The People's Progressive Party (myPPP; ) is a multiracial political party in Malaysia and was one of the component members of the National Front or Barisan Nasional coalition from 1973 to 2018. The party has two distinct phases - the first as a respected opposition party from the 1950s to the 1970s when its stronghold was Perak and it led the administration of Ipoh. The second was as a minor party in the Barisan Nasional coalition that only won a single parliamentary seat in more than four decades and was riddled with factional disputes. The loss of the Barisan Nasional in the 2018 Malaysian general election caused the party to split into two factions – one led by Maglin Dennis D'Cruz who supported myPPP remaining part of the coalition and the other led by party president M. Kayveas who insisted on myPPP leaving the BN coalition. The latter emerged victorious in the immediate power struggle and myPPP subsequently exited the Barisan Nasional coalition. However, the Registrar of Societies de-registered the party in 2019 amid a renewed dispute between D'cruz and Kayveas.

History

PPP was formed in 1953 by the Seenivasagam brothers mainly as an opposition party to the Alliance; the party's first president was Kanagaratnam Pillai with the Seenivasagam brothers as senior office bearers. It was a 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 1954, PPP joined the ruling Alliance with UMNO, MIC, and MCA (which would later become the Barisan Nasional), but withdrew in 1955 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 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. It was brought into the National Front to keep the Indian and Chinese vote, especially after the 1969 racial riots. 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. Many PPP stalwarts transferred their allegiance to the DAP during that time. Following the loss of its final parliamentary seat in 1978, the party descended into factionalism and was on the verge of disbanding. However PPP enjoyed a renaissance of sorts under the leadership of M. Kayveas. He rebranded the party and claimed to have boosted its membership to 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 was Indian, 32% Chinese, 13% Malay, and the rest were of other ethnicities. In November 2006, party president, M. Kayveas, proposed a merger between the PPP and another Barisan Nasional party, the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia. Koh Tsu Koon, Gerakan's Deputy President, welcomed the suggestion, but ultimately nothing came out of it. The 2008 Malaysian General Elections saw the party being decimated. However the party retained its representation in the Senate and was later allocated a Deputy Minister post occupied by T. Murugiah. In the aftermath of the 2018 Malaysian General Elections, the party under President M. Kayveas announced myPPP's exit from the Barisan Nasional coalition after its loss of power in the election. There was a subsequent power struggle between the "remain" and "leave" factions of myPPP led by Maglin Dennis D'Cruz and M. Kayveas respectively. The former emerged victorious in the power struggle and via a letter dated 11 April 2023, the Home Minister decided that Maglin Dennis D'Cruz was the lawful President of myPPP. Maglin however died on November the same year, and as of June 2024, the party was temporarily helmed by J. Loga Bala Mohan.

Chronology

Representatives

Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Legislative Assembly)

List of party presidents

General election results

State election results

Elected representatives

Notes and references

Other references