DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud attending Pakatan Rakyat's first rally for the Teluk Intan by-election, May 18, 2014. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng

TELUK INTAN, May 19 — DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud is positioned as an attractive, young professional female candidate for the Teluk Intan by-election, but the message was lost on many whose vociferous support here last night appeared skin deep.

Some among the crowd at Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) first rally for the by-election told The Malay Mail Online that they attended the event just to catch a glimpse DAP’s 26-year-old candidate, who was before this the political aide of Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang.

Seemingly restless, the crowd of predominantly Malay men promptly stood up when Dyana arrived with her mentor Lim at the site of the rally in Kampung Bahagia here, and greeted her with hoots and wolf-whistles.

Cries of “alahai comelnya” (oh my, how cute), “saya sokong” (I support), and “confirm undi” (my vote is confirmed) followed her as she took her seat under a tent among other PR leaders.

As if on cue, dozens of young men mobbed the tent with their smartphones and tablets, jostling to snap photographs of Dyana, who donned a pink baju kurung with an accompanying with a lavender headscarf.

But the crowd’s preoccupation with her appearance is not entirely accidental.

Even as some PR leaders touted Dyana’s candidacy as a severe blow to Barisan Nasional’s (BN) racial politics, many also trumpeted Dyana’s beauty to drum up support from the voters.

“We support Dyana not because of her beauty, but her principles,” PAS’ Datuk Husam Musa told the crowd of hundreds.

“But if she is not only principled, but pretty as well, that is a bonus,” he added followed by cheers from the crowd, with one man shouting “Itu lagi bagus!” (That is even better).

According to Husam, having an MP who is pleasing to the eye would be a positive change in the political arena, as the Parliament would easily listen to her.

“The racial flame of Umno can, God willing, be extinguished by our candidate’s softness,” he added, to more cheers from the crowd.

Earlier, Perak PKR chief Dr Muhammad Nur Manuty also remarked that not only is Dyana an intelligent lawyer, but she is also an attractive one.

Similarly, when PAS’ Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin tried to list down the reasons why voters should vote Dyana, a man from the crowd quickly shouted: “Because she is pretty”.

Dyana was also given nicknames such as “Princess Dyana” — in reference to the late but popular Diana, Princess of Wales — and the “intan”, or “diamond of DAP” — in reference to Teluk Intan.

When Dyana later addressed the voters, her speech was at times drowned by flirtatious comments from the crowd.

“I ask everyone to campaign for me, can you do that?” she asked the crowd towards the end, to a resounding cheer.

PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and his PAS counterpart, Mohamad Sabu, also remarked on Dyana’s attractiveness during their turns afterwards, jokingly warning voters against stealing campaign posters bearing Dyana’s portrait.

Other of the pact’s heavyweights who made appearances in support of Dyana last night included DAP’s Batu Gajah MP V. Sivakumar and Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng, and PAS’ Kuala Krai MP Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli and Rantau Panjang MP Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff.

Perak DAP adviser Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham, state DAP chairman Nga Kor Ming, and former DAP election publicity chief Hew Kuan Yau — who was previously also tipped to contest the seat — did not attend the rally.

In a bid to shed its image as a predominantly Chinese party, DAP has picked a young Malay woman, Dyana, as its candidate for the by-election in Teluk Intan, a Chinese-majority constituency.

The Teluk Intan by-election, which is scheduled on May 31, was triggered after DAP MP Seah Leong Peng recently died from cancer.

In the May 5 general election last year, Seah defeated BN’s Datuk Mah Siew Keong with a 7,313-vote majority.

The voter base in Teluk Intan is 42 per cent Chinese, 38 per cent Malay and 19 per cent Indian.