DAP’s ‘Cili Padi’ Dyana returns to ‘bite’ Gerakan
Remember Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, DAP’s first Malay woman candidate fielded in the 2014 Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election?Her candidacy triggered a national awareness and excitement of Malay women in DAP and national level politics.
Unfortunately, she loss narrowly to a giant of a politician - Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong - polling 19,919 votes, only 238 ballots short of Mah’s 20,157 votes.
No News Is Bad News will surely be surprised or shocked if the DAP does not field her in Teluk Intan in the next general election (GE) or a snap GE14 to give her the opportunity to haunt Mah and Gerakan again.
And, Dyana is no bimbo. She’s a Malaysian lawyer and DAP supremo and Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang’s political secretary.
She is also a columnist and has also authored a book titled Di Sini Bermula (An Earthly Beginning) featuring a compilation of her articles written for The Malay Mail Online.
She joined the DAP in January 2012 and was elected into Perak DAP Youth’s executive committee.
Dyana actively campaigned for Lim in Gelang Patah (Johor) in GE13 in 2013 and made her debut as a candidate in Teluk Intan the following year.
Had she won, she would have become DAP’s first Malay woman MP.
After the defeat, Dyana remained in Teluk Intan acting in the capacity of DAP Teluk Intan Community Center chairman, operating the community service centre with Pasir Bedamar assemblyman Terence Naidu.
And here’s why Dyana has come out to bite Gerakan and we also reproduce her open letter to the Teluk Intan voters for those who wish to read with interest:
"DYANA SOFYA: TAKE A COLD SHOWER, BALJIT SINGH – PEOPLE DON’T VOTE BY THEIR SEXUAL URGES, YOU KNOW…
Politics | October 10, 2016 by | 0 Comments
With reference to the Malaysiakini news article entitled “Gerakan man moots ‘young, sexy women’ candidates to boost polls chances” dated 9 October 2016, it was reported that Gerakan legal and human rights bureau chief Baljit Singh proposed a formula to ensure the party’s victory in future elections by fielding young sexy multicultural women.
Echoing comments made by my comrades-in-arms[1][2], I agree that the statement by the Gerakan leader reinforces the chauvinistic and misogynistic perception of women in politics. This is among many reasons why talented young women stay away from politics because they are constantly sexually objectified by people like Baljit Singh and other leaders from BN.
He also noted that if Gerakan fields young women candidates, they are most likely to lose. Worse, he only cites physical attributes as the requirement for these young women to contest under the Gerakan ticket. This reveals how little he thinks of young women’s capabilities.
I appreciate the fact that he wants to encourage youth and women participation in Malaysian politics, however, Baljit Singh has a very different idea compared to DAP and Pakatan Harapan. In Pakatan Harapan, we encourage intelligent, dedicated and brave young women to join politics because they are capable, patriotic and hardworking; making them winnable despite their physical attributes. Meanwhile, the Gerakan leader and many others who are on his side of the fence prefer to sexually objectify women in politics with cheap rhetoric as if the Malaysian voters vote according to their sexual urges instead of their brains.
In DAP and Pakatan Harapan, young women are empowered and given opportunities to represent all Malaysians, as well as participate meaningfully in politics rather than become “decorative flower pots” merely to increase the aesthetical value of campaign photo, as the Gerakan leader seems to imply.
For example, PKR’s president is a woman, while DAP approved a 30% quota for women in its Central Executive Committee to boost female representation at decision-making level in line with United Nation’s Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995. Perhaps Gerakan may consider the same move instead of the brazen sexual exploitation of young women to win elections.
A woman can be beautiful, smart, talented or even sexy if she wants to and society should respect her decision. Sexualising women in a patriarchal political society will not bring us ahead in an era where one of the contenders for the US Presidency is a woman, 50% of United Nation Secretary General 2016 election candidates are women and the de facto leader of the largest economy in the world, the European Union, is also a woman.
I hope Gerakan takes Baljit’s idea seriously and allow more young women participation in politics. However, I also suggest that they discard their outdated, sexist and misogynistic mind-set and treat women with equal respect if they are truly sincere in empowering women in Malaysian politics.
[1] http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/gerakan-leader-compared-to-trump-after-sexist-remarks
[2] http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/358458
Love & Respect,
Dyana Sofya
Executive Member DAPSY National
Executive Member DAP Perak"
"Open letter to the people of Teluk Intan — Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud
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| DAP's candidate Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud (right) greets residents during a walkabout session in Teluk Intan, on May 19, 2014. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng |
Suddenly, I became the centre of attention of UMNO Ministers who could not resist taking digs at my looks. Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan asked voters not to support me just because I put on “lipstick”. Datuk Zahid Hamidi remarked that I am “not so pretty in person”. Datuk Ahmad Maslan stressed that even his wife, or Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman’s, would win if it were a beauty contest.
My looks and appearance are not important at all in this very important by-election. I did not sign up with DAP to take part in beauty pageants. I call upon the voters of Teluk Intan to judge me for my ideals, my principles and my dreams for a better Malaysia. I want to win this election not because of my appearance, but because of my ability to make a difference in the Malaysian political landscape in the highest legislative institution of the country.
My opponents have attacked me viciously behind nameless blogs aligned to Barisan Nasional (BN), as well as anonymous leaflets denigrating me with fake pictures and spurious allegations of my moral ethics. During the visits to some evening markets, there were UMNO bullies who heckled, disrupted and attempted to block the campaign trail.
There were even ministers who insinuated that I did not have a law degree or am not a qualified lawyer. The fact that I have proven that I’ve been called to the Malaysian Bar in 2011 was clearly irrelevant to BN, which is obviously desperate to win by hook or by crook.
The most vicious of the attacks came from a former Minister who accused me of being a “traitor” to the Malay race. It clearly does not matter to these people that the real traitors to the race are the BN leaders who abused their powers, enriched their friends and families and indulge in corruption at the expense of ordinary Malays and Malaysians.
These dirty and vicious tactics from our opponents will not waver my will to fight for the rights of all Malaysians, especially for those who are marginalised and discriminated against. I will not be intimidated and I will not be a traitor to Malaysians.
While UMNO leaders labelled me a “traitor” to Malays, Gerakan leaders attacked me relentlessly of being a closet Malay-extremist for my alleged links to right-wing Perkasa. The BN is persisting with its tried and tested divide and rule approach where they give different messages to different races.
Let me make myself very clear. While I was asked by my mother to assist with administrative tasks such as registration of attendees and pinning of corsages on VIPs during the inception of Perkasa when I was still a student more than 5 years ago, I was never involved in Perkasa’s activities and never have I been a member. Even my mother distanced herself from Perkasa and became inactive once she found herself in disagreement with their activities and principles.
On the contrary, my upbringing in an UMNO family and seeing first-hand how Perkasa functions convinced me that DAP has the best platform and ideals to pursue a more democratic, just and economically prosperous Malaysia.
I am convinced Malaysia is broken after 57 years of racial politics via divide and rule by BN. I am saddened to see how BN leaders and their proxies like Perkasa incite the various races to fight each other, instead of fighting for each other.
I want to prove to Malaysians that you don’t have to be a Chinese to help a Chinese, a Malay to help a Malay, and an Indian to help and Indian. I want to lead by example to build a country where a Malay can help a Chinese, a Chinese can assist an Indian and an Indian can support a Malay. Impian saya adalah untuk meMalaysiakan semula Malaysia. (My dream is to Malaysianised Malaysia again)
I wish to express my immense appreciation and gratitude for the love and kindness bestowed upon me by the good people of Teluk Intan. The warmest welcome and affection from of all races — Malays, Indians, Chinese, have only reaffirmed my belief in this country and to strengthen my resolve to stand up for Malaysia.
With the support of the voters of Teluk Intan, I look forward to fulfilling my promise to move to and live in this beautiful and historic township. I promise to serve the people with commitment and dedication, and to make sure that the Teluk Intan “roar” rocks the Malaysian Parliament.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of the Malay Mail Online."
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