TELUK INTAN Yammy Samat, the mother of DAP candidate for Teluk Intan by-election Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, declared today she will quit the Malay NGO Perkasa.
Her position in the Malay right-wing NGO has been a subject of heated debate.
Yammy (right in photo), in a press conference with Dyana and several other DAP leaders, said that she has decided to quit to end the issue.
"I hearby declare I quit Perkasa, if there is going to be so much discussion on my membership," she said.
Yammy reiterated that she left Perkasa before its first annual general meeting (AGM) and she had been no longer active in the NGO for long time.
Asked the reason for the inactivity, Yammy explained she decided to do so together with many founding members after realising the NGO “went far from its original vision”.
“It is more towards politics. It was established to be a Malay NGO, (but) when it becomes very political, we don’t want (to join),” she said.
Yammy added that the fundamental objective for Perkasa previously was to help the Malay community, after noting Umno was not doing its job well.
Asked when did she tell Dyana about her Perkasa membership, Yammy said it was only “recently” as both of them rarely talked about it.
Dyana: I was not sure
Although Yammy had shadowed her daughter during the initial days of the campaign, Dyana claimed that she was unsure if her mother was a Perkasa member.
Refuting allegations that she had lied, Dyana said when she first denied that her mother was affiliated to Perkasa, she was not certain if Yammy was linked to the right-wing movement.
However, the DAP candidate did not explain why she did not clarify this issue with her mother first before issuing the denial.
Dyana claimed that she only clarified the matter with her mother later after the media kept harping on the issue.
She was also asked why she denied her mother was a member of Perkasa in the first place.
“It’s just a misunderstanding,” she replied. “I was not sure whether she had filled in the membership form or not, and if her membership had started after the first annual general meeting.
"I knew she was not longer involved in Perkasa before its first AGM. To me, probably only after the first AGM, do they become real members.”
After numerous questions on Perkasa posed by the journalists in the packed press conference room, the DAP supremo then interjected by complaining that “this is not a Perkasa press conference anyway,” hoping that the press would proceed with other agenda.
‘I’m not a diploma holder’
Meanwhile, Dyana also showed her certificate of practice issued by the Malaysian Bar Council, to refute allegations that she was only a diploma holder in law studies.
“There is a presumption that I am not a lawyer but only a diploma holder in law, but this is my certificate of practice,” she said.
According to the Malaysian legal system, those who were entitled to be issued a certificate of practice and to own a law firm had to be, at least, a bachelor’s degree holder.
Umno-friendly bloggers had reportedly accused Dyana of lying about her academic qualification, alleging her to be only a diploma holder.
Her position in the Malay right-wing NGO has been a subject of heated debate.
Yammy (right in photo), in a press conference with Dyana and several other DAP leaders, said that she has decided to quit to end the issue."I hearby declare I quit Perkasa, if there is going to be so much discussion on my membership," she said.
Yammy reiterated that she left Perkasa before its first annual general meeting (AGM) and she had been no longer active in the NGO for long time.
Asked the reason for the inactivity, Yammy explained she decided to do so together with many founding members after realising the NGO “went far from its original vision”.
“It is more towards politics. It was established to be a Malay NGO, (but) when it becomes very political, we don’t want (to join),” she said.
Yammy added that the fundamental objective for Perkasa previously was to help the Malay community, after noting Umno was not doing its job well.
Asked when did she tell Dyana about her Perkasa membership, Yammy said it was only “recently” as both of them rarely talked about it.
Dyana: I was not sure
Although Yammy had shadowed her daughter during the initial days of the campaign, Dyana claimed that she was unsure if her mother was a Perkasa member.
Refuting allegations that she had lied, Dyana said when she first denied that her mother was affiliated to Perkasa, she was not certain if Yammy was linked to the right-wing movement.
However, the DAP candidate did not explain why she did not clarify this issue with her mother first before issuing the denial.
Dyana claimed that she only clarified the matter with her mother later after the media kept harping on the issue.She was also asked why she denied her mother was a member of Perkasa in the first place.
“It’s just a misunderstanding,” she replied. “I was not sure whether she had filled in the membership form or not, and if her membership had started after the first annual general meeting.
"I knew she was not longer involved in Perkasa before its first AGM. To me, probably only after the first AGM, do they become real members.”
After numerous questions on Perkasa posed by the journalists in the packed press conference room, the DAP supremo then interjected by complaining that “this is not a Perkasa press conference anyway,” hoping that the press would proceed with other agenda.
‘I’m not a diploma holder’
Meanwhile, Dyana also showed her certificate of practice issued by the Malaysian Bar Council, to refute allegations that she was only a diploma holder in law studies.
“There is a presumption that I am not a lawyer but only a diploma holder in law, but this is my certificate of practice,” she said.According to the Malaysian legal system, those who were entitled to be issued a certificate of practice and to own a law firm had to be, at least, a bachelor’s degree holder.
Umno-friendly bloggers had reportedly accused Dyana of lying about her academic qualification, alleging her to be only a diploma holder.
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