Ms Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, 27, comes from a family of Umno loyalists and graduated as a lawyer from Universiti Teknologi Mara - an institution that takes in only Malay and bumiputera students. -- ST PHOTO: YONG YEN NIE
A by-election in a small town in Perak has shaken up Malaysian politics as it features an attractive Malay girl who represents a Chinese-based party and espouses views deemed radical by most Malays.
The candidacy of Ms Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, 27, for the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) has hoisted her as an overnight political sensation. Even former premier Mahathir Mohamad has spoken about her, and she gets catcalls during her campaign rounds.
She comes from a family of Umno loyalists and graduated as a lawyer from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) - an institution that takes in only Malay and bumiputera students.
Yet she is today the political secretary of DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang and last week grabbed headlines after being named its candidate to contest the Teluk Intan state assembly election.
BACKGROUND STORY
Thinking out of the box
"They would say, "You are Malay, you cannot join DAP. But I would think, "Why not?" Even my mother has never said that to me."
MS DYANA SOFYA MOHD DAUD, on anonymous messages sent to her cellphone, denouncing her choice of political party
Chance to compete
"This is a new generation of Malays that do not particularly warm up to the preferential policies for Malays and want to prove that they can compete with other races if given a chance."
DR SHAHARUDDIN BADARUDDIN, an analyst, on Malays such as Ms Dyana helping the DAP shed its image as a party that champions only Chinese causes while pushing aside longstanding Malay rights
A Marina, not a Mukhriz
"I tried my very best to bring up Dyana to be like Mukhriz but... she turned out to be like Marina."
MADAM YAMMY SAMAD, Ms Dyana's mother, on her daughter's choice
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