By Dyana Sofya

I am tickled that my candidacy by the DAP for the by-election of the parliamentary seat of Teluk Intan has immediately ruffled the feathers of Wanita UMNO and Puteri UMNO. The statement by the chief of Wanita UMNO Shahrizat Jalil that my candidacy is simply a show by the DAP is indicative of the failure of Wanita UMNO in promoting its own women members into positions of leadership in its party and in government.

Instead of lauding the DAP for the courage and the political will to field me, a young Malay woman in a seat traditionally contested by a Chinese representative from BN, Shahrizat Jalil has instead belittled me and the DAP.

Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said she sympathized with Dyana Sofya as Dyana doesn’t realize that she is just being made used by DAP. “Kita semua tahu perjuangan DAP yang sebenarnya dan sebenarnya, saya amat kesian kepada Dyana Sofya yang sanggup membiarkan dirinya diperalatkan” she said.

It is precisely this sort of negative attitude that originates from the crop of BN women leaders that has constantly robbed women of opportunities to lead in this nation.

The DAP honours women, both young and old, recognizing that women has to take on a bigger role in our government to bring about the much needed balance in male-female representation, and it does this by being bold enough to nominate more and more women candidates in every election. Women’s role in politics should not be confined to play the second fiddle, serving food and drinks to party workers and visiting voters in their houses dishing out goodies.

I have been in the party long enough to see for myself that the party values individual ability and character in its application of meritocracy, and not that of race, religion, region or gender.

The DAP has been consistently promoting youthful candidates regardless of race in elections – such as Teo Nie Ching and Liew Chin Tong in 2008, Zairil Khir Johari, Kasthuri Patto and Alice Lau in 2013 as well as many others.

Shahrizat Jalil also said that UMNO deserves the credit for who I am today. This is in complete contradiction to her earlier statement by saying that my candidacy is simply a show. I ask that she learns from my mother who herself is an UMNO member but has realized that my candidacy by the DAP heralds a breakthrough for young women in politics, especially for young Malay women, who have long been held back by an inflexible, patriarchal structure in UMNO.

I owe who I am today to my family and to my mother, to hard work and to the personal decisions which I have made along my life. I am glad that I chose to join the DAP in 2011. For if I had chosen the way of Shahrizat Jalil and UMNO, I would not be where I am today, aiming to enter Parliament as the representative for the people of Teluk Intan and if elected, to be the youngest MP in Parliament.

Datuk Shahrizat Jalil and Puteri UMNO should not belittle my intelligence and my ability to tell the difference between BN which protects for the interest of the rich and powerful, and DAP which protects the rights of ordinary Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or creed.

The party has nominated me precisely because I strongly believe in the ideals of justice, equal opportunity and good governance. I thank the DAP for this trust and honour and I pledge to run a clean, honest and courageous campaign in order to win the right to represent the good people of Teluk Intan in Parliament.

Dyana Sofya is the DAP candidate for the Teluk Intan by-election that falls on 31st May 2014. She is the former political secretary to Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang