Loke’s ‘habis madu, sepah dibuang’ post raises eyebrows after Ong quits DAP

An English proverb, loosely interpreted as "once the honey is finished, the leftovers are thrown away," sparked curiosity following DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook's recent Facebook post. Loke shared the Malay phrase "Habis madu, sepah dibuang" shortly after Ong Kian Ming announced his resignation from the party. The proverb is commonly employed to describe someone being discarded once they are no longer required.

Some netizens suspected a connection between Loke's post and Ong's departure, but Loke refrained from mentioning Ong or implying a specific target for his words. Ong, a former two-term MP, revealed on the same day that he was leaving DAP after a 14-year tenure. The former lawmaker from Serdang and Bangi stated he would not join another political party, nor would he contest in the upcoming general election.

Instead, Ong expressed his intention to stay engaged in political pursuits, including assisting former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin ahead of the 2016 general election.

Ong entered Parliament in 2013 as the MP for Serdang, later relocating to Bangi during the 2018 general election. He served as deputy international trade and industry minister from 2018 to 2020. Ong's position within DAP had fluctuated, as he was initially elected to the party's central executive committee but failed to secure a place in the leadership during the 2022 party polls.

Ong chose not to participate in the 2025 DAP leadership election. The timing of his decision to resign, coupled with Loke's cryptic proverb, has since become a subject of discussion among DAP supporters and political commentators across social media platforms.