“But it was only in college that I became really passionate about politics,” the 25-year-old former investment banker told FMT.
He would engage with other youths on issues such as the economy and the brain drain affecting the country. At the same time, he saw young leaders stepping forward and he felt he needed to do something.
“Even though I am now a full time political worker, I’m of the view that you don’t have to be a politician to do your part for the country, but I find it the most effective platform.”
Kerk said his father, Kerk Kim Hock, was not keen on him going into politics. “My dad was there when DAP was at its lowest ebb in 1999, it was tough, I suppose he didn’t want me to go through the same thing.”
In 1998, Lim Guan Eng, then Kota Melaka MP, was jailed for sedition and for offences under the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, after spreading allegations that the then Melaka chief minister Rahim Tamby Chik had raped an underaged girl.
Kerk said his father eventually relented. Kerk Kim Hock, a former Kota Melaka MP and former DAP secretary-general, died last August after a long battle with cancer.
The younger Kerk is now taking his first step in his father’s footsteps, contesting the state seat of Ayer Keroh as a Pakatan Harapan candidate.
At 25, he is among the younger candidates, but doesn’t feel the least bit daunted at the prospect of the three-way contest between himself, Chua Kheng Hwa of BN and Sepri Rahman of PAS.
“I think my chances are 50-50. Ayer Keroh has always been a marginal seat.”
Following the recent redelineation exercise, Ayer Keroh remains a Chinese majority seat with 51% of voters, Malays (41%) and Indians (8%) making up the rest.
Although the Malay vote would be split three-ways, Kerk said he believed the sentiment for change was greater and that this would benefit PH.
“I have been receiving a good response from the Malay community when I go campaigning in places like Sungai Putat and even the Umno stronghold of Kg Tun Razak.”
If elected, Kerk said he would not serve Ayer Keroh but the state as a whole.
He proposed to introduce a free bus service for Melaka city, which suffers bad traffic jams on weekends and festive occasions.
The free bus service should connect key areas such as tourist spots, hospitals, government officers and transport hubs.
He would also push for more affordable homes and encourage local councils to be more discerning in approving housing projects.
“The authorities need to study the market before approving projects and whether the market could really afford proposed projects,” so that there would not be a glut of unsold homes.
Kerk said campaigning has been hectic so far. He has been asked to pose for many photographs before the ceramah, and admitted that he has received many compliments over his looks.
“I’m grateful, but I’m eager to show that I’m more than just a pretty face.”
Ayer Keroh was won in 2013 by DAP’s Khoo Poay Tiong who beat BN’s Yong Fun Juan by almost 8,000 votes.