DAP Veterans protest ‘outsider’ senator appointment with sanitary pad masks

SHAH ALAM - The Negeri Sembilan DAP Veterans Club has publicly protested the appointment of Johor native Vincent Wu as senator, accusing the party leadership of sidelining local interests in favour of an “outsider.”

According to online news portal Malaysiakini, the protest was staged yesterday, with members wearing custom-made face masks made from sanitary pads to symbolise their frustration with the state DAP leadership's silence on the issue.

The club's chairman Lee Kong Hing reportedly described the masks as “thick, dense, highly absorbent and soundproof” which were qualities he claimed “perfectly symbolise how seamlessly silent the state leadership is.”

The club also slammed the state party committee, accusing it of “selling out” the people of Negeri Sembilan by awarding a senator post to an “outsider.”

The protest has drawn sharp criticism from Wanita DAP, who condemned the use of sanitary pads as protest props.

It was reported that the wing's chief Teo Nie Ching said using sanitary pads as gimmicks during a protest against the party’s leadership was inappropriate and disrespectful to women.

Teo, who is also Deputy Communications Minister said the act was unacceptable and reinforced negative stigma around menstruation.

“Using sanitary pads as tools of attack or ridicule only reinforces the shame and stigma long associated with menstruation,” she was quoted as saying.

She also raised concerns about period poverty, noting that some students in the country were forced to skip school due to the inability to afford menstrual products.

“And yet, here they are wasting large quantities of sanitary pads just to mock their political rivals,” she reportedly said.

The Federal Territories chapter of Wanita DAP also condemned the protest in a Facebook post, urging party members to uphold dignity and engage in respectful discourse.

“The menstrual pad is not a tool for personal gain or internal protest.

“It represents the lived experiences of millions of women and should not be exploited to make a political point, especially within our own party,” it wrote in the post.