In Penang assembly, Umno leader attacks DAP’s Dyana as traitor

GEORGE TOWN, May 20 — Penang Opposition Leader Datuk Jahara Hamid today took aim at DAP’s Teluk Intan candidate Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, calling the “product of BN” a traitor for contesting against the coalition despite the privileges the latter enjoyed.

While debating the Penang Governor’s speech in the state assembly today, Jahara said that as Dyana is a graduate of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), she was consequently a “product of BN”.

“What she’s doing now is as if ‘kacang lupakan kulit’,” Jahara said, prompting loud protests by backbenchers with the Malay idiom that denotes a person who has forgotten his or her roots.

The shouting continued before Speaker Law Choo Kiang was able to restore order and asked Jahara to continue with her speech.

“I just want to remind people that they should not forget that it is because of the BN federal government that allowed a peaceful country and conducive environment to develop young talents in the country,” Jahara said.

State executive councillor Dr Afif Bahardin (PKR — Seberang Jaya) came to Dyana’s defence, saying that contesting against BN was not due to ingratitude.

“Like her, I am also a graduate of UiTM but we are going against BN not because we are “kacang lupakan kulit” but because we are fed up with BN,” he said.

Dr Afif pointed out that UiTM is an institution of higher learning for all Bumiputeras in the country, not an “exclusive Umno university”.

“My parents were not Umno members and my grandfather was a PAS supporter and yet I applied and got accepted to study in the university based on my results,” Afif said in a press conference later.

The 26-year-old Dyana has been in the limelight since she was named as DAP’s candidate for the May 31 Teluk Intan by-election.

In a bid to shed its image as a predominantly-Chinese party, DAP picked Dyana Sofya as its candidate for the May 25 by-election in Teluk Intan, a Chinese-majority constituency.

Dyana will face Gerakan president Datuk Mah Siew Keong in a straight fight for Teluk Intan.

Mah won the Teluk Intan seat in 1999 and 2004, but lost to DAP’s M. Manogaran in 2008 with a 1,470-vote majority.

DAP’s Seah Leong Peng had defeated Mah in 2013 with a 7,313 majority before succumbing to advanced bladder cancer on May 1, this year.

Penang Opposition Leader Datuk Jahara Hamid said that as that Dyana is a graduate of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), she was consequently a ‘product of BN’ and is a traitor for contesting against the party.