TELUK INTAN DAP's move to explore uncharted waters by fielding a political newbie in the form of a young Malay candidate in the Teluk Intan by-election has captured the imagination of the general public.
Although the momentum is apparently on DAP's side, all is not entirely well for the party and it may prove to be a tough battle once Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud's campaign 'honeymoon' period ends.
Dyana’s candidacy, decided by the central leadership, is in fact a compromise to quell tension between Perak DAP chief Nga Kor Ming's faction and an opposing group led by Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran.
This has left many grassroots members less than enthusiastic about oiling the machinery crucial to the campaign.
Incumbent MP, the late Seah Leong Peng, was aligned to the anti-Nga faction and this carried through, post-mortem, with his widow Kee Siu Lian insisting that Seah's replacement be from the same faction.
Kee reportedly said she would not campaign for DAP if former Jalong assemblyperson Leong Mee Meng or former DAP election publicity chief Hew Kuan Yau were not chosen as candidates to replace her husband.
Bitterness among Seah's supporters apparently stems from several feuds with Nga's faction, most prominently when Kee accused Nga's ( right ) men of persuading Seah to resign while he was battling cancer.
Party sources also claimed that Nga's camp had recommended Dyana, who is DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang's political secretary, to DAP central leaders as a compromise to block Hew from contesting.
Grassroots boycott?
Not surprisingly, when Dyana was eventually parachuted in, the unhappiness led to the conspicuous absence of grassroots leaders on nomination day.
Confirming this, DAP national deputy publicity chief and Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching, however, insisted that the protest will not lead to sabotage as the Perak leaders are still loyal to the DAP.
Even so, Malaysiakini has observed that grassroot members are rarely seen at Dyana's campaign events.
Instead it is top leaders like Teo, DAP publicity chief Tony Pua ( right ) and Perak DAP secretary Wong Kah Woh, who is also by-election chief, who are seen working the ground.
The machinery is crucial to reach out the many Chinese villages that make up Teluk Intan, where DAP's move to field a Malay candidate may not go down well without local endorsement.
While the move by the Chinese-majority party is viewed as progressive in urban constituencies, many in Teluk Intan's Chinese villages may still vote along ethnic lines.
Her opponent, Mah Siew Keong, who is ethnic Chinese and a much more experienced politician, may prove to be a more attractive option for this demography.
According to Pua, if the party loses 15 percent of its Chinese support base, the parliamentary seat will fall to BN.
Being Malay a double-edged sword
Similarly problematic, Dyana's progressive nature as a Muslim may also not go down well in the traditional Malay villages.
DAP appeared mindful of this as Dyana is seen in a headscarf in some of her latest banners and billboards, although she usually does not wear one.
Dyana's credentials as a young Malay woman coming from an Umno family has also become a fodder for her political opponents.
She has been labelled a “ traitor ” by Umno Wanita chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, while bloggers have tried to smear her image as a Muslim woman by trying to pass off a picture of a bikini-clad Filipina actress as Dyana.
This is aggravated by the fact that Ipoh-born Dyana has no roots in Teluk Intan as she grew up in Kuala Lumpur.
DAP's hope in this by-election is that Dyana reignites enthusiasm and attracts outstation voters to return to Teluk Intan on polling day on May 31.
Mah's political life and death
Nonetheless, Mah remains a formidable candidate, being a two-term Teluk Intan MP and former deputy minister.
The fact that this by-election will have no bearing on the power configuration in Putrajaya may also prompt voters to go for Mah.
There is also speculation that if Mah wins, he could be appointed as a minister or deputy minister due to his status as Gerakan president, thereby giving easy access to the federal government and funds for the constituency.
Furthermore, unlike DAP, which has to grapple with factionalism within Perak, BN seems to be better organised and its component parties appear ready to expend their resources in the battle for Teluk Intan.
While DAP's resources is stretched as it is also contesting in Bukit Gelugor, BN has abandoned that by-election and is focussing its entire machinery on Teluk Intan.
BN is going all out as it is more confident in Teluk Intan because it defeated PAS in Changkat Jong in the last general election.
Malay-majority Changkat Jong is one of two state constituencies in the parliamentary seat. The other state constituency is Pasir Bedemar.
The ruling coalition is also not keen to see DAP have its third Malay Muslim MP in Parliament, so tht it can continue labelling the party as race-based and biased towards the Chinese community.
For Gerakan, which only won one parliamentary seat in the last general election, this by-election is an opportunity for the party to redeem itself.
This is even crucial for Mah, who lost in Teluk Intan in 2008 and 2013 despite serving two terms there since 1999.
If Mah fails to wrest the seat for the third consecutive time, this by-election may well become a 'bye-election' for the newly-minted Gerakan chief.
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