KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Tributes and offers of condolences have come out for DAP Seremban co-founding member Hu Sepang, who died from heart attack earlier today aged 73.

Guan Ming Daily reported Seremban MP Anthony Loke as crediting Hu for his support and advice to the party during the general elections in 2004, 2008 and 2013.

Loke said among the advice Hu gave were his views on message dissemination and seat contest strategies. Loke added that Hu did not share the stage during DAP’s campaign trail in order to avoid the perception of having ulterior motives.

The former transport minister also disclosed that Hu has not been a member of any political party since he left DAP.

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Hu, along with other party leaders including Chen Man Hin Lim Kit Siang, Tan Seng Giaw, and Karpal Singh, was instrumental in setting up DAP in Seremban. He joined the party in 1972 and left in 1991.

Loke paid tribute to Hu’s fiery oration skills, dubbing him a “street fighter” whose charismatic appeal and humorous speeches in politics drew many fans and supporters.

The late politician is most remembered for riding a horse and wearing a cowboy hat when he contested for the Bukit Pelanduk state seat during the general election in 1990.

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Hu’s increasingly ill health led to him becoming a double amputee in his later years. In an interview with China Press, his wife said her husband began complaining of uneasiness at 4am today, and was rushed to the Seremban Specialist Hospital where he passed away. Hu leaves behind a wife and three children.