INTERVIEW | Kerk Chee Yee burst into the political limelight in August when DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, in a surprise announcement, unveiled the 25-year-old as his political secretary.

It was not the first time Lim plucked a young person from relative obscurity for the post, which is often seen as a stepping stone to future leadership.

Past protégés include Selangor executive councillor Teng Chang Khim, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok and Teluk Intan election candidate Dyana Sofya Md Daud.

However, few can boast of a political education quite like Kerk’s.

Growing up, he would follow his late father, then DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock, to various political events.

“In the car, from the start of the journey until we arrived at our destination, my father would talk to me about his principles and what he thought of politics.

“Almost 90 percent of our conversations were about politics,” Kerk said in an interview with Malaysiakini.

Even so, Kerk said he, like many youths, did not understand the "importance of politics" at the time.

His realisation that youths had a role to play in politics only came later, at a roundtable discussion when studying in Melbourne, Australia.

Seeing the other Malaysian students enthusiastically discussing possible solutions to the country’s problems made him believe that youths had both a voice and a responsibility in shaping the country's future.

After graduating with a degree in finance and accounting from the University of Melbourne in 2014, Kerk went on to become an investment banker.

He saw more and more of his peers emigrating for better career opportunities abroad, but he had his eyes on the local political scene as he witnessed the rapidly changing dynamics in the opposition.

In June, he quit his investment banking job to join DAP as a full-time researcher.

“Bersatu was gaining influence, Pakatan Harapan was almost formed and PAS broke up with PKR. Everything was indicating that the coming election would change Malaysia forever.

“So I wanted to be there, to see it for myself and help out as much as I can,” Kerk explained...