BY BOO SU-LYN
The Malay Mail Online
May 18, 2014

TELUK INTAN, May 18 — At Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) where fees for a first degree cost just RM5,000, some Malay students drove luxury cars like Jaguars and Mercedes Benzes, according to Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud.

That made Dyana angry because non-Malay students from lower income families are kept out of the university simply because of their race.

Dyana is DAP’s choice for the Teluk Intan by-election on May 31, picked over more experienced candidates in a bid to boost the predominantly Chinese party’s multicultural credentials.

It is a role the 26 year old UiTM law graduate appears to have slipped into with ease as she looks to represent a constituency that is mainly Chinese.

“We should move on from race-based policies to needs-based policies, and at the same time, the Malays would still gain because the Malays are the majority who need it anyway,” she said in an interview with The Malay Mail Online.

Eliminating affirmative action policies favouring Bumiputeras would only be a problem for well-off Malays who unfairly benefit from race-based policies, she added. Read the rest of this entry »

The Malay Mail Online
May 18, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud said today that she would not have been given the same opportunity had she joined Umno, while claiming that the ruling party’s women’s wing had failed to promote its own members into real positions of influence.

In response to Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s criticism against her candidacy, the DAP’s candidate for Teluk Intan by-election said that her party instead recognises women’s role in politics, unlike Umno.

“I am glad that I chose to join the DAP in 2011. For if I had chosen the way of Shahrizat Jalil and Umno, I would not be where I am today, aiming to enter Parliament as the representative for the people of Teluk Intan and if elected, to be the youngest MP in Parliament,” Dyana said in a statement here.

“The party has nominated me precisely because I strongly believe in the ideals of justice, equal opportunity and good governance.”

According to Dyana, DAP recognises the need for a balance in male-female representation in the government, and subsequently nominates more and more women candidates in every election. Read the rest of this entry »

by Eileen Ng
The Malaysian Insider
May 18, 2014

Can Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud woo the Malay electorate in the Teluk Intan parliamentary seat? That’s what her party, DAP, is trying to find out when they nominated her as its candidate for the May 31 by-election.

Analysts said the party is trying to shed its Chinese-centric image and make inroads to capture the hearts and minds of the Malays by fielding a young Malay woman.

The DAP, which makes up one-third of the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact, had been trying hard to prove its detractors wrong by fielding more Malay candidates in the last general election to broaden its appeal among the country’s electoral majority.

To date, it has two Malay MPs – Bukit Bendera’s Zairil Khir Johari and Raub’s Datuk Ariff Sabri – both of whom lead Chinese-majority seats. Read the rest of this entry »

Astro Awani
Bernama | Kemas kini: Mei 18, 2014

TELUK INTAN: Penasihat DAP Lim Kit Siang berkata parti itu berhadapan dengan cabaran besar untuk mempertahankan kerusi Parlimen Teluk Intan pada Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) kerusi itu hujung bulan ini.

Beliau berkata DAP telah mengambil keputusan berani dengan mencalonkan setiausaha politiknya, Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud.

Pemimpin veteran itu berkata beliau yakin calon wanita muda berusia 27 tahun itu mampu memenangi hati pengundi di kawasan Parlimen itu. Read the rest of this entry »

by Boo Su-Lyn,
The Malay Mail Online
May 17, 2014

TELUK INTAN, May 17 ― DAP’s choice of a fresh-faced ethnic Malay candidate for the Teluk Intan by-election is leaving some in the predominantly Chinese town unimpressed.

In a move hailed as progressive and aimed at breaking down race-based voting patterns, DAP today named 26-year-old Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud as its candidate for the parliamentary seat, snubbing more experienced ethnic Chinese candidates.

Several Chinese voters at the small town told The Malay Mail Online they were not convinced by DAP’s lofty attempt to eradicate race politics. Read the rest of this entry »