PPP was formed in 1953 by the Seenivasagam brothers mainly as an opposition party to the Alliance; the party's first president was D.R. Seenivasagam. It was hugely popular party upon inception, particularly due to the popularity of the brothers who spoke up for justice, equality and the common man.

For a short period during independence in 1957, PPP joined the ruling Alliance (which would later become the Barisan Nasional), but withdrew later to become an opposition party again. In 1969, as a strong opposition party, PPP was nearly able to form the Perak State Government, but fell short of just 2 seats in the state assembly. The success of PPP was mainly due to the Chinese vote, though many of the top leaders then were Indians.

In 1973, PPP became one of the founding members of the National Front. It was brought into the National Front to keep the Indian and Chinese vote, especially after the 1969 racial riots.

However, joining the coalition would prove its undoing as it lost nearly all its seats when it contested under the Barisan Nasional ticket in the 1974 General Elections. This was mainly due to Chinese anti-establishment feeling that was prevailing at that time.

Today, under the leadership of M. Kayveas, the PPP has a membership of 300,000 with a network of over 3000 branches throughout the country. All registered members carry a membership card signed by the President; the President's card is signed by the Secretary General.[citation needed] As of 2006, 48% of the PPP's membership is Indian, 32% are Chinese, 13% are Malay, and the rest are of other ethnicities.

In November 2006, M. Kayveas, proposed a merger between the PPP and another Barisan Nasional party, the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan). Koh Tsu Koon, Gerakan's Deputy President, welcomed the suggestion.

- Source: Wikipedia