COMMMENT In the whole country, especially in the social media, the euphoria surrounding the phenomenon that is Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud hasn’t died down five days after she was announced as the candidate for the Teluk Intan parliamentary by-election by DAP.
But as Dyana makes the run from one ceramah to another in a packed schedule, the wolf whistles that accompanied the 27-year-old lawyer in the first few days of campaign trail seem no longer visible in Teluk Intan.
People eagerly await her arrival at every ceramah not only to catch a glimpse of the candidate, whose posters have inundated almost every corner of Teluk Intan town, but also to hear the woman speak.
Dyana makes a fleeting appearance at the ceramah, speaking for about five minutes, before leaving for another venue in a rush. And when she makes her way on the stage, she is armed with a small folded noted that is always in her palms.
Every few seconds, Dyana takes a cue from her notes before she continues speaking. From one ceramah to another, she not only repeats her message, but does it with the same wording and delivery. The loudest cheer of the night, when the dust settles, normally belongs to some other Pakatan Rakyat colleague who speaks before or after her.
As for Dyana, the loudest acknowledgment towards her is when she gets up on the stage to be introduced, normally clad in a baju kurung for the night ceramah runs. Everything she does after that fails to elicit a steady response from the crowd.
“I heard the people of Teluk Intan are burdened with GST (Goods and Services Tax). Betul (True)?” she asks.
“Betul...” barely two people muster a response from a crowd comprising hundreds who have gathered steadily from early evening to hear her speak.
This is the theme in not one, but in all of her five-leg ceramah on a regular evening in the Teluk Intan campaign trail. When she’s no longer drowned out by the euphoria regarding her looks, Dyana hesitates, her voice breaks, and is very calculated when trying to interact with the crowd in front of her.
At a ceramah at Pekan Baru Teluk Intan, the crowd’s interests shift greatly after Dyana leaves the venue, as Gobind Singh Deo takes the stage, and delivers a speech that has been repeated a hundred times over, but with a delivery that captivates the crowd.
At every walkabout she attends, Dyana is constantly under the shadow of her seniors. Gerakan had already pointed out in one of their press conferences that DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang had, on a couple of occasions answered on behalf of Dyana when the press had directed a question to her.
This has not been left to Dyana’s mentor alone. In fact, in every other press conference, a senior leader does the answering on her behalf.
A host of calculated, hesitant answers
Normally flanked by her seniors, Dyana turns to her senior leaders to do the answering when journalists persist in repeating some tough questions in hopes of eliciting more than a one-line response from her.
There is no doubting Dyana’s intelligence or looks, as when she does give responses on certain issues, she gives smart responses worded in a tongue-in-cheek manner. But those are rare happenings among a host of calculated, hesitant answers.
In Teluk Intan, Dyana’s message is a transparent one- she would bring the issues of GST, price hikes, and living costs to the Parliament on behalf of the voters here.
While this plays to the gallery to the voters who are making a living in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley, it still does very little to address the local concerns for a constituency which is also filled with rural villages, and long stretches of plantation estates, where people need their most basic necessities to be addressed.
Teluk Intan is not a small constituency, housing over 70,000 voters with, the biggest question that remains unanswered being - how will Dyana fare when she finally comes out of the shadows and protection of her seniors during the campaigning period?
How will she fare when she stands alone fighting for issues in Parliament? And will she able to keep up this momentum of interacting with the people with the same fervent pace if she was elected, without any assistance?
Now Dyana is looking up to DAP’s national leaders to get her through the initial days of campaign. But sooner rather than later, the people of Teluk Intan will want to see proof that they would be able to look up to her and depend on her assistance if she makes it to the Lower House of the Malaysian Parliament.
RAM ANAND is a member of the Malaysiakini team.
But as Dyana makes the run from one ceramah to another in a packed schedule, the wolf whistles that accompanied the 27-year-old lawyer in the first few days of campaign trail seem no longer visible in Teluk Intan.
People eagerly await her arrival at every ceramah not only to catch a glimpse of the candidate, whose posters have inundated almost every corner of Teluk Intan town, but also to hear the woman speak.
Dyana makes a fleeting appearance at the ceramah, speaking for about five minutes, before leaving for another venue in a rush. And when she makes her way on the stage, she is armed with a small folded noted that is always in her palms.Every few seconds, Dyana takes a cue from her notes before she continues speaking. From one ceramah to another, she not only repeats her message, but does it with the same wording and delivery. The loudest cheer of the night, when the dust settles, normally belongs to some other Pakatan Rakyat colleague who speaks before or after her.
As for Dyana, the loudest acknowledgment towards her is when she gets up on the stage to be introduced, normally clad in a baju kurung for the night ceramah runs. Everything she does after that fails to elicit a steady response from the crowd.
“I heard the people of Teluk Intan are burdened with GST (Goods and Services Tax). Betul (True)?” she asks.
“Betul...” barely two people muster a response from a crowd comprising hundreds who have gathered steadily from early evening to hear her speak.
This is the theme in not one, but in all of her five-leg ceramah on a regular evening in the Teluk Intan campaign trail. When she’s no longer drowned out by the euphoria regarding her looks, Dyana hesitates, her voice breaks, and is very calculated when trying to interact with the crowd in front of her.At a ceramah at Pekan Baru Teluk Intan, the crowd’s interests shift greatly after Dyana leaves the venue, as Gobind Singh Deo takes the stage, and delivers a speech that has been repeated a hundred times over, but with a delivery that captivates the crowd.
At every walkabout she attends, Dyana is constantly under the shadow of her seniors. Gerakan had already pointed out in one of their press conferences that DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang had, on a couple of occasions answered on behalf of Dyana when the press had directed a question to her.This has not been left to Dyana’s mentor alone. In fact, in every other press conference, a senior leader does the answering on her behalf.
A host of calculated, hesitant answers
Normally flanked by her seniors, Dyana turns to her senior leaders to do the answering when journalists persist in repeating some tough questions in hopes of eliciting more than a one-line response from her.
There is no doubting Dyana’s intelligence or looks, as when she does give responses on certain issues, she gives smart responses worded in a tongue-in-cheek manner. But those are rare happenings among a host of calculated, hesitant answers.
In Teluk Intan, Dyana’s message is a transparent one- she would bring the issues of GST, price hikes, and living costs to the Parliament on behalf of the voters here.
While this plays to the gallery to the voters who are making a living in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley, it still does very little to address the local concerns for a constituency which is also filled with rural villages, and long stretches of plantation estates, where people need their most basic necessities to be addressed.
Teluk Intan is not a small constituency, housing over 70,000 voters with, the biggest question that remains unanswered being - how will Dyana fare when she finally comes out of the shadows and protection of her seniors during the campaigning period?How will she fare when she stands alone fighting for issues in Parliament? And will she able to keep up this momentum of interacting with the people with the same fervent pace if she was elected, without any assistance?
Now Dyana is looking up to DAP’s national leaders to get her through the initial days of campaign. But sooner rather than later, the people of Teluk Intan will want to see proof that they would be able to look up to her and depend on her assistance if she makes it to the Lower House of the Malaysian Parliament.
RAM ANAND is a member of the Malaysiakini team.
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