Umno Wanita chief Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil claims DAP Teluk Intan by-election candidate Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud is only cosmetic and a DAP puppet.
Such line of attacks are typical Umno attacks against Malays who have joined DAP or contested in general elections as DAP candidates.
But Umno is no doubt frightened of the two special qualities that Dyana has displayed – her courage and her Malaysian First commitment.
If elected as the Teluk Intan Member of Parliament, she will surely become one of the Opposition MPs whom Umno fears most in Parliament.
Dyana, a UiTM graduate, had last year bravely suggested that a UiTM type university be set up to help the non Malays as she felt sorry for her non-Malay friends who were denied the right to pursue their education at higher learning institutions.
As a result of her suggestion, she was labeled a traitor and fiercely attacked. Yet she stood her ground and fought back and roared like a tigress.
In her rebuttal, she pointed out that while UiTM had a noble objective, which is to help needy students but its purpose had changed over the years. She recalled having a junior that was a daughter of a then minister driving around in a Peugeot in campus.
She argued that if UiTM was able to provide the same privilege – a good degree with a minimum fee – to students from high-income families, needy non-Malay citizens should also be given the same treatment.
She put Umno Selangor Chief to shame when she declared: “I am patriotic enough to look at the hardships of my fellow Malaysians and walk in their shoes. I suggest that Datuk Noh Omar and Barisan Nasional leaders like him do the same.”
Umno has been able to maintain its Malay support by various ways and among them are the existence of unfair constituency delineation and the manipulation of politics of race.
The battle against Umno’s politics of race and hence against Umno’s political power requires sustained momentum and a DAP victory in Teluk Intan by-election is very important.
Dyana’s victory will also be a victory for the Malaysian First concept.