I knew him since I was a boy, reminisces Loke on late DAP elder Chen

“I knew him very well as a Seremban boy,” DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said today as he recounted his experiences with the party’s founding member Dr Chen Man Hin. 

Speaking to reporters outside of Chen’s (above) home in Seremban today, Loke said he knew the former DAP chairperson since he was a child, adding that it was not only the former’s political journey which made him famous but his career as a doctor as well. 

Loke was visiting Chen’s home after news broke that the DAP founding member had passed away earlier this morning at the age of 97. 

“When I was in secondary school and there was a history project (about a) leader or a project dealing with Seremban leaders, he was the person I interviewed, as a figure in my heart who truly represented Seremban. 

“As Seremban MP, I am very indebted to Dr Chen, because it was won and held by him for many terms. 

“When I contested (for the seat) in 2013, he was willing to be my proposer for me to run in the Seremban parliamentary seat. 

“I am very indebted to him, and Dr Chen will be remembered forever,” he said.

Helping the needy

Elaborating further on Chen’s kindness, Loke said that the former donated RM60,000 when the Seremban Main Market caught fire in 2017.

“That was Dr Chen, anything to do with Seremban and the poor, he would be concerned about, especially hawkers and small traders. 

“He always reminded me to make sure to take care of them, the small traders who do business in (the) market. His heart (was) always for the poor (and) the ordinary people on the street, especially the hawkers and small traders,” the Seremban MP said. 

Loke said that in November 2015, Chen had requested to cancel his 90th birthday celebration, even though arrangements had already been made, because opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was sent to jail for sodomy.

“I still remember exactly what Dr Chen said: ‘Nothing to celebrate, Anwar is in jail. So no such celebration, we cannot celebrate. Cancel the dinner.’ 

“That was the first time he was so stern with me, usually I could convince him on other matters, but on this, I couldn’t. 

“That shows how passionate his comradeship with others (was). He (was) someone who always put others before him,” Loke said. 

‘No DAP today without Chen’

Loke told reporters that DAP would establish a committee to help Chen’s family with the funeral arrangement. 

The committee will be chaired by the DAP secretary-general, Loke, himself. 

“As he (Chen) is a founding member of DAP, the party’s leadership and members are concerned and care about his passing. 

“We are sad and heavy-hearted because Dr Chen has been with DAP since its inception. Without him, DAP may not have made it to today,” he said. 

Loke added that Chen had passed away peacefully in his sleep and that funeral arrangements have not been decided yet as they are waiting for several of his children to return from Canada, London, and Singapore. 

“It is possible that the ceremony or wake will start tomorrow, so today they (Chen’s family) have asked for privacy for the preparations and arrangements,” he said.

He added that the family has requested people to not congregate at Chen’s home for the sake of his 92-year-old wife’s health and safety. 

Chen is survived by five children and his wife. 

The 97-year-old was DAP chairperson from 1966 to 1999, following which he was appointed as the party’s first lifetime adviser.

He first entered Parliament in 1969 as the representative for Seremban Timor and would go on to represent the Seremban constituency four more times.

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