Former DAP secretary-general Kerk dies
PETALING JAYA: When he turned
61 on July 29, Kerk Kim Hock (pic) was in the hospital. And he joked: “I have finally lost weight!”
Sadly, he lost his long battle with cancer yesterday.
The former DAP secretary-general died yesterday at 6.10pm after falling into a coma last Sunday.
He had undergone an operation for a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) problem just before that, said his son Chee Yee.
“My father had to undergo thrombolytic therapy on Sunday. The operation was successful.
“But bleeding in his brain left him in a coma and after battling for three days, he left us peacefully.
“My mum, sister and I were by his side. We thank everyone for their support and encouragement throughout his battle against his illness,” he said in a statement.
Chee Yee said details of the funeral arrangements would be announced later.
Kim Hock was first diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2002. He was cancer-free in 2007 until he had a relapse in 2015.
The former political secretary to DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang was also a Durian Daun assemblyman for one term from 1986 to 1990.
He was Pasir Pinji/Ipoh Timur MP in 1990 and 1999 and also Kota Melaka MP from 1999 to 2004 before quitting politics.
Former Duyong state assemblyman Datuk Wira Gan Tian Loo considered Kim Hock as a very good friend, despite being from a rival party.
The former Melaka MCA chairman said that despite being an Opposition party member, Kim Hock had contributed ideas to the development of the iconic Jonker Walk.
Gan said he was a 26-year-old fresh graduate when he became friends with Kim Hock, who was then the Kota Melaka MP.
“Although we were not from the same party and had different ideologies, Kim Hock asked me to join politics to serve the rakyat,” said Gan.
The Star’s former associate editor M. Veera Pandiyan, who was a close friend of Kim Hock, said the DAP man had always come across as a reluctant politician every time they met, usually over Kim Hock’s favourite dish of fried noodles.
“He loved them all, especially Hokkien mee,” said Veera.
“In spite of his low profile, Kim Hock was the man DAP sought out during its darkest hours.
When the Perak DAP was embroiled in a crisis between the supporters of P. Patto and Lau Dak Kee, Kim Hock, then the party’s organising secretary, was sent to contest the Pasir Pinji parliamentary seat and won it easily.
“He often confided in me the difficulty of being a politician and the unpleasant choices he had to make.
“He was a rare gentleman in the dirty business of politics and he was not known for running rivals and opponents down or insulting them,” said Veera.
“Over the past year, people had been calling at his home in Melaka to show him support as he battled with cancer. He was indeed a people’s hero in the state.”