The People's Progressive Party (Parti Progresif Penduduk Malaysia) is a political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Malaysia.

The party is one of the constituent members of the ruling National Front

Barisan Nasional

Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...

 (Barisan Nasional) and is a multiracial party.

History

PPP was formed in 1953 by the Seenivasagam brothers mainly as an opposition party to the Alliance; the party's first president was Dr Kanagaratnam Pillai with the Seenivasagam brothers as office bearers. It was hugely popular party upon inception, particularly due to the popularity of the brothers who spoke up for justice, equality and the common man.

For a short period in 1953, PPP joined the ruling Alliance with UMNO, MIC, and MCA (which would later become the Barisan Nasional), but withdrew in 1954 over disagreement with the Alliance on allocation of seats, to become an opposition party again. In 1969, as a strong opposition party, PPP was nearly able to form the Perak

Perak

Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...

 State Government, but fell short of just 2 seats in combination with the opposition to form the state assembly when 2 of its members crossed over. The success of PPP was mainly due to the Chinese vote, though many of the top leaders then were Indians.

In 1973, PPP became one of the founding members of the National Front

Barisan Nasional

Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...

. It was brought into the National Front to keep the Indian and Chinese vote, especially after the 1969 racial riots

May 13 Incident

The 13 May Incident is a term for the Sino-Malay sectarian violences in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia, which began on 13 May 1969...

.

However, joining the coalition would prove its undoing as it lost nearly all its seats when it contested under the Barisan Nasional ticket in the 1974 General Elections. This was mainly due to Chinese anti-establishment feeling that was prevailing at that time.

Today, under the leadership of Datuk M. Kayveas, the PPP has a membership of more than 500,000 with a network of over 3000 branches throughout the country. All registered members carry a membership card signed by the President; the President's card is signed by the Secretary General. As of 2006, 48% of the PPP's membership is Indian, 32% are Chinese, 13% are Malay, and the rest are of other ethnicities.

In November 2006, party president, Datuk M. Kayveas, proposed a merger between the PPP and another Barisan Nasional party, the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia

Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia

The Malaysian People's Movement Party is a political party in Malaysia. The party was founded on March 24, 1968, and , it is part of the ruling National Front coalition....

 (GERAKAN). Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon

Koh Tsu Koon

Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon is a Malaysian politician. He was the Chief Minister of Penang from 1990 to 2008 and is currently a member of the Dewan Negara, the upper house of the Malaysian Parliament...

, Gerakan's Deputy President, welcomed the suggestion.

The 2008 Malaysian General Elections

Malaysian general election, 2008

The 12th Malaysian general election was held on March 8, 2008, in accordance with Malaysian laws for national elections, which states that a general election must be held no later than five years subsequent to the previous elections; the previous general election was held in 2004...

 saw the party being decimated. However the party retained its Senate and was later awarded a Deputy Ministers post occupied by Datuk T. Murugiah.

Chronology

• 1953: PPP is formed under the name 'Perak Progressive Party' to participate in the political future of the impending independence of Malaya.

• 1954: PPP becomes a component of the Alliance. Wins a seat in the Ipoh Town Council.

• 1955: Withdrew from the Alliance before the 1955 Federal Legislative Council Elections due to non-allocation of seats for PPP.

• 1956: To reflect a national image, the party's name was changed to People's Progressive Party.

• 1957: Party president, D.R. Seenivasagam won the by-election for the Ipoh Parliamentary seat and becomes PPP's first Member of Parliament.

• 1959: PPP wins 4 parliamentary and 8 state assembly seats in the 1959 General Elections.

• 1960: PPP win 1 more Parliamentary seat making it 5 MPs in parliament. PPP consolidated its position in Ipoh and turned Ipoh Municipality into an exemplary model of local administration.

• 1964: PPP won 4 parliamentary and 6 state seats in the 1964 General Elections.

• 1969: Party President and prime mover, D R Seenivasagam passes away and the leadership of the party is taken over by co-founder S P Seenivasagam. Despite the change of leadership, PPP goes on to win 4 parliamentary seats and 12 state assembly seats in the 1969 General Election. The opportunity to form the Perak State Government slips away due to a shortage of 2 seats.

• 1972: PPP charts a new milestone by making a decision to join the Barisan Nasional. The decision was based on the belief that for the country to achieve political, social and economic stability, parochial and narrow party interests must be given up for a national multi racial outlook.

• 1974: PPP contested under Barisan Nasional symbol and wins 1 parliamentary and 2 state seats in the 1974 General Elections.

• 1975: Party President Dato' Seri S P Seenivasagam passes away and Mr Khong Kok Yet becomes President.

• 1978: Mr. S I Rajah is elected President.

• 1982: Dato' Paramjit Singh
  Paramjit Singh
  Paramjit Singh may refer to:* Paramjit Singh * Paramjit Singh * Paramjit Singh...
  
   is elected President.

• 1985: Mr Tee Ah Chuan takes over the party Presidency after Dato' Paramjit Singh steps down.

• 1986: Dato' Paramjit Singh becomes President again following the resignation of Mr Tee Ah Chuan.

• 1988: Dato' Mak Hon Kam becomes President after a private deal with Dato' Paramjit Singh. Following a court injunction against

Dato' Mak Hon Kam, Mr. S I Rajah becomes Acting President. The court later decides that the Registrar of Societies
determine the legitimate leader.

• 1993: Mr M Kayveas becomes President following Mr S I Rajah's retirement from active politics.

• 1994: The Registrar of Societies decides and recognises Mr. M Kayveas as the lawful President.

• 1995
  • March 19: An Extraordinary Delegates Conference was held and the following were unanimously adopted:
    • The party Logo, which is a six pointed red star, be changed to a six pointed blue star with the letters PPP in the center of the star.
    • The National President is the only spokesman for the party.
    • Branch membership to be reduced to 27 from the current number of 50.
    • To update the Registry of members and Membership Cards be issued and ensure active membership participation.
  • March 26: Mr M. Kayveas attended the First Barisan Nasional Convention and signed the Barisan Nasional Charter as the National President of PPP.
  • April 12: Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional Chairman launch the new logo of PPP
  • April 25: PPP actively participates in the General Elections extending their fullest support to all Barisan Nasional candidates.
  • June 5: The Registrar of Societies is sued for having made a decision in favour of Mr. M Kayveas.
  • October 5: The court accepted Mr. M. Kayveas and his CEC to intervene in the suit.
  • October 21: The Registrar of Societies confirms that until further notice of its decision, Mr. M Kayveas and his CEC shall remain the only legal office bearers of the party.

• 1999
  • September 18: An attempt was made by a group of expelled members to challenge the leadership of PPP via a ruling from the Seremban High Court. It was subsequently nullified on October 14, 1999 by the Court of Appeal which decided in favour of Datuk M Kayeas' leadership of the PPP.

• 2000
  • December 6: As promised by the then Prime Minister
    Prime Minister of Malaysia
    The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
    
     Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Datuk M Kayveas was appointed Senator in the Dewan Negara.

• 2001
  • January 30: Appointment of the party President as a Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.
  • May 27: A 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) land was donated to PPP by Hua Yang Development Sdn Bhd for the purpose of setting up and Institution of Higher Learning. The signing ceremony was held in the Ipoh City and Country Club.

• 2005
  • September 24: Kayveas retained his position unopposed after only one nomination was submitted for the president's post.

• 2008
  • March: Kayveas loses his federal seat. PPP's future is widely questioned.

• 2009
  • April 4: Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
    Anwar Ibrahim
    Anwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.In 1999, he was sentenced...
    
     announces People’s Progressive Party (PPP) vice-president V. Nagarajan along with 11 of the party’s divisions will be defecting to PKR.

• 2009
  • June 25: Kayveas announced his new line for the supreme council for the term 2009 - 2014. He also appointed three vice-president, Dato' Logo Bala, Ghandi, Dato' Nik Safiea, Treasurer Mr. Ghana and Information Chief Mr. A. Chandrakumanan from the Federal Territory.

• 2009
  • Kayveas announced New Youth Chief : Mr Jamal Gulhamhan & Putera Chief : Mr R.Suthesan from Johor

• 2009
  • August 12: Datuk M. Kayveas is the valid People’s Progressive Party (PPP) president while sacked youth chief Datuk T. Murugiah’s appointment as president at a May 24 Emergency General Meeting (EGM) is invalid, the Registrar of Societies (ROS) has decided. Murugiah’s sacking has also been found to be have been conducted according to provisions in the party constitution and is therefore deemed valid.

Presidents

• D.R. Seenivasagam (1953-1969)
• Dato' Seri S P Seenivasagam (1969-1975)
• Khong Kok Yet (1975-1978)
• S I Rajah (1978-1982)
• Dato' Paramjit Singh
  Paramjit Singh
  Paramjit Singh may refer to:* Paramjit Singh * Paramjit Singh * Paramjit Singh...
  
   (1982-1985)
• Tee Ah Chuan (1985-1986)
• Dato' Paramjit Singh - second term (1986-1988)
• Dato' Mak Hon Kam (1988)
• S I Rajah {Acting} (1988-1993)
• Datuk M. Kayveas
  M. Kayveas
  Datuk Seri Dr. M. Kayveas is a Malaysian politician and president of the People's Progressive Party . He was formerly a Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department....
  
  (1993-Present)

Political Post

• Senator Datuk Maglin Dennis D'Cruz became Senator and was appointed as Deputy Minister of Information, Communications, and Culture effective 4 June 2010.

Other references

• Pillai, M.G.G. (Nov. 3, 2005). "National Front parties were not formed to fight for Malaysian independence". Malaysia Today.

External links

• People's Progressive Party
• The Federal Territory PPP