Ong Kian Ming quits DAP after 14 years, rules out GE16 run but vows to campaign for Khairy

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 31 — Former Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming has resigned from DAP after 14 years, ruling out contesting the next general election or joining another political party in the near future while reaffirming his pledge to campaign for Khairy Jamaluddin if he stands in the next general election (GE16).

Ong announced his departure in a Facebook post today addressed to DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke and copied to the party’s national organising secretary Khoo Poay Tiong.

“I am writing to inform you that I am resigning as a member of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) effective on the 31st of August 2026,” he wrote.

Ong, who joined DAP in 2012, did not give a reason for his resignation and struck an appreciative tone as he reflected on his years with the party.

During that period, he served as MP for Serdang from 2013 to 2018 and Bangi from 2018 to 2022, as well as deputy international trade and industry minister between 2018 and 2020.

He was also an appointed member of DAP’s central executive committee from 2019 to 2022 and an elected member of the party’s Selangor state committee from 2018 to 2024.

“I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to contribute to the party and the country in different ways since I joined the party in 2012,” Ong said.

He singled out former DAP leaders Tony Pua and Lim Guan Eng for thanks, crediting Pua with inviting him to join the party and providing guidance over the past 14 years.

Ong also expressed gratitude to Lim for giving him the opportunity to contest the parliamentary seats of Serdang and Bangi and to serve as a deputy minister during Lim’s tenure as DAP secretary-general.

He also thanked DAP members and leaders in Serdang and Bangi whom he worked with during his nine years as an MP.

The former lawmaker made clear, however, that his resignation would not be followed by an immediate switch to another party or another attempt to enter Parliament.

“I am not planning to join another political party in the near future and I will not be seeking to contest as a candidate in the next general election (GE16),” he said.

But Ong said his departure from DAP had not changed a promise he made earlier this year to support Khairy, with whom he has maintained a friendship despite their years on opposing sides of Malaysian politics.

“I remain committed to fulfil the promise I made on the 10th of January 2026, to help Khairy Jamaluddin campaign in GE16, if he is given a seat to run in,” he said.

In January, Ong said he was prepared to take leave from work to campaign publicly for Khairy in GE16 regardless of which political party the former health minister represented.

Ong said today that he intended to continue contributing to the country outside elected politics, including through his “Are We OK” podcast, his advisory roles and by working with others who share similar interests.

His resignation comes two weeks after DAP delegates voted overwhelmingly for the party’s ministers and deputy ministers to remain in the federal government until the end of the current parliamentary term.

Ong had weighed in extensively ahead of the August 16 vote, outlining arguments both for remaining in government and for leaving Cabinet as a means of putting greater pressure on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to deliver promised reforms.

He ended his resignation announcement with a brief Merdeka Day message: “Happy Merdeka Day!”