\u201cThis party isn\u2019t about favouring one race. Where does it say that DAP is only for non-Malays? This is a fallacy, a deceit, something that irresponsible people say.\u201d<\/p>\n Many accusations were hurled at Syerleena on social media after she join DAP in 2013. Some asked how religious she was, others questioned whether she was really a Malay.<\/p>\n The DAPSY Bukit Bendera Branch Secretary acknowledges that choosing DAP is not an easy path for a Malay, from the name-calling and comments she received, to reports that Malays in the party are murtad (apostates) or disloyal to the country.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery once in awhile you come across these absurdities, you just have to shake it off and say, it\u2019s not real.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can be Malay and not support UMNO\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ve seen a lot of Malays being targeted for their political beliefs, like Zairil Khir Johari and Dyana Sofya who deal with threats on a daily basis.<\/p>\n As Syerleena puts it, things are getting to the point where you have to show people that it\u2019s okay to believe in something.<\/p>\n \u201cA person can be a Muslim and a Malay, and support a different party that\u2019s not UMNO,\u201d she stresses.<\/p>\n The fear of societal perceptions is a barrier that keeps some Malays away from DAP, however Syerleena says they should not be deterred by this.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re Malay, it\u2019s almost as though you\u2019re expected to join a certain party. For people who live in a certain area, within the community there\u2019s an expectation (for them to join that party).<\/p>\n \u201cThose who control the media (use it to) spread misinformation. They\u2019re the ones who say, if you pledge allegiance to a different belief system, that makes you less of Malay or Muslim. We should try to get rid of this fear.\u201d<\/p>\n Never one to let fear rule her, Syerleena is an active member of Aliran and often contributes articles to various publications, writing freely about her thoughts on the nation and the political struggles we face.<\/p>\n I asked her why she chose to sign up as a member instead of just supporting the party silently, or through her vote.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I do something, I want to give my 101%. I don\u2019t want to do something halfway, to be content with just supporting the party\u2026 Let\u2019s take it to a proactive level, let\u2019s be part of the movement for change. That\u2019s how I see (political) participation.\u201d<\/p>\n With James Lockhead an an anti-sex trafficking seminar in Penang in April<\/p><\/div>\n Moving into maturity<\/strong><\/p>\n Syerleena believes that Malaysians are more than ready to embrace a new era and a new sense of political maturity is inevitable. The events leading up from the reformasi era to Bersih rallies and the 12th, 13th general elections portray the readiness of the people, she says.<\/p>\n On the other hand, she admits that DAP faces a lot of resistance from some segments of society. For example, when those like (Subang Jaya Assemblyperson) Hannah Yeoh openly engages the Malay community and visits mosques, they receive a lot of backlash.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a sense whatever that DAP does to bridge the gap and connect with certain communities\u2026 it\u2019s the backlash that people remember. It\u2019s not productive.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s easy to say that the party is just focusing on (portraying a certain) image by organising events like buka puasa <\/i>(breaking of fast), but things like that shouldn\u2019t be overshadowing the important issues that we are addressing.\u201d<\/p>\n Malaysians may come from different backgrounds but at the end of the day, we just want what\u2019s best for our future generations. That\u2019s the one thing that unites all Malaysians, she says.<\/p>\n \u201cSpecial treatment\u201d for Malays in DAP?<\/strong><\/p>\n Malays do not receive \u2018preferential treatment\u2019 in DAP, Syerleena says. \u201cI don\u2019t feel I\u2019ve received any kind of special treatment just because of who I am.<\/p>\n \u201cThe party stresses on merit. Which is a good thing. It\u2019s very positive, and that engages a lot of other people to come in. It opens up a new direction where this party will be heading towards.\u201d<\/p>\n The best thing about being involved in DAP is the level of enthusiasm displayed by everyone of all ages, she says. With her background in the tourism industry, Syerleena enjoys meeting people and finds the neverending exchange of ideas fun.<\/p>\n \u201cEven the aunties (are very gung ho) – they come from a different era where Malaysians could mingle freely without having to worry about what society thinks. In her experience, party members have been very supportive and there\u2019s a sense of kinship within the movement. We may come from different backgrounds, but the struggle is still the same, she says.<\/p>\n She also has her family\u2019s blessings as they understand her desire to join DAP to improve the situation for all Malaysians.<\/p>\n How can DAP change the cultural barriers which are so difficult to budge? The best approach is by taking one step at a time, she believes.<\/p>\n \u201cSteps are being taken. When you look at what we have achieved in the past two general elections\u2026 we\u2019re talking about six years of change that we\u2019re able to see.<\/p>\n \u201cFor example, let\u2019s focus on education. When we talk about education, this is something that transcends all barriers. To me it\u2019s a very important issue. It\u2019s the one thing that can guarantee the development of Malaysia.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should focus on things like this instead of silly things\u2026 let\u2019s not divert from what is important.\u201d -The Rocket<\/p>\n (* To read\u00a0the full version of this article and other stories,\u00a0buy<\/a>\u00a0the September issue of The Rocket)<\/em><\/p>\n This is Part 3 of a series of interviews. Read Part 1<\/a> (Young Syefura Othman) and Part 2<\/a> (Raja Ahmad Iskandar) as well.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" More young Malays are thinking for themselves and not afraid to defy convention in their political choices. It takes courage to go against the grain and those who stand out from the crowd are often vilified for daring to be different. Several young Malay DAP members tell us why DAP best represents their aspirations. I’m […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10201"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10216,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10201\/revisions\/10216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"sy1\"](\"http:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/sy1.png\")
<\/a>\u201cBeing in DAP doesn\u2019t make me any less Malay or any less Malaysian,\u201d says 34-year-old Penang-born Syerleena Abdul Rashid.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\n\u201cThat\u2019s the unique bond that we need to remind ourselves of. This is what we should be doing as Malaysians.\u201d<\/p>\n