Let Dyana Sofya roar in Parliament

Press Statement by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat in Ipoh on Wednesday,  May 21, 2014

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Let Dyana Sofya roar in Parliament

Teluk Intan by election is not going to be an easy fight for the DAP and Pakatan Rakyat as BN will definitely go all out to try to win back the seat. 

With the present hudud controversy still going on, we can expect Gerakan and BN to continue with their politics of lies and falsehoods against the DAP. Without a doubt, BN will also resort to its usual politics of money.

DAP candidate Dyana Sofya at 27 is young, but she is a brave Malaysian Malay who will fight for all races. 

Although she has not become a wakil rakyat,  she already dared to make a  suggestion  that no Gerakan leader , including the BN candidate  Mah Siew Keong has  ever dared to say – that is , UiTM  type university should be set up to allow non Malays to seek  good university degree with minimum fees.

But Dyana Sofya is the underdog in the by election.  She is fighting an uphill battle. Can this young, brave and principled talent triumph on May 31? 

In 1997 , DAP had turned around a BN majority of 13,968 in the 1995 general election to a DAP majority of 2,916 in the Teluk Intan by-election which I was fielded as the DAP candidate.

In 2008, DAP’s Manogaran defeated Mah Siew Keong with  a majority of 1470 votes. In the last general election , the late Seah Leong Peng had won with a majority of 7313 votes.

These victories show that the Teluk Intan voters  could rise to the occasion and create  history.  I therefore call on the courageous Teluk Intan voters to again rise to the occasion and vote Dyana Sofia into Parliament on May 31. Let her roar in Parliament! 

Of course, DAP’s victory in Teluk Intan will not be just about sending a brave young Member of Parliament to roar in Parliament, it has other significance too.

Although Pakatan Rakyat’s mission to capture Putrajaya did not matreiliase at the last general election, Malaysians who have been  yearning for change  must never give up the mission  to bring about a political change and a better country for all. 

Teluk Intan by election , just like the Bukit Gelugor by election, must lay stronger foundation for Pakatan Rakyat to march towards the Capture  Putrajaya objective in the next general election. The momentum of Pakatan Rakyat’s mission to  capture Putrajaya must be sustained and given new boost and victories in these two  by elections  are important .

Teluk Intan by election should also be used as an oppourtunity for the voters to send a clear message , on behalf of Malaysians , to BN government on how the people are disappointed and angry with the continued incompetency of the BN government after the 2013 general election. 

The people should vote to tell the BN government their unhappiness about the hasty implementation of GST, the abuse of the draconian 1948 Sedition Act against opposition  leaders, the government’s non action against extreme groups which made racially and religiously  provocative remarks  and  many other issues which have proven that the BN government is not a government that can walk the talk on its 1 Malaysia concept.

Some newspaper analysis have recently said that the bigger DAP majority in 2013 was due to the fact that many Teluk Intan parliament voters who reside in other states and Singapore had returned to vote and it is unlikely that many of them will make  a special trip for the upcoming by election.

I therefore would like  to call on all Teluk Intan voters who are now residing outside Teluk Intan to return and vote on the polling day to ensure DAP’s victory.