Introduction and background
Thousands of Pedro Sanchez supporters in Spain were jubilant at hearing this piece of news coming from his mouth, “I have decided to remain prime minister.” This comes after a corruption charge was brought against his wife based on hearsay and press headlines, brought forward by a far-right proxy trade union, which was acknowledged by the union as well as potentially untrue. Following the breaking news, Sanchez considered stepping down having already cancelled his public duties for the week. At this, thousands of PSOE Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (herein referred to as PSOE) supporters and party members marched to their Headquarters and shouted “Pedro, quedate!” (Pedro Stay) and “No estas solo!” (You're not alone) as encouragement from PSOE militants for Sanchez to stay, and he did. Progressivism and Social Democracy remained unchanged and unwavering through this period of political crisis in Spain. How can that relate to us in Malaysia?
Pedro Sanchez's Accomplishments in Government
Pedro Sanchez has done a lot for the Spanish people, economically as he has an economics background, earning him a PhD. His Social Democrat PSOE and their government allies, the leftist Unidas Podemos (now called SUMAR) alliance have increased the minimum wage, year on year. Since taking office in 2018, after ousting the Conservative Prime Minister, Manuel Rajoy in a Vote of No Confidence. They have also pushed through a significant amendment (albeit, with luck) of the very neoliberal 2012 Labour Market Reforms by crushing temporary contracts, eliminated VAT on food and implemented a windfall tax on banks and energy companies, and have started talks to reduce the workweek from the standard 40 hours we see implemented in most (if not), the entire world to 37.5 hours. This has resulted in Spain growing 5 times faster than the EU average. As you can probably see, four out of the five policies have been focused on the workers, with the elimination of VAT helping the workers also indirectly by making goods cheaper.
What the Malaysian Left can learn from the Spanish Left
Spain was in a very similar situation as Malaysia before Pedro Sanchez took over. It was riddled with neoliberalism, corruption, oppression of workers and austerity. The Spanish Left rallied together under the PSOE banner [social democrats] or the Unidas Podemos/SUMAR banner [far-left] and had a united message: Crush Neoliberalism; with the far-left being more radical about it compared to PSOE, of course, but the message was still the same. They focused their messaging primarily on economics as Spain's economy was absolutely disastrous, especially during the Euro Debt Crisis - and the left won. Everyone, regardless of identity, was impacted negatively by a terrible economy.
There are certain conditions a country must face before the “Spanish Left” Strategy can be implemented by that country's left: neoliberalism, oppression of workers, austerity and a terrible economy. Let's see if Malaysia ticks all the boxes. Firstly, Malaysia has a terrible economy. Economic growth in Malaysia for 2023 seriously underperformed the most pessimistic forecasts, and it is likely to continue to underperform. It even shrank in Q4 by 2.1%. Neoliberalism can be characterized as a strong capitalistic environment and weak protections for its citizens. Through underfunding public services and semi-privatising the National Energy Company [TNB], Malaysia has always been a neoliberal state. Workers in Malaysia have always been oppressed. Malaysia's Unionising Rate have been declining over the last forty years and it currently stands at <2% of workers with 767 labour unions in 2022, which means the vast majority of working Malaysians are not supported by collective bargaining. Not to mention, the government has placed a weak minimum wage allowing workers to be paid the absolute bare minimum - while still living in poverty. In regards to austerity, the Yang di Pertuan Agong has stated that he supports austerity measures that will be implemented by the Anwar government saying that “I hope that during my reign, the government will succeed in obtaining a fiscal surplus every year”.
As I have shown above, Malaysia ticks all the boxes for a “Spanish Left” strategy to win elections: Neoliberalism, check; oppression of workers, check; austerity, check; a terrible economy, check.
Closing Remarks
As we celebrate Labour Day today (as when I'm writing this article), I call on all leftwing Malaysian parties and voters to unite under one platform of leftist economics. We can differ in terms of radicality, like PSOE and Unidas Podemos/SUMAR but we must unite. Only when we, the people of the left-wing, focus on economics which is the single issue that transcends all identities (race, religion, etc), then can we make and transform Malaysia into a powerhouse that I hope and know it can be. However, until the next election, this is what we can do: campaign and raise awareness of poverty in Malaysia, and petition the government to end neoliberalism and to properly fund our public services that everyone, from the rural poor to the urban rich, will have to use at some point in our lives. Remember, the people's flag is deepest red!
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