25 May 2014| last updated at 12:43
Hudud a thorn in the side of opposition pact
AS campaign in Teluk Intan reaches halfway point, it has become clear that DAP needs to step up efforts if it wants to win more Malay votes.
That was the Chinese-dominated party's goal in the first place when it fielded fresh-faced Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, 27.
Confident that it could retain the bulk of the Chinese votes, which make up 42 per cent of the Teluk Intan electorate, DAP made no secret from day one of the campaign its intention to win over a better portion of the Malay votes. Malays make up 38 per cent of the more than 62,000 local voters.
For those on the ground observing the goings-on of the by-election, it was obvious that after almost a week of campaign, the novelty of DAP fielding a young Malay woman as its candidate has worn off to a certain extent.
The DAP campaign strategy has become predictable with Dyana Sofya focusing mostly on Teluk Intan town, where the bulk of the party's support, particularly among the Chinese community, is concentrated.
Her handlers appear wary of letting her venture too deep into the rural areas, where support for Barisan Nasional (BN) is the strongest. It is a fact that BN, over the past few days, had stepped up its efforts.
Despite being touted as an eloquent professional, Dyana Sofya does appear to be increasingly dependent on her posse of handlers, who guard her from going to the wrong places or making the wrong statements.
Since efforts to woo the Malays depend a lot on the cooperation of the party's ally, Pas, DAP strategists had apparently gone an extra mile not to offend the sensibilities of Pas members.
Gone were DAP's fierce objections to Pas' rather strident moves to assert its Islamic credentials, with Dyana Sofya repeatedly brushing off questions about her stand on hudud at several press conferences.
There were, however, slip-ups, such as on Thursday, when an overly eager DAP supporter took centre stage at a press conference to voice her objections to Pas' plan to table a private members' bill to effect the implementation of hudud in Kelantan.
Dyana Sofya, who had as usual brushed off queries on the subject, looked pensive when Dr Sharifah Halimah Jaafar, who was there to express support for her fellow graduate of Universiti Teknologi Mara, was vocal about Pas' hudud ambition.
And, all this happened in the presence of Pas Kuala Terengganu member of parliament Datuk Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah Raja Ahmad, who was representing the party.
As questions on hudud flew thick and fast after that, DAP Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching, one of Dyana Sofya's handlers, had to step in and rescue her by telling members of the media to stop the line of questioning.
Hudud is indeed a thorn in the side of the opposition coalition.
Pas needed hudud as a potent weapon to convince the Malays that it is more Islamic than Umno, while DAP has to project the image of opposing its ally's supposed ambition to implement hudud for the benefit of its non-Malay supporters.
But since DAP's strategy in Teluk Intan hinges a lot on winning over Malay votes, the party cannot afford disagreements over hudud.
It is not easy for Dyana Sofya, despite her reputed good looks, to ride on her Malay-Muslim identity to win votes from her community as DAP rides a lot on opposing Islamic ideals, such as the implementation of hudud.
No comments:
Post a Comment