The Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front (

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

: ''Fron Sosialis Rakyat Malaya'') or better known as Socialist Front (SF) was a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

coalition of Malaysian socialist parties. It was among the longest-standing opposition coalitions in

Malaysian general election Elections in Malaysia include elections to public office of the political entities that since 1963 have composed the federation of Malaysia. At present, elections in Malaysia exist at two levels: federal level and state level. Federal level elec ...

history. The coalition was formed by Partai Rakyat (PRM) and the

Labour Party of Malaya The Labour Party of Malaya ( ms, Parti Buruh Malaya; abbrev. LPM) was a political party in Malaya that was active between 1952 and 1969. It was originally formed as a confederation of state based labour parties known as the Pan-Malayan Labour P ...

Hari Merdeka Independence Day ( ms, Hari Merdeka, also known as ''Hari Kebangsaan'' or "National Day"), is the official independence day of Malaya. It commemorates the Malayan Declaration of Independence of 31 August 1957, and is defined in Article 160 ...

in 1957. In 1964, National Convention Party (NCP) joined the coalition. PRM left the coalition in 1965 and NCP soon become inactive. The Labour Party, the only remaining party in SF, abandoned it on 10 January 1966 and reverted to its own banner.

History

The coalition was formed on

by two multi-racial parties - the Partai Rakyat (PRM) which had a Malay leftist leadership and the Labour Party of Malaya, which was largely supported by Malaya's Chinese minority. The first chairman was

Ahmad Boestamam Ahmad Boestamam (30 November 1920 – 19 January 1983), or Abdullah Sani, was a Malaysian freedom fighter, politician and was the founding president of Parti Rakyat Malaysia and Parti Marhaen Malaysia. Ahmad Boestamam was born in Setapak, Ampa ...

, the PRM president. In the 1959 General Elections, the Socialist Front (SF) managed to gain 8 seats in Selangor, Johor, and Penang constituencies. It won 34.6% of the popular vote cast in the constituencies. SF as a whole successfully garnered 13% of the votes, thus becoming the third-largest party in Parliament after the Alliance and the

Pan Malaysian Islamic Party The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS; ms, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia; ms, ڤرتي إسلام سمليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. As the party focused on Islamic fundamentalism, PAS's ...

(PMIP). The Socialist Front managed to gain 13 out of 14 seats in George Town, Penang during the 1961 Local Elections. The SF was further strengthened when the former Minister of Agriculture,

Aziz Ishak Abdul Aziz bin Ishak (1914–1999) was a Malaysian freedom fighter, politician and journalist. Aziz was, in fact, the only member of the pre-war Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM) to have served in the 1955 and post-Merdeka Cabinets under Tunku Abdu ...

, brought his National Convention Party into the coalition.

resigned as SF chairman in 1961 to concentrate on leading PRM. In 1963, shortly after the events of the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation, the government took action against several opposition politicians and activists. SF was seen as pro-Indonesia and pro-China, causing the Socialist Front leader's arrest. Among those detained and arrested were

( PR president),

Ishak Haji Muhammad Ishak Haji Muhammad (14 November 1909 – 7 November 1991), better known as Pak Sako, was a Malaysian writer, active in the 1930s until the 1950s. He was a nationalist and his involvement began before independence and continued thereafter. He fo ...

( PBM president),

Abdul Aziz Ishak Abdul Aziz bin Ishak (1914–1999) was a Malaysian freedom fighter, politician and journalist. Aziz was, in fact, the only member of the pre-war Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM) to have served in the 1955 and post- Merdeka Cabinets under Tunku Abd ...

( NCP president) and Datuk Kampo Radjo (later to become president of the PRM),

Tan Kai Hee Tan Kai Hee (8 January 1937 – 22 February 2022) was a notable figure in Malaysia who was firstly a socialist politician and political prisoner. After many years of detention without trial, he returned to civilian life and started a traditional ...

, Tan Hock Hin, Dr. M.K. Rajakumar, Hasnul Hadi, Tajuddin Kahar,

Kamarulzaman Teh Kamarulzaman Teh (15 January 1920 – 5 November 2002), who was imprisoned in the Federation of Malaya for 22 years, is the longest political detainee in Malaysia's history. He was the leader of Angkatan Pemuda Insaf (API), who fought the Japanese ...

and hundreds of others. Rallies and mass demonstrations were held on 13 February 1965 in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

in conjunction with the second anniversary of the detention of Ahmad Boestamam and others to oppose the mass arrests of activists and leaders of the SF under the

Internal Security Act Internal Security Act may refer to: * Internal Security Act 1960, former Malaysian law *Internal Security Act (Singapore) * McCarran Internal Security Act, a United States federal law *Suppression of Communism Act, 1950, a South African law, rename ...

(ISA) and the alleged involvement in "subversive" activities. In the 1964 General Elections, the Socialist Front lost 6 seats and managed to retain 2 seats. PR and the NCP failed to gain any seats at all and the PBM lost a significant number of seats. Cancellation of local government elections in 1965 after the declaration of Emergency in 1964 because of continued confrontation with Indonesia, weakened the impact of SF. Dispute between the two parties resulted in PR leaving the coalition in 1965, and NCP soon become inactive. PBM, the only party in SF that held seats, abandoned it on 10 January 1966 and reverted to its own banner.

Aftermath

In 1968, most of PBM's members linked up with UDP members to form Gerakan. PBM boycott the 1969 elections and organised demonstrations against the detention of its leaders by the government. After the elections, PBM continued in the face of tough action by the government and was finally wound up on 6 September 1972. PR changed its name to Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia (PSRM) in 1970 and again in 1989 (

Parti Rakyat Malaysia The Malaysian People's Party (abbreviation: PRM; Malay: ''Parti Rakyat Malaysia'') is a political party in Malaysia. Founded on 11 November 1955 as Partai Ra'ayat, it is one of the older political parties in Malaysia and traces its pedigree t ...

-PRM).

and

established

Parti Marhaen Malaysia Parti Marhaen Malaysia (PMM) was a former left-wing party formed by Ahmad Boestamam. History The party were formed by Ahmad Boestamam on 20 July 1968, 8 hours before he left Malaysia for London to pursue legal studies for two and a half years. ...

(PMM) in 1968. PMM then merged with

Parti Keadilan Masyarakat Malaysia Malaysian Social Justice Party or ( ms, Parti Keadilan Masyarakat Malaysia) (PEKEMAS) was a political party formed by Tan Chee Khoon and Syed Hussein Alatas in 1972. On 19 July 1974, Parti Marhaen Malaysia merged with the party. The party wa ...

(PEKEMAS) in 1974. He tried to resurrect the coalition before the 1974 elections, but failed.

Component parties

* Partai Rakyat * Parti Buruh Malaya * National Convention Party

Elected representatives

Members of the Dewan Rakyat, 1st Malayan Parliament This is a list of the members of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives) of the First Parliament of the Federation of Malaya (known as the Parliament of Malaysia afte2 November 1963, elected in 1959. Composition Elected members by state ...

List of Malaysian State Assembly Representatives (1959–64) A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

Members of the Dewan Rakyat, 2nd Malaysian Parliament This is a list of the members of the Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives) of the 2nd Parliament of Malaysia The Parliament of Malaysia ( ms, Parlimen Malaysia) is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. Th ...

* List of Malaysian State Assembly Representatives (1964–69)

General elections result

State election results

References

{{Communism in Malaysia Socialist parties in Malaysia Political parties established in 1957 Political parties disestablished in 1966 1957 establishments in Malaya Defunct left-wing political party alliances Defunct political party alliances in Malaysia