KUALA LUMPUR — DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke appeared to question former Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming’s loyalty to the party after the latter announced his departure from DAP earlier today to help Umno’s Khairy Jamaluddin in the upcoming general election.
Loke, however, did not name anyone when he posted on Facebook “Habis madu, sepah dibuang” (When the honey is finished, the fibre is thrown away) today.
Loke’s post drew hundreds of comments, with many asking him if he was referring to Ong. In a DAP WhatsApp group for the media, the same question was posed to DAP representatives but there has been no response.
Earlier, Ong announced his departure from DAP after 14 years as a member, during which time he was elected MP for Serdang (2013 to 2018) and Bangi (2018 to 2022). Ong had also been an elected member of the Selangor DAP state committee and had also contributed to the party as an elections analyst.
Ong’s Merdeka Day announcement in the form of an open letter to Loke also stated he was not planning to join another political party “in the near future”, nor would he seek to contest in the 16th general election.
His main focus for the short term, he said, was to “fulfil the promise I made on January 10, 2026, to help Khairy Jamaluddin campaign in GE16, if he is given a seat to run in”.
“I will continue to serve the interests of the country through other means including on my podcast (“Are We OK”), through my various advisory positions and by working with other like-minded people with common interests,” Ong said in his announcement today.
He also stated his gratitude to the party for his political career, naming key leaders such as Tony Pua and Lim Guan Eng for their roles in helping his development as a politician, elected representative and deputy minister.
Ong has appeared on Khairy’s “Keluar Sekejap” podcast several times and described the former Umno Youth Chief and ex-health minister as someone he could work with in nation-building.
In January, Ong first announced his intention to publicly campaign for Khairy, adding he would “gladly” be part of Khairy’s cabinet if the latter one day became prime minister.
In April, Khairy formally rejoined Umno after being expelled from the party in 2023.
DAP has not officially responded to Ong’s resignation from the party. National chairman Gobind Singh Deo, when asked by reporters after National Day celebrations in Putrajaya today, declined to comment, saying today was not the day for political talk. – August 31, 2026