DAP’s women’s wing has condemned a recent protest by the Negeri Sembilan DAP Veterans Club, where members used sanitary pads as masks to criticise party leadership, calling the act disrespectful and inappropriate.
According to Malaysiakini, Wanita DAP chief and Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said she disagreed with the act, arguing that it perpetuated harmful stigma surrounding menstruation.
“Using sanitary pads as tools of attack or ridicule only reinforces the shame and stigma long associated with menstruation,” she said.
Teo also highlighted the issue of period poverty in Malaysia, where some girls miss school because they cannot afford menstrual products. “And yet, we see people wasting sanitary pads just to insult political rivals,” she added.
The protest was staged to oppose the appointment of Johor-born Vincent Wu as senator, which the club said ignored local representation. Members wore custom-made masks from sanitary pads to symbolise what they described as the “deafening silence” of state leaders.
Club chairman Lee Kong Hing reportedly said the masks’ thickness, absorbency, and soundproof quality symbolised the leadership’s silence.
The Federal Territories Wanita DAP branch also issued a statement on Facebook, criticising the act and calling for respectful internal dialogue.
“The menstrual pad is not a prop for internal power struggles,” the post read. “It reflects the lived reality of women and should not be used to make political points within the party.”
