He says he is not about to quit  life or politics.

Met at his double-storey terrace house in Melaka recently, opposition leader Kerk Kim Hock was as amiable as ever, if thinner by eight kilogrammes as a result of a recent surgery to remove a tumour.

"I am hopeful of a speedy recovery so that I can resume my duties and responsibilities as DAP secretary-general and Kota Melaka member of Parliament.

"I am determined to go back early as I hear there are strong rumours that the next general election will be held in April 2003," he said in jest.

The MP gave his supporters a fright when it was recently revealed he had rectal cancer. Since his April 10 operation, he has been receiving a steady stream of well-wishers at his home in Kampung Tujuh Melaka. Despite being in pain, he still took the time to entertain guests who came to visit him.

"Being told you have cancer is one thing. Knowing you have cancer at such a young age is frightening," Kerk, 46, told malaysiakini journalists who visited him on Thursday.

"What about my responsibilities towards my family and the party? This made me realise that there were many things, especially advice about health, that I took for granted. Now I view these things with urgency," he added.

Worried supporters

Kerk had wanted to keep the matter private but his sudden disappearance from public life had worried DAP supporters and members of his constituency.

Journalists, too, were curious about his absence in Parliament early this month during one of the most heated debates in the House  the controversial amendments to the Elections Act which, among others, endorsed the spiralling increase of election deposit for parliamentary candidates from RM5,000 to RM20,000.

Then a fortnight ago, DAP youth secretary-general Hew Kwan Yau issued a statement saying that Kerk had undergone surgery for rectal cancer and was discharged on April 18. His histopathology report had confirmed that his rectal cancer is in the second stage.

(There are four stages to rectal cancer, with the fourth being the advanced stage.)

Kerk is expected to begin his follow-up radiotherapy treatment in Melaka this week.

Source of strength

But optimistic Kerk finds there are lessons in every suffering. He says he has learnt to appreciate his wife, Mok Kwai Mei, 37, and his two children, a son, 10, and daughter, eight, even more.

I wonder what it would be like if I were not married. Who would take care of me, who would see to my daily needs?" he quipped.

"My wife is a source of real strength during these trying moments, Kerk added, smiling tenderly at Mei who was sitting beside him.

On the dining table were several baskets of fruits, flowers, cards and gifts from well-wishers and friends.

Kerk says he is grateful for the many get-well messages he has received  via telephone calls, e-mail, SMS and greeting cards  which have truly inspired him.

During malaysiakini 's visit, a group of supporters from Sungai Rambai met with the MP, showering him with words of comfort and courageous tales about cancer patients they knew who have recovered and are now living healthy lives.

I never realised how much I am appreciated, he mused.

Humanity knocking

These are times in life when one realises that not everything is about the big, bad world of politics. That while our politicians are fiercely divided in ideology  as in DAP versus Barisan Alternatif, or opposition versus Barisan Nasional  politicians are human beings too and most are motivated by a sense of humanity when the occasion presents itself and will come knocking at the door.

"Samy Vellu called and asked if there was anything he could do," said Kerk of the Works Minister and MIC president, a political rival.

Local MCA leaders have taken time off from debating on the current peace agenda for their conflict-ridden party, to drop by and extend their warm wishes. Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has also visited him, so too the party's supreme council member Khalid Jaafar and youth leader Low Chee Cheung.

"Azizah gave me a book. She said the author is her husband's (jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim) friend," Kerk said, turning the pages of the book Living proof  a medical mutiny by Michael Gearin-Tosh who at the age of 54 discovered he had bone marrow cancer.

Living proof

Living proof is the story of his quest to manage and overcome his illness; his determination not to be coerced into joining programmes of invasive treatments; and his resolve to stand up to specialists and colleagues who encouraged him to follow the conventional route as a cancer patient.

The author selected a number of regimes and devised his own routine and diets, and six years on he still survives, despite being told he should "expect to die soon".

In his foreword, Tosh wrote:

"The diagnosis is cancer the hospital tells me to start chemotherapy at once. Without it I will die in months. With it I may live for two to three years. I asked for a second opinion. The advice is the same: start at once. Then a world authority on cancer say that if I touch chemotherapy I am a goner. Which advice do I take? Should I look elsewhere? Do I have the time?

"The opposite of the phrase living proof is dead wrong  or if you will  wrong and dead. The stakes are high what am I to do?"

Similar questions are plaguing Kerk's mind. These are difficult questions but does he have a choice but to face them?

"I am going to take the (radiotherapy) treatment. I am also going to start doing the chi kung [Chinese traditional exercise] and improve my diet and lifestyle," said Kerk.

"And I am not giving up. The support and appreciation that I have seen so far make me realise that I have still very much to contribute to this life."