OBITUARY | Hu Sepang - forgotten maverick was one of the most colourful MPs

OBITUARY | On the morning of July 3, 2020, a Friday, Malaysia lost one of its most colourful parliamentarians in Hu Sepang (1947-2020). A three-term assemblyperson and MP for Rasah from 1986-1990, Hu was best known for once campaigning on horseback and regularly wearing a cowboy hat, even to Parliament.

A stalwart of Negri Sembilan DAP politics, Hu was rarely out of the press in the 1980s and had a number of well-publicised incidents. I had never met him personally but interviewed him over the phone in 2008 when my former editor asked me to do a story about some of Malaysia’s most memorable MPs. Everyone I spoke to mentioned Hu and I was able to track him down.

"Hu had an aggressive style but he was good-hearted. A bit of a joker too with his cowboy look,” former Dewan Rakyat secretary Abdullah Abdul Wahab who served in Parliament from 1980-2006 told me at the time.

Hu himself was jovial when we spoke and enjoyed reminiscing about his time in the limelight.

"Those were the good old days and I was seen as colourful because I looked at things light-heartedly. Even though it was the highest forum of the country and debated many important issues, I felt one couldn't be serious all the time."

Hu told me he found a loophole in the Standing Orders to wear a Stetson cowboy hat to Parliament.

"Back then, the Standing Orders specified that the dress code must either be a suit or Baju Melayu, but I spotted a loophole in that it was silent on headgear. I was a hat collector so I thought why not wear a cowboy hat?"

"Another loophole was that the dress code was silent about dark glasses. I once jokingly accused an Umno backbencher of being the Mafia because he wore sunglasses in Parliament."

Incidentally, later in life, Hu amassed a huge collection of hats and other headgear from Canada, Australia and even the ones worn by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Hu also told me of his many animated exchanges in Parliament.

“Two of the most colourful government ministers were Lim Keng Yaik and S Samy Vellu, especially once riled-up,” he said.

Hu himself was known to be carried away while engaging in a debate.

"Once I was thrown out by the speaker. It was a long debate over the OSA (Official Secrets Act) that lasted through the night and I brandished a National Union of Journalists leaflet at the speaker and next thing you know, I was being ejected."

"Another time I was questioning Najib (Abdul Razak) about the singer Sahara Yaacob being denied a licence to perform concerts. I stood up and reprimanded Najib and then concluded by shouting "Hidup Sahara Yaacob!” After that Sahara called me to thank me for the support,” he told me as he roared with laughter.

Earlier in 1982, Hu had been accused by Nanyang Siang Pao’s Seremban reporter Chia Ban Chun of going to the Nanyang office, rummaging through his drawers and threatening him.

In the 1990 general election, when Hu contested the Bukit Pelanduk state seat, a supporter of Hu who had a few retired racehorses offered him one to use for his campaign. However, this also led to Hu taking a tumble when the horse was spooked by the revving motorcycle engines of his supporters.

Tips for ceramah

A student of political science who completed his studies in Perth, Australia, Hu joined DAP in 1972 and was elected to three different state seats - Sungei Ujong (1978-1982), Rahang (1982-1986) and Mambau (1986-1990).

During that last term, he was simultaneously the Rasah MP but holding both elected posts didn’t stop him from being detained under the Internal Security Act for three months in 1987 when then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad presided over a wave of arrests without trial, known as "Operation Lalang".

Hu was one of the well-known DAP MPs like Lee Lam Thye and Kua Kia Soong who left the party although unlike Fan Yew Teng and Wee Choo Keong, he did not go on to represent another political group.

In 2002, when attending a murder trial at the Seremban High Court, the mother of the 16-year-old boy who was wrongly shot dead by the police in 1982 assaulted him. Hu was struck by the victim’s mother with her handbag when he refused her request to discuss the compensation amount which was still pending.

In general, after his abrupt retirement from politics in 1991, Hu adopted a low-profile although current Seremban MP Anthony Loke remembers him well.

“As a Seremban boy, I have heard about Hu Sepang since very young. He was a firebrand and DAP strongman in the 1980s. Unfortunately he left the party after the 1990 general election defeat but he never joined another political party,” Loke told me.

“When I contested my first GE in 2004 (Lobak state assembly seat), he offered his support and advice on the campaign.

“Hu gave me a lot of tips on ceramah styles and shared his ideas on how to crack jokes to draw the attention of the crowd,” said Loke who visited Hu just before the 2018 general election and also went to pay his respects today (Saturday).

In his last years, Hu suffered from diabetes which resulted in the amputation of both legs in his later years but he still kept up his interest in the world around him. He leaves behind his wife Judy, three sons and six grandchildren.

He also leaves behind a legacy of fierce commitment to his cause, even if he did deliver his message in unorthodox fashion.

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MARTIN VENGADESAN is a Malaysiakini team member.