People's Justice Party (Malaysia)

The Keadilan ( Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Eng. People's Justice Party ) is a liberal-democratic political party in Malaysia. It belongs to the Malaysian opposition.

Foundation

The party was founded by Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, wife of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, whose expulsion from UMNO and arrest in September 1998 shook the nation. The party was at that time still under the name Parti Keadilan Nasional at the top of the Reformasi movement, whose aim was to reform the political system of Malaysia. The Keadilan is a founding member of the former opposition coalition Barisan Alternatif which existed from 1999 to 2004 and the Pakatan Rakyat, a new coalition, which was founded in 2008.

Development

Between 27 and 30 September 1999 seven leaders of Keadilan, including the deputy chairman Tian Chua, were arrested and prevented from participating in the election. Also, due to a close alliance with the Islamist Parti Islam Se - Malaysia, which deterred non-Muslim voters, the party won only five seats in parliament in the 1999 elections. On 10 April 2001 leaders were arrested again.

In February 2003, the Keadilan merged with the Barisan Alternatif also the Parti Rakyat Malaysia belonging and adopted its present name.

In the elections of 2004, the Keadilan received 8.9% of the vote and one seat in parliament. In the 2008 elections it was against relatively successful and gained 18.5 % of the vote total of 31 out of 222 seats in the Malaysian Parliament. In the subsequent elections, they lost despite a higher total number of electoral votes a seat in Parliament and is therefore since May 2013, 30 members in the Dewan Rakyat represented.