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.
“What do you get from voting DAP’s candidate? Of course Dyana looks pretty,” said Umno’s Pasir Salak MP Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, who is also the deputy minister of agriculture and agro-based industry.
“Of course we like to gawk at her beauty, that is not wrong. We can’t blame her for being beautiful. But the one we want to choose, is to be a representative for Teluk Intan folks.”
Umno information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan also trumpeted Mah’s four bachelor degrees to Dyana’s diploma, and insisted again that the by-election is not a beauty pageant.
“If this is a beauty pageant, even my wife could win it. Even Tajuddin’s wife could win it too.”
“This is not a contest for beauty pageant, we want to find a representative who is fit for us,” said the deputy finance minister.
Dyana’s youthful good looks have put her in the spotlight, but Pakatan Rakyat leaders insisted that the initial preoccupation with her looks is just “temporary delirium” born of her novelty.
Despite having played up the young DAP hopeful’s looks during the opposition’s first rally in Teluk Intan, several of the pact’s leaders now insist that Dyana’s other qualities will soon come to the fore.
Dyana also played down the attention on her looks, telling The Malay Mail Online that she was confident her supporters would be “smart enough” to know that she is not just another pretty face.
The former political aide to DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang will be going up against two-term former Teluk Intan member of parliament, Gerakan president Datuk Mah Siew Keong in the May 31 by-election.