I OWE UMNO NOTHING! Young & intelligent Dyana teaches old & passe Shahrizat a LESSON IN HONESTY, INTEGRITY

I am tickled that my candidacy by the DAP for the by-election of the parliamentary seat of Teluk Intan has immediately ruffled the feathers of Wanita UMNO and Puteri UMNO. The statement by the chief of Wanita UMNO Shahrizat Jalil that my candidacy is simply a show by the DAP is indicative of the failure of Wanita UMNO in promoting its own women members into positions of leadership in its party and in government.

Instead of lauding the DAP for the courage and the political will to field me, a young Malay woman in a seat traditionally contested by a Chinese representative from BN, Shahrizat Jalil has instead belittled me and the DAP.

Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said she sympathized with Dyana Sofya as Dyana doesn’t realize that she is just being made used by DAP. “Kita semua tahu perjuangan DAP yang sebenarnya dan sebenarnya, saya amat kesian kepada Dyana Sofya yang sanggup membiarkan dirinya diperalatkan” she said.

It is precisely this sort of negative attitude that originates from the crop of BN women leaders that has constantly robbed women of opportunities to lead in this nation.

The DAP honours women, both young and old, recognizing that women has to take on a bigger role in our government to bring about the much needed balance in male-female representation, and it does this by being bold enough to nominate more and more women candidates in every election. Women’s role in politics should not be confined to play the second fiddle, serving food and drinks to party workers and visiting voters in their houses dishing out goodies.

I have been in the party long enough to see for myself that the party values individual ability and character in its application of meritocracy, and not that of race, religion, region or gender.

The DAP has been consistently promoting youthful candidates regardless of race in elections – such as Teo Nie Ching and Liew Chin Tong in 2008, Zairil Khir Johari, Kasthuri Patto and Alice Lau in 2013 as well as many others.

Shahrizat must learn from my mother

Shahrizat Jalil also said that UMNO deserves the credit for who I am today. This is in complete contradiction to her earlier statement by saying that my candidacy is simply a show. I ask that she learns from my mother who herself is an UMNO member but has realized that my candidacy by the DAP heralds a breakthrough for young women in politics, especially for young Malay women, who have long been held back by an inflexible, patriarchal structure in UMNO.

I owe who I am today to my family and to my mother, to hard work and to the personal decisions which I have made along my life. 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.

Datuk Shahrizat Jalil and Puteri UMNO should not belittle my intelligence and my ability to tell the difference between BN which protects for the interest of the rich and powerful, and DAP which protects the rights of ordinary Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or creed.

The party has nominated me precisely because I strongly believe in the ideals of justice, equal opportunity and good governance. I thank the DAP for this trust and honour and I pledge to run a clean, honest and courageous campaign in order to win the right to represent the good people of Teluk Intan in Parliament.

Dyana Sofya is the political secretary to DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang

霹霹州安顺补选行动党候选人黛安娜于2014年5月18日在安顺发表声明：

巫统妇女组全国主席莎丽扎不应该低估我分辨国阵与民联的智慧和能力，即国阵只是保护权贵阶级的利益，而民联却是保护所有马来西亚人的权益。

民主行动党委托我出征安顺补选的决定，迅速触怒巫统妇女组和巫统女青团。对此，我感到十分有趣。巫统妇女组主席莎丽扎针对我出征的言论，恰恰证明了巫统妇女组在提拔女性领袖进入党及政府领导层上的失败与无能。

莎丽扎不仅没有赞扬民主行动党派出马来年轻女性出征一个传统上由国阵华裔候选人竞选的议席，反而企图小觑我和民主行动党。

莎丽扎此前表示，为黛安娜在不知情下被民主行动党当成傀儡感到同情。“我们都知道民主行动党斗争的真正目标，我十分可怜黛安娜，竟然甘于被利用。”

这清楚显示，国阵妇女领导层这种消极的态度，一直以来都在剥削女性参与领导国家的权利。

民主行动党尊重女性，不管是年轻还是年长的，都可以在政府机关扮演更重要的角色，乃至平衡男女间的代表，它会促使我们更有胆量的未来的选举，推出更多女性候选人。女性在政治上的角色不应该局限在次要地位如为党员提供食物、拜访以及分发糖果给选民。

长时间在党内活动让我观察到，民主行动党实践的是绩效制，重视的是个人能力与性格而不是种族、宗教、地域或性别。

民主行动党一直以来都在选举不断提拔年轻领袖，无论种族 – 例如2008年的刘镇东与张念群；2013年的再里尔、卡斯杜丽和刘强燕。

今天，莎丽扎也认为我之所以有今天是巫统的功劳。这与她之前针对我候选人资格的言论相比，完全是自相矛盾。我要求她学习我母亲，虽然也是巫统党员，却意识到我代表民主行动党出战，预示着年轻女性在政治上的突破，特别是一直以来都受到巫统僵化与父权结构抑制的马来年轻女性。

我会有今天，是因为我的家人和我的母亲，我的勤奋以及生命旅程中所做过的个人决定。

我为我在2011年加入民主行动党的决定感到高兴。如果我选择莎丽扎和巫统的方法，我不会有机会做安顺人民的候选人，也不会有机会进入国会并成为最年轻的国会议员。

巫统妇女组全国主席莎丽扎不应该低估我分辨国阵与民联的智慧和能力，即国阵只是保护权贵阶级的利益，而民联却是保护所有马来西亚人的权益，无论种族、宗教和信条。

民主行动党提名我，因为我强烈相信正义、机会平等和良好政府的信念 。我感谢民主行动党对我的信任和尊重，为了赢得安顺人民的委托，我也承诺将会进行一个干净，诚实和勇敢的竞选活动。

黛安娜