Malaysia’s hottest politicians, Part I
In the first of a two-parter, we ogle the bevy of distractingly-luscious lawmakers and ruinously-alluring activists who are raising temperatures in Malaysia’s political arena
Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, DAP
Image credit: Says.com
Post: Political secretary for DAP head honcho, Lim Kit Siang; DAP’s 2014 parliamentary candidate for the Teluk Intan constituency
Other posts: Lawyer (makes you want to break every law in the books, right fanboys?); Columnist for The Malay Mail Online; And volcanic pimple on the noses of DAP detractors now thwarted from playing up the party’s perceived Chinese exclusivity.
Age: 28
Relationship status: (As far as we know, and to answer your collective prayers) Single
Fun facts: Dyana’s mother, Yammy Samat, was Wanita Umno’s Ipoh division secretary (she was immediately shown the door after seen accompanying her daughter during her Teluk Intan by-election campaign rounds); In 2014, lookalike Filipina actress Pauleen Luna was photographed modeling a barely-there bikini – the image, mischievously tagged ‘Dyana’, went viral, and got many a batik sarong in a furious twist; Dyana is currently pursuing postgraduate studies at the University of London (no political landmines there, hopefully).
Why she’s hot: She’s a blossoming millenial, is ferociously intelligent, and has weathered Malaysia’s rough-and-tumble politics with nary a ripped-out hair extension or torn petticoat. Plus, look at her!
Get to know her better at: facebook.com/dyanasmd
Gobind Singh Deo, DAP
Image credit: roketkini.com
Post: Member of Parliament for Puchong
Other posts: DAP national legal bureau secretary; Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya; And Barrister of the UK’s Lincoln’s Inn, the world’s most prestigious professional body of judges and lawyers (hubba hubba!).
Age: 42
Relationship status: Married to fellow lawyer and journalist, Sangeeta Kaur Sidhu (so you can all fogedabouddit!)
Fun facts: He was suspended from Parliament for 1 year in 2009 for calling PM Najib Razak “a murderer”; He has been dubbed ‘the little lion of Puchong’ (rrrrrowww!); (And for those just awakening from a protracted coma) Gobind is, of course, son of ‘the Tiger of Jelutong’, the late Karpal Singh, and brother of DAP politicians Ramkarpal and Jagdeep.
Why he’s hot: Violently butting heads with government reps is an occasional occupational hazard for opposition lawmakers – but for Gobind, it’s part of a daily ‘to do list’, which he carries out with operatic flair and chest hair-sprouting, Highlander dauntlessness. And whether he’s driving the old guard up the wall in Parliament or the High Court, Gobind looks every bit the epically manly, preposterously gravity-defying Bollywood hero.
Get to know him better at: facebook.com/gobindsinghdeopage
Anina Saaduddin, Umno
Post: Former Langkawi Wanita Umno member; Political and social activist/gadfly
Other posts: Former lecturer at UNIRAZAK; And unrelenting pain in the neck for Umno bigwigs
Age: 40 (not a typo!)
Relationship status: For her to know and you to find out; Mother of 3 daughters and 1 adopted son
Fun facts: Inspired by a flood of inquiries on her unique sartorial sense, Anina is launching a fashion line of traditional Kedahan apparel and accessories (which proves that the ‘wear, don’t bare’ philosophy can be sexy); She’s in the midst of wrapping up her PhD studies in Business Marketing (the woman is apparently unclear on the concept of sleep).
Why she’s hot: Aside from having the audacity to look nowhere near her age, alluring Anina has had the temerity to ‘go postal’ with the PM and the Umno establishment over the RM2.6 billion ‘personal donation’ scandal’, for which she paid the career price. Although red-carded by the powers-that-be, Anina is still very much in the game, launching injurious verbal salvos at her nemesis(sies) and making waves in politics, the media and popular culture.
Get to know her better at: facebook.com/mynameisanina/
Khairy Jamaluddin (but of course!), Umno
Image credit: mysoccercommunity.com
Post: Minister for Youth and Sports (the hotness ball has ALWAYS been in his court)
Other posts: Member of Parliament for Rembau, Negeri Sembilan; Umno Youth Chief
Age: 40 (his face and physique have yet to receive the memo)
Relationship status: Though still painful for many to accept, Khairy is married (to Nori Abdullah, daughter of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi), and is the father of Raif Leo Averroes, Jibreil and Timor.
Fun facts: Khairy was born in Kuwait City, Kuwait; He went to Oxford, where he read Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and completed his master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory at University College London; As a journalist, he wrote for Godzilla publications like Time magazine, the Wall Street Journal and the Economist (where he interned for a spell); And he was once selected as a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (You have to admit that reading his CV brings about heavy breathing!)
Why he’s hot: In addition to the above, Khairy plays football like a Sir; He is Honorary Colonel of the Rejimen Askar Wataniah (he can parachute like NOBODY’s business); He has a great rapport with youth and young athletes; And he looks like a cover model for Men’s Health magazine… wait, he WAS on the cover of Men’s Health!
Get to know him better at: facebook.com/Khairykj/
Hannah Yeoh, DAP
Post: Speaker and member of the Selangor State Assembly for Subang Jaya
Other posts: Lawyer; Former events manager
Age: 37
Relationship status: Married to IT entrepreneur, Ramachandran Muniandy (move on, fanboys); Mother of two daughters
Fun facts: Hannah made history by becoming the first female Speaker of the Selangor State Assembly (don’t play-play!); When sworn in at age 34, she was the youngest speaker of any legislative Assembly in Malaysia; In 2011, Hannah nearly brought about the Apocalypse when she registered her newborn daughter Shay Adora Ram’s race as ‘Anak Malaysia’.
Why she’s hot: She’s button-cute, and her tweets on current events are like dominatrix lashes of eloquence, zeal and don’t-mess-with-me fierceness
Get to know her better at: facebook.com/hannahyeoh
Young Syefura Othman aka ‘Rara’, DAP
Image credit: roketkini.com
Position: Selangor DAP committee member and activist
Other posts: One of DAP’s ‘Impian Malaysia’ coordinators; Alternative medicine entrepreneur
Age: 27
Relationship status: (Judging from her legion of determined, jostling suitors) Single
Fun facts: Rara is a trained nurse (make sure to have a ‘medical emergency’ in her presence, fanboys); Her unusual first name ‘Young’ is an anglicisation of the traditional Perakian moniker ‘Yong’; Rara was investigated for sedition last year over a 2014 Facebook post that read “the Sultan is not God”.
Why she’s hot: She’s quite the (whiplash-inducing) head-turner; When accused of being a ‘race traitor’ upon joining DAP, Rara told her antagonists to ‘Talk to her hand, cause her (pretty) face ain’t listening’ (or something along those lines).
Get to know her better at: instagram.com/young.syefura/
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