Young Syefura Othman, a DAP “awek cun”. – RoketKini pic
For a party that constantly cries foul at its detractors calling it names like “communist” and “Chinese chauvinists”, the Democratic Action Party (DAP) did some petty name-calling of its own, when it called its young female Malay members “awek cun” (colloquially, “hot babes”).
The term popped up in a profile article on DAP member Young Syefura Othman on the party’s official RoketKini news portal. The article also called Young Syefura by her nickname, Rara.
RoketKini has since acknowledged its dodgy use of the term “awek cun” and the subsequent online anger arising from it, and has edited the article, removing the term from its headline and most mentions of it in the main text.
One last mention remains in the edited text of the article:
Bak kata orang, tak kenal maka tak cinta. Setelah sekian lama DAP dimomok-momok sebagai parti cauvinis Cina, kehadiran ‘awek-awek cun’ secara tiba-tiba meleburkan persepsi negatif tersebut, dan secara tidak langsung menarik minat orang ramai untuk mendekati parti yang dijaja-jaja musuhnya dengan pelbagai cerita karut.
(Translated: “As the saying goes, “to know is to love”. After being labelled a Chinese chauvinist party for so long, the sudden arrival of these “hot babes” puts the lie to those negative perceptions, and is indirectly a catalyst for renewed public interest to approach this party that has been vilified by its opponents with lies and fabrications.”)
We hope the DAP has more catalysts to attract public support for its platform than a few good-looking young Malay women. Try pushing those policies a little harder, perhaps?
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