| Native Name: | Malay: Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya ڤرتي كبڠسأن ملايو ملايا |
| Malay Nationalist Party | |
| Colorcode: | red |
| Founder: | Mokhtaruddin Lasso |
| Foundation: | 17 October 1945 |
| Predecessor: | Kesatuan Melayu Muda |
| Successor: | Parti Rakyat Malaysia[1] Labour Party of Malaya Parti Islam Se-Malaysia UMNO (left wing) |
| Youth Wing: | Angkatan Pemuda Insaf |
| Wing1 Title: | Women's wing |
| Wing1: | Angkatan Wanita Sedar[2] |
| Ideology: | Left-wing nationalism Malay nationalism Malay irredentism Socialism Pancasila Anti-imperialism |
| Position: | Left-wing to far-left |
| Country: | Malaysia |
| Flag: | Sang Saka Malaya 12 star.svg |
| Flag Title: | Sang Saka Malaya |
| Abbreviation: | PKMM |
| Dissolved: | 1948 |
| Colours: | Red, white |
Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM), also known as the Malay Nationalist Party, was founded on 17 October 1945 in Ipoh, Perak. The party was the first Malay political party formed after the Japanese occupation of Malaya.
The main goal of the PKMM was to achieve full independence for Malaya and to oppose any form of British colonial rule. The five principles adopted by the PKMM were a belief in God, nationalism, sovereignty of the people, universal brotherhood and social justice.
In response to British proposals for a Federation of Malaya, PKMM, as a member of Pusat Tenaga Ra'ayat (PUTERA), formed an alliance with other predominantly non-Malay political groups organized under the All-Malayan Council of Joint Action, forming the AMCJA-PUTERA coalition. Together they formulated an alternative People's Constitutional Proposals which called for a common citizenship and popularly elected government that was ultimately rejected.
The establishment of the Federation of Malaya coupled with British crackdown on the Malay left-wing led the PKMM to disband in 1948, though many of its members would go on to play important roles in Malayan politics.
PKMM was established on 17 October 1945 at its inaugural meeting from 16–17 October 1945. Apart from states representatives, present also was a representative from Pattani, Tengku Mahmood Mahyiddeen and a royal representative of the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Hishammuddin Abdul Aziz Alam Shah who contributed $50,000.[3] The central committee consisted of:
PKMM's inaugural conference ran from 30 November 1945 to 4 December 1945 and featured a wide variety of activists from diverse backgrounds including communists, royalists, nationalists, Islamic preachers, socialists, students and proponents of Malay culture and customs.[4] The congress agreed that PKMM would be guided by the following goals:
Mokhtaruddin Lasso's decision to leave Malaya for Indonesia in 1946[6] saw Burhanuddin Al-Helmy assume the position of party leader. The new leadership was organised as follows:
As of 1947 the party recorded 53,380 members with its strongholds in Perak and Pahang.[8]
| State | Total Number of Members | Level of Activism | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perak | 13350 | High | |
| Pahang | 7100 | High | |
| Terengganu | 5560 | High | |
| Malacca | 4970 | High | |
| Selangor | 4950 | High | |
| Penang | 3600 | High | |
| Kelantan | 3080 | Moderate | |
| Singapore | 2740 | High | |
| Negeri Sembilan | 2620 | Moderate | |
| Seberang Perai | 1640 | Moderate | |
| Johor | 1530 | Low | |
| Perlis | 920 | Low |
With the British declaration of Emergency in 1948 and a crackdown on parties of the Malay Left and the MCP the ability of the PKMM to operate was much reduced. API was the first organisation to be banned and nationalist leaders such as Ahmad Boestamam, Ishak Haji Muhammad, Katijah Sidek and Burhanuddin Al-Helmy were imprisoned. In the aftermath PKMM activism splintered. Some retired from political activity altogether, others sought to generate political change from within UMNO itself, with former KMM and PKMM member Mustapha Hussein losing to Tunku Abdul Rahman by one vote in the contest for the Chairmanship of UMNO. Others such as Shamsiah Fakeh, Wahi Anuwar and Musa Ahmad fled to the jungles and allied themselves with the community guerilla war against the British. Whilst others would go onto found or lead other nationalist, socialist or Islamist political parties. Thus upon their release Ahmad Boestamam would found the Parti Rakyat whilst Ishak Haji Muhammad would found the Labour Party, both would later go on to found the Parti Marhaen Malaysia, whilst Burhanuddin Al-Helmy would go onto lead the Parti Islam Se-Malaysia from 1956 to his death in 1969.