KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — The late Kerk Kim Hock was a loving family man and cancer survivor who showed his “fighting spirit” after a relapse, his son Kerk Chee Yee said.
Chee Yee, 25, spoke of his father’s cancer relapse in 2015 that left the family “devastated and frustrated”, adding however that one of the first things the DAP veteran discussed with the family was whether he should make the diagnosis public.
“He was concerned that people who look up to him and saw him as a symbol of hope, as a cancer survivor would be affected by the bad news.
“Eventually he decided to show everyone again his fighting spirit. That’s also why he created his Facebook account,” he said at a memorial service last night for the former DAP secretary-general.
Kerk, who was Kota Melaka MP from 1999 to 2004, had been diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2002 and had survived it.
Chee Yee recalled the tiring period the family went through during his father’s first battle with cancer, noting that Kerk had insisted on rushing off to Parliament to fulfil his duties immediately after his chemotherapy sessions at Melaka.
Remembering that his father would call home daily despite being busy with political obligations, he also described the former as a “simple man who had no obsession with material possessions.”
“He did not believe more expensive items equals more happiness or more value; sometimes being with the people we love is all that matters,” he said, recounting Kerk’s choice of a run-down food stall for his 2015 birthday meal where the family had a wonderful time.
“I lost a father and a life mentor and Malaysia lost a great leader and a true Malaysian,” he said, having expressed pride at how his father spent his life contributing to society.
Rounding up the list of speakers at the memorial service last night was DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, who praised Kerk as a committed and steadfast person who returned to help the political party during its lowest level.
“He is the best political secretary I know, I have a string of political secretaries,” Lim said, further calling Kerk a patriot and a leader who was also compassionate and easy to get along with.
Lim listed Kerk as being among the third out of five batches of leaders in DAP’s history and noting that the latter joined the party as a young and idealistic man, before making a surprise announcement on his new political secretary.
“Today I want to announce my new political secretary Kerk Chee Yee. This is the first time I have a father and son as political secretary,” he said, adding that he would be a symbol of Malaysia’s youth “continuing the battle for change.”
When met later, Chee Yee said he had not known that the announcement would be made.
“It came to me as a total surprise. The appointment of me being a political secretary was not expected at all.
“So it’s actually the same case as my father because back then when my father just joined the party, I think that was after a few days, Lim Kit Siang announced to the press that he would be his political secretary.
“I feel very honoured and lucky to be able to be appointed, so I’ll do my best and I’ll continue what my father has always fought for,” said Chee Yee, who joined the DAP recently.
He previously worked at an investment bank and started helping out at the DAP headquarters just two months ago.
Kerk, who was in the past detained under the now-abolished Internal Security Act along with other Opposition politicians, had in a video played during the memorial service related how he was called to join a press conference at the DAP headquarters in 1986 only to find out that he had been made Lim’s political secretary.
Earlier during the memorial service attended by over 500 people, various political leaders paid tribute to Kerk, including veteran party leader Liew Ah Khim who called him a “hero” who was gentle yet firm in his political ideals and deserving applause for his fighting spirit.
Parti Amanah Negara president Mohamad Sabu remembered Kerk as a generous lawmaker in Parliament and as someone who always had a “smiling face” despite suffering great pain, while PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told the crowd that Kerk had not looked down on the then seven-month-old party as a weak party for the 1999 elections but had seen its potential.
DAP acting chairman Tan Kok Wai said Kerk was a man who stood by his principles and well-loved for being gracious and humble, promising that DAP would do its best to end the rule by Barisan Nasional in the next elections.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said Kerk had courage and political wisdom, noting that the latter was instrumental in getting him to rejoin politics after a five-year break.
The others who spoke include DAP vice-chairs Teresa Kok and M. Kulasegaran while national laureate Datuk Seri A. Samad Said recited poetry.
Kerk, who was also Pasir Pinji MP during 1990 to 1995, died at the age of 61 on August 9 after three days of coma following surgery.
