Day: May 27, 2014

(Media Statement in Teluk Intan on Tuesday, 27th May 2014)

Tan Sri Dr. Ibrahim Abu Shah has suddenly burst into the Malaysian political landscape with an outrageous and sexist speech against one of his students, Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, the DAP/Pakatan Raykat candidate in the Teluk Intan by-election, declaring that Dyana might have the looks but she lacks “inner beauty” that make her a good leader.

He further shocked the academic and political world with the astounding discovery that the Barisan Nasional candidate for the Teluk Intan by-election, the Gerakan President Datuk Mah Siew Keong is “prettier“ than Dyana, declaring:

“Beauty is not just physical. It counts for outer and inner. If I were to compare DAP’s candidate and BN’s, I would say BN’s candidate is prettier than DAP’s.”

Why such animus and outrageous speech by the nine-year Vice Chancellor of UiTM against one of UiTM alumni, Dyana Syofia?

The answer is simple. Dyana Sofya is testimony of the failure of Ibrahim Abu Shah as nine-year Vice Chancellor of UiTM to turn UiTM students into Umno robots and kill the idealism and Malaysian Dream of Malay youths.
Continue reading “Dyana Sofya is testimony of failure of Ibrahim Abu Shah as nine-year Vice Chancellor of UiTM to turn UiTM students into Umno robots and kill the idealism and Malaysian dream of Malay youths”

By Zurairi AR
The Malay Mail Online
May 27, 2014

TELUK INTAN, May 27 — Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud might have the looks, but she lacks “inner beauty” that would make her a good leader, said the former vice-chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Tan Sri Dr Ibrahim Abu Shah last night.

Warning the crowd of a Barisan Nasional (BN) rally against voting for Dyana solely for her popularity, Ibrahim and other Umno leaders reminded them that Datuk Mah Siew Keong’s experience counts much more than looks.

“Do we just want to choose a pretty face? Is that a criteria to choose a leader?” Ibrahim told a crowd of thousands in Taman Melor here.

“Gentlemen, beauty is not just physical. It counts for outer and inner. If I were to compare DAP’s candidate and BN’s, I would say BN’s candidate is prettier than DAP’s.”

Ibrahim’s remark on the appearance of the DAP’s Teluk Intan hopeful however was just one of many made in the BN rally, even as the coalition seeks to divert the attention away from Dyana to its own candidate. Continue reading “Dyana has no inner beauty, Mah is more beautiful, says ex-UiTM vice chancellor”

by Anisah Shukry
The Malaysian Insider
May 27, 2014

After receiving such a bashing from the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, the Chinese in Malaysia would be stupid if they still voted for the ruling coalition, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said last night.

The opposition leader told some 3,000 people in Anson Industrial Park, Teluk Intan, that BN had no respect for the Chinese, and this was made evident in the way they treated the community.

“They (BN) dismiss the Indians. They label Chinese as trespassers. Yet still there are Chinese who vote BN. These Chinese have no shame.

“When the prime minister comes, (he says) what else do the Chinese want? A minister said Chinese are trespassers. Yet, (the Chinese still say) love live BN! How stupid these Chinese are,” Anwar said.

DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud will face BN-Gerakan’s Datuk Mah Siew Keong this Saturday for the Teluk Intan parliamentary seat, after it fell vacant following the death of Seah Leong Peng on May 31. Continue reading “Chinese stupid if they still vote Barisan, says Anwar”

by Anisah Shukry
The Malaysian Insider
May 27, 2014

Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud said last night a vote for her in this Saturday’s Teluk Intan by-election will send five messages to the long-ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

The DAP candidate told a crowd of about 3,000 people in Anson Industrial Park, Teluk Intan, that casting a vote for her would tell BN that the people rejected the rising price of goods.

“We oppose the rising prices of goods. Before the (13th) general election (last year), they promised all sorts of things. Now, the promises are forgotten. The (price for) electricity has increased, petrol has risen, sugar has risen.

“But our salaries have not risen, although our blood levels have increased. We reject the rising price of goods,” she said.

She said voting DAP would also show BN that they rejected racist politics, noting that the ruling pact constantly used race to divide the people.

“I don’t know why they keep trying to divide us. As the government, they should be uniting us,” said Dyana. Continue reading “Vote me and you send 5 messages to Barisan, says Dyana”

Anisah Shukry
The Malaysian Insider
May 27, 2014

The DAP yesterday took a swipe at the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) candidate for the Teluk Intan by-election, saying the more he loses, the more he returns with better promises for the constituency.

“Mah said that if he wins, he would bring more development. We want to ask him, he was Teluk Intan MP for two terms and was even the deputy minister, why didn’t he develop Teluk Intan then?

“Why didn’t he say he wanted to have the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan listed in Unesco then? Only now he says it, after he has lost. If this is the case, he must lose more, so he promises more,” said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, in reference to Gerakan president Datuk Mah Siew Keong.

Mah won the Teluk Intan seat in the 1999 and 2005 general elections, before losing it to DAP‘s M. Manogaran in 2008 and to the late Seah Leong Peng in 2013. Continue reading “Let Mah keep losing so you get better promises, Guan Eng tells Teluk Intan”

Yasmin Disney
The Malaysian Insider
May 27, 201

Yasmin Disney is a 20-year-old final year English Literature student at the University of Oxford. She is from Kuala Lumpur and hopes to one day make a living as a writer. More of Yasmin’s writings can be found at www.ceku.org.

MAY 27 ― It’s a depressingly predictable situation.

Ever since Dyana Sofya announced she was running for the post of Teluk Intan MP, she has been the unfortunate victim of a barrage of unwanted attention from all sides. Her personal details have been misused, resulting in hundreds of lewd messages sent to her phone; photos of her allegedly wearing a bikini were posted outside mosques in an attempt to paint her as a “bad” Muslim; and she has been the subject of constant verbal and physical harassment from men who still believe, in this day and age, that they have the right to strip women of their bodily autonomy.

As usual, it is the reactions of our top politicians, however, that have been the most jaw-dropping. Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil, former Minister of Women and Family, patronisingly labelled Dyana a “DAP puppet.” Umno vice president and Home Minister Datuk Zahid Hamidi said there was no point voting for her because she was only “slightly pretty.” And of course, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir, never one to shy away from giving his opinion, waded in to accuse Dyana’s mother of raising a traitor.

Dyana Sofya is clearly something of a political phenomenon. Continue reading “Dyana and Umno: Why are young Malays abandoning the party?”

by Mariam Mohtar
Malaysiakini
May 26, 2014

Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, the DAP candidate for the Teluk Intan by-election is the opposition coalition’s secret weapon. She rocketed to fame like the rocket logo of her party, the Democratic Action Party (DAP). Dyana does not conform to the narrow, twisted and prejudiced view of the Umno Baru world. Unlike her, the modus operandi of Umno Baru Youth is to issue threats and create violence. Dyana engages the rakyat, using her brain and her rhetoric.

To some, especially those from Umno Baru, Dyana is everything that they are not. To others, Dyana represents the new Malaysia, someone who knows what she wants, who speaks her mind, who is ready to accept a challenge and who is not afraid of fulfilling her dreams, through fair and just means. Dyana represents the pulse of modern Malaysia.

When Dyana attracted the ire of veteran political figures like Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and former PM Mahathir Mohamad, there can be only one logical conclusion – Dyana is on a winning streak. Umno Baru is afraid.

The emergence of Dyana signals a major shift in Malaysian politics. Umno Baru supporters with their siege-like mentality, will soon realise that they have been duped and their potential stunted by Umno Baru policies. Malay support for Umno Baru will wane. The party will disintegrate. Continue reading “Malaysia’s most dangerous woman”

by Koon Yew Yin
27th May 2014

When I read the news that former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had been appointed as Chairman of Proton Holdings Bhd., I could not help thinking that most Malaysians will be laughing and crying at the same time with this disclosure.

According to the report, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that “I believe Tun’s appointment will certainly strengthen Proton, given’s his determination and high commitment to see the national car company succeed. Although there are many challenges ahead but in the pursuit to improve Proton’s competitiveness, I believe the company would accrue many benefits from his profound experience and knowledge.”

Why Malaysians Are Laughing

Malaysians are laughing because Dr. Mahathir has been de facto chairman of Proton ever since it was first set up. And even after his resignation as Prime Minister in 2003, he has continued to pull the strings on government policy on Proton. Therefore, there is no need to make him chairman unless it is to pay him the large salary that is normally paid to the Chairman of a very large car manufacturing company. Continue reading “Malaysians Laugh and Cry Over Proton’s new Chairman, Dr Mahathir”

– Robert Chaen
The Malaysian Insider
May 26, 2014

Why are people making such a big deal about something irrelevant in the past?

“Yammy was involved but for few months; after that she left because she no longer believed in Perkasa,” Dyana Sofya said, about the involvement of her mother Yammy Samat, in Perkasa.

If you connect the dots properly, it shows clearly that Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali is the sneakiest person. His ultra-racist agenda was not revealed in the early months of the formation of Perkasa. Probably he conned many early members that they are fighting for Muslim Malay rights, when in fact, we all know that Ibrahim is the most negative Muslim.

Can anyone truly say that he is a true Muslim when he is spewing hatred, and calling non-Malays every evil word he can think of.

And now, Ibrahim has an even bigger competitor for the title of “The #1 most extreme negative Muslim in Malaysia”, Abdullah Zaik of Isma. Continue reading “Dyana’s mom no longer believes in Perkasa”

COMMENTARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER
May 26, 2014

Does Umno and Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expect the Chinese to vote for Datuk Mah Siew Keong just because the Umno vice-president said they are ungrateful if the Gerakan president does not win this Saturday?

Is this a show of tough love or just the same kind of vile and disgusting mindset of politicians who have been in power too long and now expect people to show their gratitude instead of the other way round?

The absurd thing is this – Zahid made the remarks on the same day he was seen having his arms around Mah – the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate facing DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud.

And yet Mah and Gerakan and the MCA have the cheek to share the same stage with Umno in the Teluk Intan campaign. Continue reading “Zahid, Umno’s absurd vote-catcher in Teluk Intan”

by Dr. Ong Kian Ming MP for Serdang
27th of May, 2014

Why would the DAP candidate, Dyana Sofya, be considered the underdog in a seat won by the DAP with more than 7000 votes in the 13th general election? Is it merely a ploy to gain more sympathy votes for DAP on the 31st of May?

There is no doubt in my mind that there is a very real possibility that Dyana and the DAP would lose this by-election. While her candidacy has been a breath of fresh air and has been applauded by various quarters at the national level, there are a few important factors which are at work against Dyana among the people who matter most in this by-election, namely the Teluk Intan voters themselves.

A whispering campaign has already started among certain quarters to appeal for Chinese voters to vote for a Chinese representative in Teluk Intan. This was always a challenge which was recognized by the DAP from day one – that fielding a Malay candidate in a non-Malay majority seat would cost the party some votes, especially among the Chinese voters.

At the same time, the fact that Dyana does not hail Teluk Intan would be used against her especially since the BN candidate, Dato Mah Siew Keong, is a local boy with an influential and well-known family backing him. We fear that the fact that Dyana relocated to Gelang Patah, Johor as part of her responsibility as Lim Kit Siang’s political secretary and that she would do the same if elected as the MP for Teluk Intan would be drowned out by this ‘local’ versus ‘outsider’ campaign message. Of course, lost in this message is the fact that NOT being local did not prevent two Perak born former MCA presidents – Dr. Ling Liong Sik and Ong Ka Ting – from serving as MPs in Johor for most of their political lives. Continue reading “Why Dyana Sofya is the underdog in Teluk Intan?”