# Malaysian Social Justice Party

Malaysian Social Justice Party or (Malay: 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 was dissolved in 1982.

## History

The party were formed by Tan Chee Khoon, Syed Hussein Alatas and Veerappen Veerathan in 1972 after Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia co-founder Lim Chong Eu led Gerakan into the newly expanded Alliance (renamed as the Barisan Nasional or National Front). Tan strongly opposed this move because he felt it endorsed the race-based parties in Barisan Nasional. PEKEMAS was a non-communal party and formed based on principles similar to the original Gerakan. They were joined by another Gerakan MP V. David.
Despite this, Tan supported the controversial government-supported New Economic Policy, which expanded the privileges given to Bumiputra (Malays and other indigenous people) under Article 153 of the Constitution because he felt tougher affirmative action was required to address Malay poverty. On 19 July 1974, the smaller Parti Marhaen Malaysia, which was led by former Socialist Front leader Ahmad Boestamam, merged into the party.
In the 1974 general election, PEKEMAS suffered a terrible defeat, with Tan being the only successful candidate out of 36 candidates for Parliament, while Ong Yi How was the only winner in state polls, winning in Bagan Jermal.
PEKEMAS' campaign against the government was predicated on denying them the requisite 2/3 majority for amending the Constitution, which Tan opposed. The Democratic Action Party and the Sarawak National Party became the largest opposition parties in Parliament, with nine seats each. This effectively hamstrung Tan's and PEKEMAS' agenda in Parliament. Tan announced his retirement from politics in 1977, although he held his Parliamentary seat until his term expired the next year.
The party’s demise was also hastened by the defection of its chairman Ahmad Boestamam back to the Parti Rakyat Malaysia after 1978 general elections. The party further shrank in 1979 due to most of PEKEMAS' supporters defecting to the DAP. It managed to field a candidate in the 1982 general elections before its dissolution.

## List of PEKEMAS leaders

| # | Name | Took office | Left office |
| 1 | Tan Chee Khoon | 1972 | 1977 |
| 2 | Ahmad Boestamam | 1977 | 1978 |

## Elected Representatives

* Members of the Dewan Rakyat, 4th Malaysian Parliament
* List of Malaysian State Assembly Representatives (1974–78)

## General elections result

| Election | Total seats won | Seats contested | Total votes | Share of votes | Outcome of election | Election leader |
| 1974 | 1 / 154 | 36 | 105,718 | 4.99% | 1 seats; Opposition | Tan Chee Khoon |
| 1978 | 0 / 154 | 33 | 23,792 | 0.68% | 1 seats; No representation in Parliament | Ahmad Boestamam |
| 1982 | 0 / 154 | 33 | 619 | 0.01% | ; No representation in Parliament | Shaharuddin Dahlan |

## State election results

| State election | State Legislative Assembly | State Legislative Assembly | State Legislative Assembly | State Legislative Assembly | State Legislative Assembly | State Legislative Assembly | State Legislative Assembly | State Legislative Assembly | State Legislative Assembly |
| State election | Penang State Legislative Assembly | Perak State Legislative Assembly | Pahang State Legislative Assembly | Selangor State Legislative Assembly | Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly | Malacca State Legislative Assembly | Johor State Legislative Assembly | Sabah State Legislative Assembly | Total won / Total contested |
| 1974 | 1 / 27 | 0 / 42 | 0 / 32 | 0 / 33 | 0 / 24 | 0 / 20 | 0 / 32 | | 1 / 94 |
| 1976 | | | | | | | | 0 / 48 | 0 / 11 |
| 1978 | | | | 0 / 33 | | | | | 0 / 11 |
| 1982 | | 0 / 42 | | | | | | | 0 / 1 |