TELUK INTAN, May 24 — The dissemination of posters featuring DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud alongside a bikini-clad actress with whom she shares a striking facial resemblance has drawn outrage from several Malay residents in this usually placid town.
The photograph of Filipina actress Pauleen Luna, which was passed off as an image of the DAP hopeful, first emerged on the Internet when the 26-year-old lawyer was named for the May 31 race.
Two days ago, physical copies appeared in two Malay villages here, local PAS leaders said.
“It’s not good; it’s akin to character assassination,” Abdul Muin Basukey, a 42-year-old welder who lives in Kampung Selabak, told the Malay Mail Online.
“Even if you don’t support her, you shouldn’t run her down like that,” he added.
PAS’ Teluk Intan campaign deputy director Salman Saleh, who is helping the DAP on its blitz coverage in the Malay-majority Changkat Jong area, said dozens of copies of the posters were found strewn on the roads in Kampung Selabak and Batak Rabit on Thursday and yesterday.
The A4-sized poster sighted by the Malay Mail Online was printed in colour and did not bear any party logo or emblem.
On the left was a picture of Dyana Sofya, in a white shirt imprinted with the party logos of PKR, DAP and PAS, and the words Pakatan Rakyat (PR).
The right-hand side showed the upper half of the Filipina actress in a two-piece swimsuit.
Salman said PAS campaign workers have discarded most of the posters they found.
“I hope that this campaign will be based on facts,” he said.
Housewife Azian Abd Majid, 55, said the poster would be fine if the picture of the bikini-clad woman was really of Dyana Sofya.
“But if it’s not true, it’s not good,” housewife Azian Abd Majid, 55, told the Malay Mail Online when shown the poster.
The Kampung Selabak resident said she had not seen the poster before and stressed against blaming Barisan Nasional (BN) for the smear campaign.
“How do you know it’s BN? We cannot say anything,” she said.
Dyana Sofya will face Gerakan president Datuk Mah Siew Keong, 53, in a straight fight for the Teluk Intan federal seat in Perak next Saturday.
