However, the party had its heyday — a period when it was a force to reckon with, when policies were even introduced to keep it in check.

The party was founded as the Perak Progressive Party by the Seenivasagam brothers — Darma Raja, more popularly known by his initials DR, and Sri Padhmaraja, better known as SP — in 1953, mainly to fight for the urbanites who felt that they were not adequately served by Umno or the Alliance.

It was renamed People’s Progressive Party in 1956 to present itself as a national party rather than one focused only on Perak.

Over the years, the party has won a total of 12 parliamentary seats, mainly between 1959 and 1969.

Among its first MPs were DR, who represented Ipoh, and SP, who took Menglembu. Others were Hor Hock Lung and Yeoh Chai Lye, both of whom represented Pasir Pinji.

All three are urban or semi-urban seats in the Kinta Valley, where the PPP was strongest. Its strength in the urban areas was further underscored by its impressive showing in the Ipoh local council elections.

However, leadership tussles in the 1980s and beyond eroded the party’s strength, and it was left in the wilderness until 2004 when then president M Kayveas won the Taiping seat. He later served as a deputy minister in the federal government.

Kayveas himself was replaced as party chief in another leadership tussle.

Its birth

The PPP was forged in the flames of a surge in urbanites’ dissatisfaction with established parties Umno, MCA and MIC — which were partners in the Alliance, Malaysia’s first political alliance.

Back in the early 1950s, the Alliance had just won the Kuala Lumpur municipal elections, but in Perak, there was a feeling especially among the non-Malays that they were not adequately represented. This led to the formation of the PPP.

In its early years, it was known for championing the middle-class, and minority interests, particularly among the Chinese and Indian communities.

The PPP had positioned itself as a moderate alternative to the dominant Umno and leftist parties such as the DAP.

That worked in the party’s favour. It won 16 of the 18 seats in the Ipoh Town Council election in the early 1950s when councillors were still elected rather than appointed.

However, its grip on the local council would eventually lead to allegations of mismanagement, and the federal government’s decision to abolish local elections.

The party eventually joined the Alliance but left after a brief period, only to rejoin the much-expanded Barisan Nasional (BN) in 1972 where it remained as a component until 2018 when a leadership tussle led to its de-registration.

Internal troubles

As part of BN, the PPP gained access to federal and state resources, enabling it to spread its influence in urban constituencies beyond Ipoh. It did gain some traction in Melaka and Negeri Sembilan.

But in essense, it had become a shadow of its former self.

In the early 1980s, its deputy president Paramjit Singh led a revolt against sitting president SI Rajah. The leadership tussle led to lawsuits filed by both sides.

But the odds were clearly in Paramjit’s favour. Rather than suffer the indignity of being ousted, Rajah announced his resignation, citing dissatisfaction with the choice of seats the party was allocated for the general election that year.

Paramjit led the party until the late 1980s when the MCA became embroiled in its own internal crisis, which led to the departure of its then acting deputy president, Mak Hon Kam.

Mak then joined the PPP where Paramjit made way for him to become president. Paramjit was then elected deputy president, serving under Mak’s leadership.

But Mak served only briefly. Rajah would return as president in the late 1980s to serve until the early 1990s when M Kayveas took over.

Kayveas helmed the party until 2018 when another leadership tussle led to its deregistration.

It followed the defeat of BN in the 14th general election. A faction aligned with Maglin Dennis D’Cruz claimed to have removed Kayveas, who had been leading the party for 25 years from 1993.

D’Cruz said the decision to expel Kayveas was confirmed unanimously at the party’s 2018 annual meeting, which agreed to recognise him as the valid president.

Kayveas, on the other hand, insisted that he was still the legitimate president, supported by a Registrar of Societies (RoS) letter affirming his position, and claimed D’Cruz’s move was unconstitutional. He even announced that PPP had left BN — a move D’Cruz’s camp disputed.

The internal bickering led to the party’s deregistration the same year. D’Cruz began his term as president when the party was re-registered the following year. Upon his death in 2023, J Loga Bala Mohan became president.

PPP’s battle cry

From its birth, the PPP had touted itself as the party that fought for the minority.

In its early years, the party focused mostly on issues such as education, economic development, and community welfare for minority groups, positioning itself as a voice for urban voters who often felt underrepresented by Umno and MCA.

However, with the growing influence of fellow BN components such as MCA and Gerakan, as well as then opposition party DAP over the urban areas, PPP’s influence began to wane.

Short of a major overhaul, the party is unlikely to regain its former strength, much less get a seat to contest in the next election.