Parti Sosialist Malaysia (PSM) welcomes the visit of comrade Fidel Castro, the president of Cuba and secretary-general of the Cuban Communist Party to Malaysia.

It is indeed a great honour for Malaysian people to receive the visit from such a towering figure in history. This is the man whose "history will absolve me" speech when Cuba was still under the dictatorship of Batista, a crony of US imperialist regime, became a reality.

While others may have negative perceptions about Castro and Cuba, PSM has no illusions about its stand on the issues pertaining to a nation of brave and resilient people in the Carribean.

PSM may have some reservations about certain policies and practices in Cuba but this sincere greetings is all about solidarity and united voice of the oppressed people in the world.

While the middle-class liberals may have their illusion grandeur, PSM is clear in its view that comrade Castro has been true to his struggle against domination of the rich over the poor. There are some Malaysians who have great respect for Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's rhethoric against the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, but let us remind everyone that it was Castro and his comrade-in-arms Che Guevara who had roared at the United Nations Assemblies for years to demand justice for the poor of the world.

Lest we forget, it was Che who described the free market as "a free fox among free chickens" when capitalists and their cronies were shouting free competition. Che's legacy and the continuous voice of comrade Castro illustrate the need for the struggle against capitalism to continue.

Even with criticisms levelled at comrade Castro and Cuba, one has to understand that it is about a small country being besieged by a giant imperialist power for more than 40 years.

Even with the UN's repeated calls for the US to lift the embargo against Cuba, such pleas only fell on deaf American ears.

Some prominent Cubans have explained that it would be very difficult for Cuba to provide greater space for democracy when the world realises that such a situation would only allow US covert operations to go all out to destablise a sovereign nation.

Even then, while many are misled by the US media over what is really happening in Cuba, the people there are enjoying success of their own sweat and tears.

Cuba has the highest number of doctors compared with many countries in the world. There is free education. Despite the harsh economic blockade, there is no starvation and many other countries have higher rates of infant mortality, malnutrition and poor education compared with Cuba.

Maybe when the US government is run by a sensible and responsible leader who is willing to listen to the voice of his own people (talk about US democracy!), then only cruel sanctions and embargo would be lifted. And only then maybe we can see a more complete form of democracy and freedom in Cuba.

Until then, while PSM is still learning more about Cuba, the party gives support to comrade Castro in his fight against imperialism and its new cousin, globalisation.

Therefore, in conjunction with the Cuban leader's visit, we call on Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the Malaysian government to adhere to the spirit of unity and struggle of the poor by releasing all ISA detainees and to start reviewing all the oppressive laws in the country, with the aim of abolishing all of them.

Malaysians would only stand united with the government if corruption, inequality, unfair practices, abuse of power and cruelty against the people are all put to stop immediately.

We also demand that Mahathir allow PSM's registration to be approved immediately so that we can further strengthen our struggle to liberate the poor from the tyranny of capitalism. Mahathir cannot play different tunes to different audience.

PSM stands in solidarity with comrade Castro. We hope Malaysians can learn about the struggle of the Cuban people and their determination to fight for freedom and equality. These are the qualities we need if we want to address the similar issues in Malaysia. The prime minister might gain some mileage from this visit like he did when Mandela visited Malaysia but the truth is, people like Mandela and Fidel are a class of their own and history will remember them for their struggle and the impact they had on the world.

May Cuba be truly liberated and may the struggle against imperialism and globalisation continue!