Dyana, not Mah, will dare to stand up to Najib, says Azmin

Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, the DAP candidate for Teluk Intan, mingle with the people at Taman Desa Bakti, during a walkabout yesterday. PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali said that if elected to Parliament, Dyana can do what her rival Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong cannot: stand up to Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his ‘oppressive’ policies. – The Malaysian Insider by Afif Abd Halim, May 24, 2014.Although young and inexperienced, as a parliamentarian, DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud will do what her rival Datuk Mah Siew Keong cannot: stand up to Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his “oppressive” policies, PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali said.

Speaking at a ceramah at Anson Park in Teluk Intan last night, Azmin told a 500-strong crowd that should DAP’s Dyana be voted into Parliament this May 31, she would have no qualms opposing the prime minister in the interests of Malaysians.

But if Mah were Teluk Intan MP, the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate would only become another one of Najib’s many yes-men in Parliament, he said.

“Mah may be Gerakan president, but he does not have the nerve to reproach Najib. If Najib says we raise toll prices, implement GST, he would agree,” Azmin told the crowd of mostly Chinese locals.

“Mah will not be a people’s representative, just Najib’s representative. But if Dyana doesn’t agree with Najib, she will look him in the eye and tell him: ‘Najib, sit down’,” Azmin added.

Azmin, who is MP for Gombak, said that while Mah would be able to bring Teluk Intan’s problems to the Parliament and even the Cabinet if he were made MP and minister, he would ultimately have to toe the party line.

“What’s the use of having an MP who is a minister, when in the end he will just be Najib’s office boy? Mah will say he wants to help Teluk Intan, but when he returns to Kuala Lumpur, he will support the GST.

“Do you want the GST? Do you want the prices of goods to rise?” Azmin said.

Azmin added that while Dyana may be a political greenhorn, this meant she had no track record of “stealing cows” or taxpayers’ money, in an apparent reference to Wanita Umno Chief Shahrizat Jalil and the National Feedlot Corporation scandal.

“BN says don’t give Dyana a chance, she has no experience. Indeed, she has no experience – no experience in stealing cows, no experience in stealing land, no experience in hooliganism. That is all BN-Umno’s politics,” said Azmin.

Earlier last night, Dyana appeared to have charmed the crowd with her 10-minute speech, which included a declaration of love for the constituency.

“I have not even won yet, but I already love Teluk Intan. What should I do?” she said.

The crowd murmured sympathetically as Dyana recalled how she had been bullied by hooligans throughout her campaign.

“Every time we campaign, they disturb us. At Padang Tembak, they revved their motorcycle engines until they ran out of petrol. The next day, they played music loudly.

“They keep wanting to stop me. But what is wrong with my wanting to meet the people, to get to know them? We do not want this kind of politics. We must reject hooliganism in politics,” said Dyana.

On Wednesday evening, eight youths on motorcycles directed their exhaust fumes at the DAP campaign team during their walkabouts. One of them was seen sporting a hat bearing the BN logo.

But Mah later said that he wished to maintain a “clean” campaign, and complained that he, too, was a victim of dirty campaigning.