been using it openly since the first election we stood under the DAP banner in 1999 as well as in all our publications, car sticker, flags and t-shirts. PSM chose the logo after looking at several symbols of fist. The fist used currently is also used by many socialists all over the world. The party symbol has been very popular and has since being used by many groups as symbols of struggle and peoples powers.
"Just let us move on." This was the angry tone which Dr Nasir Hashim told SPR's Deputy Secretary, Datuk Noordin Bin Che Ngah when submitting a memorandum to the ROS on 19th. Mac 2009.
Datuk Noordin had a series of excuses and among them is that now, there it is a new EC Chairperson, he (Noordin) is new to SPR, We did not reject the symbol but just seeked clarification from ROS and his most serious note was, "we are independent, you may not believe this but we are not here to deny or punish your party".
It is now six months since PSM applied to be registered to EC. One may think that since PSM got its registration, then it is now smooth sailing. On September 18, 2008, PSM had submitted copies of its registration certificate, party constitution, organization chart and party logo as required by the EC in order to register as a political party in the election. When the party did not receive any response from the EC, the documents were re-sent.
It was during this period that we got some dismal reason from one of the EC official who said that the reason cannot be revealed because it is deemed as an official secret. A letter from the EC replying to our follow-up letter created more questions than answers. The EC letter said that the EC is awaiting approval from the ROS. This prompted PSM to send a legal letter. PSM's lawyer Comrade Ragu Kesavan send a letter questioning EC's reasoning. Only then did the EC in its letter on February 13 said that EC rejects the PSM logo because it is "morally unsuitable" and "has connotations of violence". The commission also stated that it has the discretion to approve or reject the registration of political parties according to the Election Act 1958.
The EC reasons for rejection PSM's logo has created much amusement in the blogs. Many took comparison between the "keris" (dagger) and the fist. PSM in its memorandum also raised the issue of the keris as well as of the rocket. In today's world, rockets are seen as offensive weapons used by the terrorists.
Besides the above blatant discrimination, there are other serious issues to be considered.
The Home Ministry (HM) and ROS are the main authorities in determining the legitimacy of political parties and they have approved PSM registration including PSM symbol. Hence it is very unfair for the EC to refer back this to the ROS.
Besides that, in the ten years the Home Ministry had fought in not giving PSM its registration, it had never used the logo as a reason. Today it seems there is yet another reason to deny PSM's political future.
Finally, PSM had always stated that the faith of PSM must be determined by the people and not EC. If PSM logo is perceived to be immoral and violent, then the people of Malaysia will reject it through their votes. However, that decision should be made by the voters and not the Election Commission.
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