PETALING JAYA: DAP veteran leader Lim Kit Siang has criticised the Education Ministry for reprimanding a teacher over the posting of Dyana Sofya campaign posters on her Facebook page.
The teacher was told to remove the Facebook posting as it was deemed ‘anti-government’ and was told that her actions would be monitored.
“It is indeed the height of irony that on the one hand, the Umno secretary-general and Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor is urging teachers to return to politics under the BN fold, conceding that headmasters, principals and teachers were the ‘real movers’ of Umno, MCA, MIC and BN in the past, but on the other hand, high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Education are reprimanding a teacher for posting Dyana Sofya campaign posters on Facebook,”
“Is this what Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak meant when he boasted that he wanted to make Malaysia the ‘best democracy in the world’ – where teachers have only the right to take part in politics if they become the ‘prime movers’ of Barisan Nasional (BN) but not Pakatan Rakyat (PR).
“This is hypocrisy and double standards in front of the new generation of Malaysians they are teaching in schools in the country.
“I would like to know if Najib will put a stop to the ‘Dyanaphobia’ that is sweeping the Education Ministry, which is under Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister MuhyddinYassin, in the Cabinet meeting or will he succumb to it.”
Lim claimed that Umno had launched a dirty campaign of lies and falsehoods in the Teluk Intan by-election as they were afraid that Dyana would be elected as MP for Teluk Intan and because she symbolises everything that Umno is not.
“Dyana represents youth and self-less idealism for a united Malaysian nation transcending the politics of race and in pursuit of justice, freedom, accountability, an incorrupt leadership and good governance.”
“Is it not just the one Dyana Sofya whom Umno BN should fear but the tens and hundreds of thousands of ‘Dyana Sofyas’ in Malaysia who have been inspired by the example set by the DAP PR candidate of Teluk Intan to come forward and to take a stand for a moderate Malaysia for Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region.”
BN candidate Mah Siew Keong won the Teluk Intan by-election with a slim majority of 238 votes in a record-low voter-turnout of 66.5% on polling day on May 31.
