An emotional and teary morning

Malaysiakini
| Apr 17, 2014

It was an emotional and teary morning at the Ipoh Hospital’s Forensic Department as Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh’s body arrived for a post-mortem at 7.20am.

Karpal’s body will be taken back to his family home in Penang today and he is expected to be cremated at the Sikh cremation hall on Jalan Gurdwara at 11am on Sunday.

Arriving with his body from Kampar, where Karpal together with his helper, Michael Cornelius, died on-the-spot in an accident near the Gopeng exit of the North-South Expressway, was his son, Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, who looked exhausted.

Though he appeared distraught as he himself had been admitted to hospital in Kuala Lumpur recently, Gobind  (on the left) was calm and collected as he took questions from the army of reporters who have come to the hospital from Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Penang.

Karpal’s wife, Gurmit Kaur, was also in tears as she entered the waiting hall, wearing a purple scarf over her head, as relatives accompanied her into the Forensic Department’s waiting area.

She was speechless but her pain was apparent as many approach her to offer condolences, as they hugged her and held her tight.

Others waiting at the scene were Karpal’s son Penang executive councillor Jagdeep Singh Deo, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, Perak PAS chairperson Nizar Jamaluddin and Penang leaders such as state exco member Phee Boon Poh and Seri Delima assemblyperson RSN Rayer.

As one point, Lim was seen in tears as he hugged Gobind, offering his condolences, drawing tears from onlookers as well.

Since then, many supporters of the veteran lawyer and DAP, have gathered outside the building, which was only officially opened yesterday.

About 8.30am, Karpal’s driver, C Selvam was seen approaching the building, sobbing loudly, as he was whisked away by several others.

A security guard, who happens to hail from Dato Keramat in Penang, where Jagdeep is the assemblyperson, said Karpal is the first person to be brought to the mortuary.

“We have not seen such a big man die here before. This is the first time we are seeing this. I knew about the incident at 5am and I am shocked as I know about the  political careers of Karpal and his son Jagdeep,” the guard, who did not want to be named, told Malaysiakini.

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Farewell, Tiger of Jelutong

By
Opalyn Mok | MMO

April 17, 2014 UPDATED: April 17, 2014 10:28 am

GEORGE TOWN, April 17 — Today, the nation woke up to the shocking news of the death of Karpal Singh.

This man who has been part of Malaysia’s political landscape for so long and who has overcome all sorts of struggles — both public and personal — died in a road accident early this morning.

Malaysians, both here and abroad, are still coming to grips that the Tiger of Jelutong is no more. After all, he has always been a fierce warrior… surely he cannot have been felled.

But the Bukit Gelugor MP was killed in a road accident at KM306.1 of the North-South Expressway near Gua Tempurung at about 1.10am today.

He was believed to be travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Penang for a court hearing this morning.

Karpal, who was seated in the front passenger seat, was killed on the spot together with his long-time assistant, Michael Cornelius Selvam Vellu.

This giant of a political leader earned the moniker “Tiger of Jelutong” when he won the Jelutong parliamentary seat in 1978 and held it for 21 years before losing it in the 1999 general elections.

He made a comeback as an MP when he won the Bukit Gelugor parliamentary seat in 2004 and led the DAP to its landslide win in Penang in the 2008 general election.

The DAP national chairman first started his political career in the Opposition party back in 1970 in which he won the first Kedah state seat for the party in 1974.

Born in Penang on June 28, 1940, the law graduate from National University of Singapore was called to the bar in 1969 and started his law firm in 1970.

A staunch opponent of the death penalty for drug cases in Malaysia, Karpal was also well known for the many court cases he fought and won in court, notably drug trafficking cases.

The lawyer, who was widely regarded as the best criminal and constitutional lawyer in the country, had also represented PKR de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the 1998 sodomy trial.

The 73-year-old, who would turn 74 in June, was a controversial figure who spoke up during debates at the state legislative assembly and parliament and was known to openly criticise Barisan Nasional parliamentarians and even the royalty.

Last month, he was found guilty of sedition for questioning the Perak ruler on his decision to remove former Perak menteri besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin from his past in February 2009.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court fined Karpal RM4,000 which prompted the lawyer to step aside as DAP national chairman just two weeks ago.

Karpal was wheelchair-bound due to injuries sustained after a car accident near his house in Jalan Utama here back in 2005.

He left behind his wife, Gurmit, five children and four grandchildren.

– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/farewell-tiger-of-jelutong#sthash.oNbwOK5x.dpuf

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Guan Eng: Karpal said he would return

Malaysiakini
| Apr 17, 2014

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today among Karpal Singh’s last words in the days before he died in a car crash in Kampar early this morning were “I will definitely return.”

Lim said he spent much time with Karpal in Parliament and in recent days to discuss the Bukit Gelugor MP’s sedition conviction and RM4,000 fine, which Karpal had planned to appeal this week.

Lim said the party had also reluctantly accepted Karpal’s resignation as DAP national chairperson, “and we told him that his post will remain vacant till he returns”.

He added that Karpal had refused to appeal the matter with the Registrar of Societies, which could provide him with an exemption to remain as DAP chairperson pending the appeal.

“He thanked the party and said, ‘Guan Eng, I will definitely return. Don’t worry, we will definitely carry on’.

“We will miss him badly. So will the party and the people. The tears shared by ordinary Malaysians are the greatest honour for Karpal,” Lim told reporters at the Ipoh General Hospital’s Forensic Department.

Cremation on Sunday

Karpal’s body arrived here at 7.20am for a post-mortem, after which the body will be taken back to his family home on Jalan Utama in Penang today.

He is expected to be cremated according to Sikh rites at 11am on Sunday.

Lim said Karpal  left too soon, too early and way before his time as he was only 74 when he died.

He added that Karpal had so much more to do and contribute to the nation, despite his physical state.

Karpal has been confined to a wheelchair since his first serious accident in 2005.

“We are all shaken by his death. But we are also moved by the many calls from the ordinary Malaysians who are mourning for Karpal.

“My words cannot express the grief of the people as well as their tears,” Lim added.

“I didn’t expect them to cry over the phone but they did. This shows that Karpal’s struggle through these 40 years are remembered by the people,” he said as tears appeared in his eyes.

A tragic loss for all Malaysians

Lim said Karpal’s death was a big loss to the party, the country and the people as the veteran lawyer was a “towering Malaysian and a proud son” of Penang.

Lim said Karpal inspired devotion and his accident was a tragic loss for all Malaysians.

“He embodied virtues that are sometimes considered old fashioned, virtues such as honesty, democracy, justice, decency and integrity and respect for the dignity of ordinary Malaysians, which are still very relevant today,” the DAP secretary-general said.

“He may be old fashioned to some, but to us it is part of our struggle,” he added. “There are no permanent friends or enemies in politics, but permanent principles.”

Lim said DAP mourned Karpal’s  passing as a part of the party has gone.

He said he felt heavy as he spent so much time with Karpal, especially in Parliament, and during recent weeks after Karpal gave up his post of DAP chairperson, pending the appeal against his conviction and sentencing for sedition.

Lim thinks fondly of his time in Kamunting with Karpal, adding that a “close bond was forged” during the most difficult times.

The last time Lim met Karpal was a few days ago, in Parliament where they also discussed the veteran leader’s appeal against his sedition conviction, which was due this week.

“We were saying that we have to be ready for it. I expressed concern about him but he prompted us to continue forward,” Lim said.

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In tributes, DAP leaders say Karpal was ‘giant amongst men’

By
Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, Pathma Subramaniam and Opalyn Mok | MMO

April 17, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — Still reeling from the shock over veteran lawmaker Karpal Singh’s death, DAP leaders throughout the country recalled the “Tiger of Jelutong’s” legacy of principled fearlessness inspired them to follow in his footsteps.

For DAP deputy national chairman Tan Kok Wai, Karpal was an “irreplaceable” colleague, a “giant amongst men.”

“Karpal is well known for his outstanding bravery and his persistence and perseverance in fighting for an equitable society and equality for all,” he told The Malay Mail Online when contacted.

DAP deputy-secretary general Datuk Ngeh Khoo Ham who has known the Bukit Gelugor MP for 25 years, described the lawyer as a bold man who would “risk everything for what is right.”

“He was principled and [unwavering],” Ngeh told The Malay Mail Online.

Former DAP Teluk Intan MP M Manogaran recalled attending Karpal’s public talks at the Federal Hotel in the 1970s, and that his most memorable trait was his tenacity and consistency in fighting for what he believed in.

“Karpal was a towering figure,” Manogaran said.

DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua said that Karpal was the “tiger that never lost his roar”, despite facing repeated persecution during his time on the opposition bench.

The 73-year-old, who would have celebrated his 74th birthday in June, was a controversial figure who spoke up during debates at the state legislative assembly and parliament and was known to openly criticise Barisan Nasional parliamentarians and even the royalty.

Last month, he was found guilty of sedition for questioning the Perak ruler on his decision to remove former Perak mentri besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin from his post in February 2009.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court fined Karpal RM4,000 which prompted the lawyer to step aside as DAP national chairman just two weeks ago.

“We will miss you. But we will continue carrying the torch to stand up for Malaysia. We will fight for justice like you did, come what may,” said Pua.

DAP Seri Delima state assemblyman RSN Rayer said that Karpal was his “pillar of strength” and that news of his death was devastating.

“I am demoralised by his loss,” he told The Malay Mail Online.

A staunch opponent of the death penalty for drug cases in Malaysia, Karpal was also well known for the many court cases he fought and won in court, notably drug trafficking cases.

The lawyer, who was widely regarded as the best criminal and constitutional lawyer in the country, had also represented PKR de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the 1998 sodomy trial.

Karpal was killed after the Toyota Alphard MPV he was travelling in crashed following a collision with a lorry along the North-South Highway near Gopeng, Perak early this morning.

Long-time aide Michael Cornelius Selvam Vellu was also killed, while their driver is seriously injured. Karpal’s son, Ramkarpal Singh, sustained injuries.

Born in Penang on June 28, 1940, Karpal graduated with a law degree from the University of Singapore and joined the DAP in 1970.

He ran for Parliament in the 1978 general election and won the federal seat for Jelutong, which he held for five terms and which also earned him the moniker, “Tiger of Jelutong”.

Karpal leaves behind a wife, five children and four grandchildren.

– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/in-tributes-dap-leaders-say-karpal-was-giant-amongst-men#sthash.JihQNSoD.dpuf

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Karpal fought for the weak and oppressed, he was a true friend, says Guan Eng

BY
LEE SHI-IAN | TMI

April 17, 2014

Penang has lost one of its favourite sons today following the tragic death of Karpal Singh, a man who took up the baton and fought for the defenceless, the weak and the oppressed, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today.

“It is said that there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics, but there are permanent principles,” Lim told reporters at the Ipoh hospital.

“Integrity, honesty and decency, these were the principles which Karpal believed in and held firm throughout his life.

“DAP, Penang and Malaysians are all greatly pained and saddened by the loss of Karpal.

“He had contributed greatly throughout his political career and despite his age, had so much more to offer.”

He said the tears shed by Malaysians today are a reflection of Karpal’s deeds and accomplishments.

Lim was at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh where Karpal’s body was brought for an autopsy today.

“Karpal was the sort of person who would stick by you through thick and thin,” Lim said.

“When you are in difficult straits, that is when you know who your true friends are,” he said, adding that he last saw Karpal, who was Bukit Gelugor MP, in parliament.

Karpal, who would have turned 74 in June, was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Penang to attend a court hearing scheduled for this morning.

Police said the multipurpose vehicle in which he was travelling was badly damaged in the collision with a lorry on KM301.6 of the North-South Expressway at about 12.40am.

Police said Karpal died on the spot. There were four other occupants in Karpal’s Toyota Alphard, which has the iconic number plate KS9898.

His long-time assistant Michael Cornelius Selvam Vellu also died on the spot while Karpal’s son Ramkarpal was injured on the forehead and knees.

Karpal’s driver and maid were also injured. The maid is said to be in critical condition.

The lorry driver was not injured in the accident. – April 17, 2014.

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Karpal Singh, always in the pursuit of justice

OBITUARY BY THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER

April 17, 2014

Karpal Singh – the prominent lawyer, lawmaker and DAP leader – died early this morning in a road accident while on the way to Penang, doing what he does best: going to court for a client. He was 73.

His reputation as a lawyer and politician had earned him the nickname the “Tiger of Jelutong” from the time he started legal practice in 1970 – which was also the year he joined the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

When he died early today, Karpal had just let go of the DAP chairmanship as he battled a sedition conviction that risked his four decades of legal and political career.

But the controversial decision was nothing to Karpal. He had been thrown out of parliament, put in detention during Ops Lalang in 1987 and had faced previous sedition charges.

“Eliminating me from the political terrain will not be the end of Karpal Singh. It will in fact lead to the rise of many Karpal Singhs!” said Karpal, who was Amnesty International’s “prisoner of conscience” for his detention without trial.

His legal and political colleagues remember him as a fearless and smart lawyer and politician, but to the countless ordinary people in his Penang constituency and legal office in Jalan Pudu Lama, Kuala Lumpur – he was a friend.

This was the other side of Karpal Singh apart from his legendary roles as a DAP politician and remarkable lawyer – he was a gentle-mannered man who was always ready to help the ordinary folk he came across in his daily life.

They knew Karpal as a humble man with a ready smile, who was always ready to stop and listen, no matter how small you were. No question was too trivial or repetitive for him to answer, no hello was too unimportant to stop for.

His tragic death in a road accident today meant that he “died in his saddle”, a term he had used upon turning 70 when he said: “I’ve always said that a lawyer should die in a saddle. I think it equally applies to being a politician.”

An earlier road accident in 2005 put him in a wheelchair while this morning’s road accident occurred near Gua Tempurung when the veteran lawyer was on his way up north to Penang in his white Alphard for a court case.

Anyone who knew Karpal would easily attest to how he was probably the busiest 73-year-old around, often shuttling between parliament and court during the week, and on weekends, travelling up north, mostly to visit his constituency or for a court case.

Nothing stopped Karpal, who at 73 was still shuttling between parliament and court or travelling north to visit his constituency. – The Malaysian Insider pic, April 17, 2014. Nothing stopped Karpal, who at 73 was still shuttling between parliament and court or travelling north to visit his constituency. – The Malaysian Insider pic, April 17, 2014. Nothing would stop him in court or politics. Not even the latest sedition conviction where he was alleged to have said that the removal of Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as menteri besar of Perak by Perak ruler, Sultan Azlan Shah, could be questioned in a court of law.

Karpal’s defence was that he had offered a legal opinion and not a threat to the ruler, who was once the Lord President of the Supreme Court. Charged for the offence in 2009, Karpal was acquitted by the High Court without his defence called in the first round.

However, the prosecution appealed against the decision and succeeded at the Court of Appeal, and even pressed for a deterrent sentence against the wheelchair-bound politician.

He was handed down a RM4,000 fine, which would have disqualified him as an MP if he did not succeed in an appeal which has not been heard.

Karpal joined DAP in 1970 and was first elected as a Kedah state assemblyman in 1974 before becoming MP for Jelutong in 1978, a seat he held until he lost in 1999.

He returned to parliament in the 2004 general election as the Bukit Gelugor MP, and although the motor accident in 2005 confined Karpal to a wheelchair, it did nothing to curb his spirit or vigour.

Karpal’s legal career started when he was admitted to the Penang Bar in 1969 after reading law at the National University of Singapore.

He was one of Malaysia’s most prominent lawyers, and had taken up numerous high-profile cases, including drug trafficking charges against foreign nationals such as Australian Kevin Barlow, and the sodomy accusations against former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He was a staunch opponent of the death penalty, especially for drug trafficking offences.

He was detained in the Ops Lalang government crackdown in October 1987 under the Internal Security Act which allows for detention without trial, along with DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and 104 others. He was released in 1989.

Karpal was also known to be opposed to turning Malaysia into an Islamic state, often citing the Federal Constitution that provides for a secular nation.

“I’m doing it for the country. At the end that’s what it is for,” he had told The Malaysian Insider in an interview before his 70th birthday.

He had also said then that “one can’t always win,but should not stop trying either”.

Clearly, Karpal never stopped. He was and will always be a Malaysian hero.

He will be missed, never forgotten. He will always be loved, treasured and respected for decades to come.

But that cannot be said about the government which until the last moment was trying to put him behind bars for speaking the truth and speaking lucidly about something that mattered dearly to him: the law.

He leaves behind wife Gurmit Kaur, daughter Sangeet, sons Jagdeep, Gobind, Ramkarpal and Mankarpal, and a host of grandchildren. And Malaysians. – April 17, 2014.

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Karpal Singh dies in road accident, son injured

By
 LOOI SUE-CHERN | TMI

April 17, 2014

Latest Update: April 17, 2014 09:43 am

Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh died in a car accident on the North-South Expressway this morning near Gua Tempurung, Kampar in Perak.

Kampar police chief Superintendent Ng Kong Soon confirmed that Karpal died in a road accident at KM306.1 of the North-South Expressway near Gua Tempurung at 12.40 am today.

Karpal, who would have turned 74 in June, was believed to be travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Penang to attend a court hearing scheduled for this morning.

Born in Penang on June 28, 1940, Karpal graduated with a law degree from the National University of Singapore.

Karpal’s political career began in 1970 when he joined the DAP. He won a seat in the Kedah State Legislative Assembly in 1974.

He was first elected to Parliament in 1978 as the representative for Jelutong, Penang, and held the seat for more than 20 years until losing it in 1999.  It is during this time that Karpal earned the moniker, “Tiger of Jelutong.”

He returned to parliament in the next general election, and led the DAP to its strongest ever performance in the 2008 general election.

Karpal leaves behind a wife, five children and four grandchildren.

Police said he died on the spot. There were three other occupants in Karpal’s Toyota Alphard, which has the iconic number plate KS9898.

His long-time assistant Michael Cornelius Selvam Vellu also died, while Karpal’s son Ramkarpal and the driver were injured.

The lorry driver was not injured in the accident.

The mood at the Kampar Hospital mortuary was highly emotional as family members of the late Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh arrived.

His wife Gurmit Kaur was inconsolable  as she wailed “Why why”, while his son, Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, who was holding his mother all the way to the mortuary, also broke down.

The badly-damaged Toyota Alphard, which has the iconic number plate KS9898, owned by the late Karpal Singh who died early this morning today after the car lost control following a collision with a lorry. – April 17, 2014.The badly-damaged Toyota Alphard, which has the iconic number plate KS9898, owned by the late Karpal Singh who died early this morning today after the car lost control following a collision with a lorry. – April 17, 2014.Karpal’s daughter Sangeet Kaur Deo and eldest son Jagdeep Singh Deo was also seen grieving over the loss of their father.

They arrived at the hospital at about 5.15am.

The bodies of Karpal and Michael will be sent to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh for post-mortem.

Police said the multi-purpose vehicle was badly-damaged after losing control following a collision with a lorry.

Karpal, who recently resigned as DAP national chairman, became paralysed and wheelchair-bound after a car accident in 2005.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wrote on his Facebook page: “We’ve lost a colleague. An indefatigable fighter for justice. The legendary Karpal Singh. Our sincere condolences to the family. RIP.”

Also, the reaction to this tragic news has been swift with leaders from both sides of the divide taking to Twitter to express their sorrow.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak also conveyed his condolences.

“I have just landed at Ankara when I heard the news that YB Karpal Singh died in a road accident. My condolences to the family,” read Najib’s tweet.

“Shocked and sad news! DAP chairman Karpal Singh passed away in accident tonight. Malaysia has lost a truly patriotic son,” wrote Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming.

“Our dear Mr Karpal is no longer with us… I just can’t accept it…,” said Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching.

Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim tweeted: “The country has lost a noted political figure and a competent lawyer. My condolences to the family of the late Karpal Singh.”

PKR’s vice-president Tian Chua tweeted about the tragic news and he said that he was sad and speechless upon hearing the news.

Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin wrote on his Twitter handle that he got a “sad” wake up call from Kepala Batas MP Reezal Merican Naina.

“I immediately called @GobindSinghDeo and Jagdeep. These are truly sad calls in life. There is a void, a huge void to be filled in parliament as well as in court rooms. Farewell, Tiger of Jelutong,” Sim tweeted. – April 17, 2014.

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Karpal – the man who was principled to a fault

By
Ram Anand | Malaysiakini

Apr 17, 2014

COMMENT
 Seated in his wheelchair, still wearing his Parliament coat, Karpal Singh rings for his assistant, Michael Cornandez, who comes rushing into the room. “I’m thirsty,” says Karpal apologetically to me, and Michael lifts up the can of a soft drink that was on the table with the straw on it. The then-Bukit Gelugor MP and DAP national chairperson took three sips of the drink. “This is how I depend on him,” Karpal said, referring to Michael.

What was a serious interview up until that point in his office in Jalan Pudu in December 2012 had suddenly taken a lighter tone. It was probably light for Karpal – but it was unsettling for me and my colleague as he narrated his life in a wheelchair and his previous accident that had left him partially paralysed. I felt sorry for the man, but as he was telling his story, he wore a smile on his face, that effervescent, ever-present smile.

“Some people say the accident (in 2004) was orchestrated by my enemies. I had met Umno Youth folks at the airport before I flew to Penang, and it happened to be that the fellow whose car got into an accident with my taxi was an MCA guy. But I always say, if they wanted to kill me, they would have done so a long time. There are a million ways to kill me.”

As fate would have it, Karpal did not die in the courthouse or in the Parliament, when he once famously told his rivals that “Singh is King!” He died in a road accident, and even in his final moments, he was still preparing for a court case.

But the past decade has been far from easy for Karpal.

“It hurts, quite a lot,” he opens up about the state of his health. “When I lie down on the bed to sleep, I have to sleep straight, you know, one position. And then sometimes, middle of the night, you feel like turning on the bed to the side, but you can’t. So I have ring the house helpers to help me shift to my left or to my right,” he said.

Karpal depended quite a lot on his assistants and helpers to get through the day – as he was unable to do most of the things by himself- be it eating or drinking. In his state, he was only able to lift his fingers and most importantly, use his brains, his legal know-how, and his ferocious outspoken nature never died.

And using those elements left of him, Karpal served Malaysia for one more decade after his accident, admitting that working is what had kept him going till the end beckoned.

“If I think about it, then it gets worse. What is there to be done? I have what I have. My mind is still working, you know. So I have to keep doing what I do. That’s the only way to live. You mustn’t give up. You just do what you do best, and you live on,” he said, clearing his throat.

The interview was conducted well into the night in his office, and he had just returned from Parliament duty and sandwiched speaking to us in between seeing clients. After entertaining us, he was due to attend to another client at that late hour. That was Karpal’s dedication to both the legal profession and his parliamentary duty.

Never compromising for political expediency

“If I don’t talk, who will?” asks Karpal, when queried about his consistent criticisms of Pakatan Rakyat and PAS at that time, which many thought was being detrimental to the coalition.

“Someone’s got to do the talking, right? We are a party that was built on principles. And you can’t let go of the principles once you are in power, once you are stronger. You stick by it, come what may. You need to uphold what you believe in,” he said. That was the man – principled to a fault. He didn’t do it any other way.

If I had bothered to ask him if he would ever compromise on his principles for political expediency – he would probably have stared me in the face and said, “Over my dead body.”

Now, the question the entire nation has to face is – who will replace Karpal, or even come close?

Who will dare question Pakatan Rakyat’s complacency after winning a mandate from the people?

Who will constantly remind DAP of the principles it was built on?

Who will continue reminding all the parties in Pakatan to adhere to common agendas?

Who will dare question Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim himself, from his own coalition?

Who will be brave enough to take up the monarchy to a legal challenge?

Who will be dedicated enough to spend the wee hours of the night looking through legal files, always looking for a new case?

The government, which had imprisoned him under the Internal Security Act (ISA), had attempted to jail him for sedition despite his condition. But as Karpal said before – he had even survived the ISA. And they will not get their wish to imprison the man a second time. Fate took him, before politics could.

“Ooh… Mahathir used to hate me,” Karpal said with a sense of pride. “I must have that letter somewhere. He wrote me a letter once.”

He asks Michael to dig into the sea of files on his desk, and at his book collection. He did not locate the letter and I did not read it. But there was no doubting that Karpal Singh was the only one who matched former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad when it came to being a political enigma.

Political enemies they might be, and they thrived in their being adversariesr – and Karpal’s brimming pride for having gone against Mahathir is well etched on his face.

“He hated me so much, that they took me out from prison and then put me back inside,” Karpal laughed.

An inspiration for an ‘insipid generation’

Goodbye, sir. Malaysia will miss you, but I will miss you just as much. For you were an inspiration for this insipid generation of mine – when we look for leaders who stood for principles and not position – we found you in the realms of Malaysia.

No one needs to praise you as our own Mandela or Gandhi. Karpal would have hated such comparisons. Karpal Singh is Karpal Singh, the Tiger of Jelutong, the “Singh is King”. You have left behind a profound legacy that will be very difficult to emulate in today’s political climate.

Karpal smiled when I introduced myself and told me my name. “Ah, my son’s name is Ram, too. I have a Ram in my family,” he said, smiling gracefully. That one moment, though it will be nothing more than a tiny speck of memory for him, will remain in my memories forever. We will remember you, sir. Or at least we will try to remind the country every now and then, of your struggles. Be in peace, and have a good sleep in the beds sewn for you in heaven.

As for Michael, the loyal servant who never once frowned despite having to be by Karpal’s side almost 24 hours a day, may God grace you with all the goodwill for so humble a task as taking care of the man for us, so that he could serve us for almost one more decade after his accident in 2005.

And if you have been the washroom of Karpal’s office in Jalan Pudu, a message will greet you inside the toilet.

“Please don’t leave your submarine sinking after you are done. Do flush,” the message read. That was the energy of Karpal Singh’s office, inspired by him nonetheless. Even in those late hours, nothing breaks his spirit. There was a life to live, and he lived it. You taught us much about life as you did about politics, law and principles.

The tiger finally sleeps.

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Karpal was a giant, among the top lawyers in the world, says legal fraternity

BY
V. ANBALAGAN, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR | TMI

April 17, 2014

 The late Karpal Singh was described as a “giant” in the legal fraternity by the Malaysian Bar which represents 13,000 lawyers.

Bar president Christopher Leong said Karpal, who had been in practice for more than 40 years, was a towering Malaysian and a courageous man.

Leong remembered Karpal recently telling him that even if he was gone, there would be 100 Karpals to take his place.

“How I wish that were true as Malaysia needed Karpal and continues to need more people like Karpal,” Leong said.

Karpal had made the remark last month soon after he was convicted of sedition by the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.

Leong said Karpal was of that special and rare breed of men who commanded respect for his leadership and courage in the values and causes he stood and fought for.

“He will be very much missed by Malaysians. The Malaysian Bar conveys its deepest condolences to Karpal’s family,” he said.

Queen’s Counsel Mark Trowell and an observer in Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy and Karpal’s sedition trials said Malaysia had suffered a terrible loss with the sudden demise of the legal eagle.

“He was truly a great Malaysian, not only because of his involvement in politics, but also as a lawyer,” he said.

Trowell said Karpal was larger than life and was a man who never took a backward step whatever the cost to him personally.

“His life reflected the modern history of Malaysia and the events that have shaped it as a nation since independence more than 50 years ago,” he said.

He said Karpal was very much an integral part of the nation’s history and the title “Tiger of Jelutong” befitted him.

Former United Nations special rapporteur and former Bar Council president Datuk Param Cumaraswamy said Karpal’s tragic death was not only a great loss to his family but to the legal profession and the nation.

“He stood tall among the top leading lawyers in the world,” said Param who appeared in the legal team to defend Anwar in the recent sodomy case.

Param said despite his physical handicap from the previous accident, Karpal’s courage and tenacity in the defence of his clients in court would long be remembered.

In politics, Karpal demonstrated equal fearlessness and often sacrificed his personal liberties.

“He once told me between law and politics, his first love was law. His passing away with the conviction for sedition is a fitting tribute to him, ranking him with Mahatma Gandhi,” Param said.

Param added that Karpal’s personal aide, Michael Cornelius Selvam Vellu, who died in the same accident should not be forgotten.

“Michael was a loyal, devoted aide whom Karpal depended much on,” he said. – April 17, 2014.

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My dad was in KL to see me, says Gobind

BY
LOOI SUE-CHERN | TMI

April 17, 2014

Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh, who died in an accident early this morning, was in Kuala Lumpur to visit his son Gobind Singh Deo who was ill.

A distraught Gobind said he was informed of the accident at 2.15am today, and he and his wife rushed to the scene where he saw his father’s mangled car and his father’s body.

“My brother Ramkarpal was in the car with our father. He was slightly injured. He had scratches and bruises.

“However, my father’s assistant Michael Cornelius Selvam Velly, 39, was also killed. He was seated behind my father,” he said when met at the mortuary at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh.

Karpal’s driver escaped with light injuries but the late MP’s maid is said to be in critical condition. The lorry driver was not injured in the accident.

Asked what Karpal had said to him during his visit, Gobind said: “He said many things.”

Gobind, however, was unable to tell the press what they were.

“There are so many things that are on my mind right now. Maybe I will talk about them later,” he said.

Gobind said his father’s funeral will either be on Saturday evening or Sunday morning, to provide sufficient time for the relatives from overseas to pay their respects.

Karpal, who would have turned 74 in June, was believed to have been travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Penang to attend a court hearing scheduled this morning.

Police said the multipurpose vehicle was badly-damaged after losing control following a collision with a lorry near Gua Tempurung in Perak at 12.40am this morning.

Police said Karpal died on the spot.

Gobind, who is also Puchong MP, said the family expects to be able to bring his father’s body home to Penang by 10.30am, after the post-mortem wraps up at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital today.

He told reporters that the family is grateful to well-wishers who have offered their sympathies and support.

Gobind also asked for his family to be given privacy during this time but promised that they will keep the people informed with regular updates.

Meanwhile, Batu Kawan MP P. Kasthuriraani said Karpal was a funny man with an incredible wit and humour.

“It is the funniest thing… a man thought to be so serious was actually full of humour,” she said.

She recalled how Karpal had answered his wife Gurmit Kaur when she asked if he could throw a coconut during a Thaipusam celebration outside his house in Penang.

Breaking coconuts at the festival is a tradition to fulfil vows.

“He answered ‘of course I can throw the coconut but I can’t say if it will break or not’.

“He would make one-line jokes. He could take a jab at anyone in Parliament. When he speaks, people pay attention,” she said.

Kasthuriraani, a first-time MP whose seat is next to Karpal’s in Parliament, said the veteran politician was like a father to her.

He called her “girl” and she always addressed him as “uncle”.

“I have known him since I was a child.

“I do not know how to face it after this when I look at the seat next to mine. He won’t be there anymore,” she said.

Kasthuriraani said she saw Karpal last week at Parliament when Pakatan Rakyat MPs staged a walkout following the house’s refusal to debate on the judiciary regarding opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy conviction.

The sole MCA assemblyman in Perak Datuk Dr Mah Han Soon of Chenderiang was also at the mortuary.

He said he did not know Karpal well but respected his stand on the hudud issue particularly.

“He is a man of principle. It is a great loss to the political scene,” said the Perak MCA chief. – April 17, 2014.

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My last meeting with Mr Karpal Singh

BY
V. ANBALAGAN, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR | TMI

April 17, 2014

I met Mr Karpal Singh at his office in Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, about 7pm last night and spent about 45 minutes with him.

He had called me earlier to collect a copy of a court judgment of an important case.

He told me to come as early as possible because he had to go to Penang later that night, as he was defending a client in a murder trial at the Penang court the next morning (today).

Mr Karpal normally made it a point to inform me of court cases. He was one of my closest contacts on legal matters. It is through him that I get my exclusive stories.

Mr Karpal’s personal assistant, Micheal Cornelius, was there to welcome me at the entrance of the office.

It was through the late Michael that I communicated with Mr Karpal over the phone, after the Bukit Gelugor MP was left paralysed following a road accident in 2005.

As I walked into the office, he was busy giving instructions to his legal assistant Zaleha al-Hayat as he would be in Penang until next Tuesday.

Mr Karpal was in high spirits and even cracked a few jokes.

As usual, after collecting the judgment, we spoke about the judiciary and the political happenings in the country.

He remarked that he had seen and gone through the best in this beloved country of ours.

But he shuddered to think what the younger generation would go through.

V. Anbalagan, assistant news editor at The Malaysian Insider, says his friendship with the late Karpal began in 1986 when he was reporting in Seremban. Anbalagan was one of the few who was close to the late politician. – The Malaysian Insider pic, April 17, 2014.V. Anbalagan, assistant news editor at The Malaysian Insider, says his friendship with the late Karpal began in 1986 when he was reporting in Seremban. Anbalagan was one of the few who was close to the late politician. – The Malaysian Insider pic, April 17, 2014.He then received a call that his son, Gobind Singh Deo, was admitted at the Pantai Hospital. He said he would have to drop by the hospital before heading to Penang.

I also told him that I intended to do a story on the coroner’s court and that I needed his comments as he had been a counsel in many death inquiries.

He told me to call him around noon today.

Both of us left his office together and planned to meet again next week.

At about 3.30am, my wife woke me up to break the news that Mr Karpal had died in a road accident.

For a moment I thought I was dreaming and was in a state of disbelieve as I had just met him a few hours earlier. I checked my mobile phone and there were several messages on the accident.

I had known Mr Karpal since 1986 when I was a reporter in Seremban.

Our relationship grew and he always made it a point to call me if there were cases of public interest, even after I was transferred to work in Ipoh.

As a seasoned politician and lawyer, he knew what made news and he always kept me informed of the latest happenings.

Over the last 10 years, especially since I returned to work in Kuala Lumpur, I had more frequent contact with Mr Karpal as I used to cover court cases in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

I was among the few who had the chance to be close to Mr Karpal and he had at times divulged information to me that very few people knew.

Apart from him narrating his early days in Singapore as a student and the start of his legal career, our topics of discussion would focus on the judiciary and politics.

I always found Mr Karpal to be a straight-talker who did not mince his words. He also always cracked jokes in between our conversations.

On his conviction for sedition last month, Mr Karpal said that he did not regret what he had uttered because he believed in “free but responsible speech.”

Goodbye, Mr Karpal. I will miss you and your company very much. May your soul rest in peace. – April 17, 2014.

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On Twitter, friends and foes pay tribute to Karpal

MMO | April 17, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — The unexpected news of veteran DAP lawmaker Karpal Singh’s death in a car crash this morning led to an outpouring of tributes and sorrow from friends and foes alike in social media.

Among the earliest was Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who offered his sympathies to the family of the late parliamentarian over their loss.

“I have just landed at Ankara when I heard the news that YB Karpal Singh died in a road accident. My condolences to the family,” Najib wrote on his Twitter page.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also took to the social media site to deliver an effusive homage to his ally in the Pakatan Rakyat pact.

“We’ve lost a colleague; an indefatigable fighter for justice; d legendary Karpal Singh! Our sincere condolences to d family. RIP. Anwar,” the PKR de facto leader wrote.

Other more sombre messages include that by PKR vice president in his message announcing the confirmation of Karpal’s fatal accident, in which he said he was left “sad and speechless” over the tragedy.

Malaysians also joined in the tribute, with the topics of “RIP Karpal Singh” and “Tiger of Jelutong” now trending in the conversations of local Twitter users.

Karpal was killed after the Toyota Alphard MPV he was travelling crashed following a collision with a lorry along the North-South Highway near Gopeng, Perak early this morning.

Long-time aide Michael Cornelius Selvam Vellu was also killed, while their driver is seriously injured. Karpal’s son, Ramkarpal Singh, sustained injuries.

Born in Penang on June 28, 1940, Karpal graduated with a law degree from the University of Singapore and joined the DAP in 1970.

He ran for Parliament in the 1978 general election and won the federal seat for Jelutong, which he held for five terms and which also earned him the moniker, “Tiger of Jelutong”.

Karpal leaves behind a wife, five children and four grandchildren.

– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/on-twitter-friends-and-foes-pay-tribute-to-karpal#sthash.xDvSEm60.dpuf

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Selangor assembly in minute’s silence for Karpal Singh

BY
IDA LIM | MMO

April 17, 2014

SHAH ALAM, April 17 — Selangor lawmakers paid their respects today to DAP veteran lawmaker Karpal Singh by observing a minute of silence to mark his death from a fatal crash this morning.

At the beginning of today’s state assembly sitting, Selangor Speaker Hannah Yeoh spoke of the shock that Malaysians felt on learning of the 73-year-old’s death in a car accident along the North-South Highway near Gopeng, Perak.

“Early this morning, the people of Malaysia were shocked with news of the fatal accident that took the life of the Bukit Gelugor MP and DAP leader that we love and respect, the late YB Karpal Singh and his assistant.

“I’m sure many others will pay their respects to him in the days to come. Therefore, following this shocking news, I humbly ask that the House allocate one minute to meditate to pay respects to him,” the Selangor DAP vice-chairman said in a voice that almost broke, with the House then rising from their seats and standing silently for one minute.

Karpal and long-serving aide, Michael Cornelius Selvam Vellu, were killed when the vehicle he was travelling in rammed into the back of a lorry near Gopeng along the North-South Expressway at 1.10am.

Karpal leaves behind a wife, five children and four grandchildren.

– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/selangor-assembly-in-minutes-silence-for-karpal-singh#sthash.6WQyMqbo.dpuf

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Tears flow as Karpal’s body arrives at Ipoh hospital

BY
Looi Sue-Chern | TMI

April 17, 2014

Tears flowed as Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh’s body arrived at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh, Perak, at 7.25am today for a post-mortem following an accident near Gua Tempurung in Perak, early this morning.

His wife Gurmit Kaur, sons Jagdeep Singh Deo and Gobind Singh Deo, and daughter Sangeet were joined by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and other leaders at the hospital.

All of them broke down in tears as Karpal’s body was removed from the van and taken into the mortuary, which was just opened yesterday.

Karpal, who would have turned 74 in June, was believed to have been travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Penang to attend a court hearing scheduled for this morning.

Police said the multipurpose vehicle was badly-damaged after losing control following a collision with a lorry on KM301.6 of the North-South Expressway about 12.40am this morning.

Police said he died on the spot. There were four other occupants in Karpal’s Toyota Alphard, which has the iconic number plate KS9898.

His long-time assistant Michael Cornelius Selvam Vellu died on the spot while Karpal’s son Ramkarpal was injured on the forehead and knees.

Karpal’s driver and maid were also injured. The maid is said to be in critical condition.

The lorry driver was not injured in the accident.

Gurmit was inconsolable as she wailed “Why why”, while his son, Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, who was holding his mother all the way to the mortuary, also broke down.

Gobind Singh Deo (left) and Jangdeep Singh Deo (3rd left) seen outside the hospital’s mortuary in Ipoh, Perak, today. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, April 17, 2014.Gobind Singh Deo (left) and Jangdeep Singh Deo (3rd left) seen outside the hospital’s mortuary in Ipoh, Perak, today. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, April 17, 2014.The bodies of Karpal and Michael were later sent to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh for a post-mortem.

Born in Penang on June 28, 1940, Karpal graduated with a law degree from the National University of Singapore.

Karpal’s political career began in 1970 when he joined the DAP. He won a seat in the Kedah State Legislative Assembly in 1974.

He was first elected to Parliament in 1978 as the representative for Jelutong, Penang, and held the seat for more than 20 years until losing it in 1999.  It is during this time that Karpal earned the moniker, “Tiger of Jelutong.”

He returned to parliament in the next general election, and led the DAP to its strongest ever performance in the 2008 general election.

Karpal leaves behind a wife, five children and four grandchildren.

Karpal, who recently resigned as DAP national chairman, became paralysed and wheelchair-bound after a car accident in 2005.

His assistant Michael is from Tamil Nadu and has been working with him for a decade. Michael leaves behind a wife and a son and a daughter, all of whom are in India. DAP will make arrangements to fly Michael’s body back to India.

The reaction to this tragic news has been swift with leaders from both sides of the divide taking to Twitter to express their sorrow.

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim wrote: “We have lost a friend, a fighter for justice Karpal Singh. We spoke at length on the telephone at 6.30pm yesterday. My condolences to the family.”

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak also conveyed his condolences.

“I have just landed at Ankara when I heard the news that YB Karpal Singh died in a road accident. My condolences to the family,” read Najib’s tweet.

“Shocked and sad news! DAP chairman Karpal Singh passed away in accident tonight. Malaysia has lost a truly patriotic son,” wrote Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming.

“Our dear Mr Karpal is no longer with us… I just can’t accept it…,” said Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching.

Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming said: “We lost a national hero this morning, we will always remember the Tiger of Jelutong.”

Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim tweeted: “The country has lost a noted political figure and a competent lawyer. My condolences to the family of the late Karpal Singh.”

PKR’s vice-president Tian Chua tweeted about the tragic news and he said that he was sad and speechless upon hearing the news.

Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin wrote on his Twitter handle that he got a “sad” wake up call from Kepala Batas MP Reezal Merican Naina.

“I immediately called @GobindSinghDeo and Jagdeep. These are truly sad calls in life. There is a void, a huge void to be filled in parliament as well as in court rooms. Farewell, Tiger of Jelutong,” Sim tweeted.

Changkat Jering assemblyman and former Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said Karpal’s death was a great shock.

He described the late MP as a man of principle.

“He goes all out to correct what is wrong. A great loss to the nation and the Sikh community as well.

“I have known him for 20 years. I met him back in parliament and DAP events,” he said at the hospital in Ipoh.

PKR president Datin Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail also expressed her condolences on her Facebook page.

“Condolences! To the family of the late Karpal Singh who died in an accident early this morning.

“He was someone we knew as a fighter for justice and who had placed himself as the people’s champion.

“May the family stay strong in facing this challenge. Malaysia has lost another people’s champion,” her post in Bahasa Malaysia said. – April 17, 2014.

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Tributes and expressions of shock pour in for Tiger of Jelutong

BY
JENNIFER GOMEZ | TMI

April 17, 2014

Latest Update: April 17, 2014 12:04 pm

As Malaysia woke to the tragic news of the passing of opposition icon Karpal Singh, tributes and expressions of shock poured in through social media, with “Karpal Singh” and “Tiger of Jelutong” among the top news trending on Twitter since this morning.

One Twitter user going by the handle @Babyan Haha posted: “RIP Karpal Singh. My father even cried after watching the news at 8am just now”.

NGO Tindak Malaysia posted: We mourn the passing of a fighter for justice and a Tiger that helped shape the politics of Malaysia for the better”.

Another user going by the handle Seorang Tuiter posted that “the lion sleeps for the last time”.

Lawyer Nizam Bashir @nizambashir also took to Twitter, saying that “words can’t do justice for what the man stood for”.

AirAsia founder Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes posted his condolences to Karpal’s family over what he termed “sad and tragic news”.

Meanwhile prominent lawyer Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan told The Malaysian Insider that she grew up at the Bar “admiring the great Karpal Singh”.

“He was never afraid to speak his mind even if what he said was not popular.

“He was a man of great principle and great courage, fighting to the bitter end against oppression,” she said, adding that Karpal gave hope to people to always stand up for what is right, no matter what the consequences.

“Parliament will never be the same without Karpal,” Ambiga said.

Lawyer Sankara Nair, who was in the defence team for opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in both sodomy cases along with Karpal, hailed the 73–year-old as a “great hero till the very end”.

“He was a giant in Malaysian politics who spoke out against injustice where others did not dare tread,” he said.

Criminal lawyer Datuk V. Sithambaram recalled how, as Karpal’s junior in many criminal cases, the towering politician had taught him to be absolutely forthright in court.

“Once, we both shared RM2,000 in fees for a Federal Court case carrying the death penalty, where he reminded me that the case was more important than the fees.

“He was a man of compassion,” Sithambaram said, adding that brevity in submissions was Karpal’s trademark in court.

Anwar said the news of Karpal’s passing was “like a lightning bolt”, adding that he had lost a “brother-in-arms” who was “a true friend, kind in words, noble in deed”.

PKR deputy president Azmin Ali said: “This is a loss which transcends party and state. Indeed, Karpal was our nation’s icon of justice and courage to struggle for what is right. He fought tooth and nail for the oppressed and the less privileged and remained a true champion for the underdog.

“On a very personal side, I am deeply saddened to have lost not just a friend but a mentor whom I have had the privilege and honour of seeking for advice and guidance.”

Barisan Nasional politicians also took to social media to mourn the passing of a great man, with Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein tweeting: “Deepest condolences to family of MP YB Karpal Singh on his passing. Thoughts and prayers r with you in these difficult moments @GobindSinghDeo”.

MCA president Liow Tiong Lai also took to Twitter to express his sadness and convey condolences to Karpal’s family.

Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek called Karpal’s death “a profound loss to the nation”, saying that Karpal’s “persistence and perseverance in his long political career are appreciated and respected”.

Even Karpal’s political foes mourned his passing with former PKR politician and former MP for Padang Serai, N. Gobalakrisnan, posting on Twitter: “Rest in Peace Karpal, every Malaysian will miss you”.

Members of the media who covered Karpal in court also remember him as a lawyer who would patiently explain a case, even when he lost.

A former court reporter, Dian Salleh, posted on Facebook that she would always remember Karpal as taking the trouble to explain a case to reporters.

“Rest in Peace Mr Karpal and Michael. Both of you were always helpful to me and my media friends wherever we covered your cases,” she posted alongside a sad emoticon.

Another former court reporter from a Chinese daily, Cheong Ka Mei, also posted on Facebook: “It took me a few months to understand you in court. Yet you were kind enough to explain”. – April 17, 2014.

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Walaupun berbeza pendapat, Nik Aziz sedih dengan kematian Karpal

TMI
 | April 17, 2014

Walaupun mempunyai perbezaan ketara dalam beberapa hal namun Mursyidul Am PAS, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat sangat terasa dengan kehilangan Karpal Singh yang beliau sifatkan sebagai pendokong kuat Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Menurut bekas menteri besar Kelantan itu, jika semua pihak menghormati prinsip yang terkandung di dalam Perlembagaan seperti Karpal, Kelantan pasti tidak akan ditindas dengan pelbagai jenis penindasan.

Nik Aziz berkata demikian dalam satu kenyataan bertulisnya hari ini ekoran kematian Karpal dalam satu kemalangan jalan raya awal pagi tadi.

“Saya rakamkan takziah kepada keluarga Yang Berhormat Karpal Singh, Ahli Parlimen Jelutong yang meninggal dunia akibat kemalangan awal pagi ini.

“Saya sifatkan pemergian beliau sebagai satu kehilangan kepada dunia politik tanah air kerana beliau amat dikenali sebagai seorang yang berprinsip dan sukar digugat pendiriannya,” katanya.

Bagi Nik Aziz, Karpal merupakan pendokong kuat kepada Perlembagaan Malaysia dan amat tegas dengan pendirian bahawa Malaysia merupakan negara sekular.

“Sudah tentu prinsip ini amat berbeza dengan prinsip perjuangan PAS, dan beliau ternyata menghormati perbezaan ini,” katanya.

Nik Aziz juga masih ingat bagaimana layanan Karpal terhadapnya ketika beliau mengunjungi mendiang di rumahnya di Pulau Pinang.

“Saya masih ingat sewaktu ke rumah beliau awal tahun lepas di mana saya diberikan sambutan yang sangat mesra daripada beliau.

“Bahkan beliau menghantar saya pulang rapat ke pintu kenderaan sekalipun situasi beliau yang terpaksa bergerak dengan kerusi roda,” katanya.

“Saya kira, di sebalik perbezaan pandangan antara kami, sambutan yang diberikan oleh beliau kepada saya sangat mencerminkan kelembutan beliau dan penerimaannya terhadap hubungan PAS dan DAP di dalam Pakatan Rakyat,” katanya.

Namun, Nik Aziz sedikit terkilan kerana Karpal pergi sebelum rang undang-undang persendirian mengenai undang-undang Islam termasuk hudud dibentangkan.

“Saya sedikit terkilan kerana individu seperti Karpal Singh tidak sempat untuk diberikan pemahaman tentang hudud.

“Saya amat yakin, individu seperti beliau jika diberikan kefahaman yang sebenarnya tentang undang-undang ini, tidak akan mempunyai sebarang sebab untuk menolak undang-undang hudud,” katanya.

Nik Aziz juga mengungkitkan sepucuk surat yang dihantar oleh seorang perdana menteri ketika beliau menjadi menteri besar Kelantan dahulu.

“Di Kelantan, sewaktu kita meluluskan Enakmen Kanun Jenayah Syariah (2) pada tahun 1993, ada yang menghantar surat kepada saya menghalang enakmen ini dikuatkuasakan dan pihak yang menghantar surat ini namanya bukan Karpal Singh.

“Saya benar-benar berharap, agar pihak yang bertanggungjawab menghantar surat ini sempat memahami keindahan undang-undang Allah sebelum tibanya masa untuk pergi yang tidak akan kembali,” katanya. – 17 April, 2014.

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With Karpal’s death, a light has gone out in Malaysia – best tribute to memory to Karpal is mushrooming of more lights to brighten the Malaysian national landscape of justice, rule of law and democracy

Malaysians, regardless of race, religion or region, the majority of whom had never met or known Karpal Singh, are in shock and mourning the sudden passing of the Tiger of Jelutong as a personal loss.

This is a testament of how the indomitable fight and struggle of Karpal for justice, the rule of law and democracy for over four decades have touched the lives of Malaysians, across race, religion, region, gender or age.

In his four decades of public life, particularly in law and politics, Karpal has never allowed power and position or his personal trials and tribulations – including detention under the notorious and draconian  Internal Security Act  under Operation Lalang in 1987 and his persecution under the Sedition Act with the threat of disqualification as  elected Member of Parliament –  to undermine his commitment to the cause of justice, the rule of law and democracy.

With Karpal’s death, a light has gone out in Malaysia.

But the best tribute to the memory of Karpal is the mushrooming of more lights to brighten the Malaysian national landscape of justice, the rule of law and democracy.

Malaysians grieve with Karpal’s family at the loss of a great Malaysian son and patriot.

May his soul rest in peace.

                This entry was posted on Thursday, 17 April 2014, 4:46 pm and is filed under
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10 things about: Karpal Singh, The Tiger of Jelutong

By Zurairi AR

The Malay Mail Online

April 18, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 — For many  who had the pleasure of meeting him, the late Karpal Singh was an approachable statesman and lawyer who had a time for everyone who sought his counsel.

The man has been dubbed “a friend to the oppressed and marginalised” was killed in a road accident in the early hours of Thursday. A previous road accident had already left him in a wheel chair.

Karpal was the MP for Jelutong  for 21 years. At his death, he was the MP for Bukit Gelugor, having held the seat since 2004.

The DAP veteran left behind five children, four grandchildren, and his wife of over 40 years, Gurmit Kaur.

Here are ten choice quotes from his 44 years in the legal and political arena:

Opposition to Islamic state

• “An Islamic state over my dead body”

Karpal was quoted as saying in a political rally in Sungai Pinang in 1990, leading his detractors to brand him as “anti-Islam”.

• He has since apologised for the remark, and explained in an interview last month with DAP’s online news Roketkini the party’s stand on hudud and Islamic laws:

“The DAP’s stand against hudud is clear … The Federal Constitution provides for a secular state. So you cannot have in a secular state an Islamic law in the form of hudud. In a secular state, we cannot have laws other than secular laws.”

The crime and constitutional lawyer

• “It could well be that someone out there wants to get rid of him… even to the extent of murder… I suspect people in high places are responsible for this situation,” Karpal alleged while defending Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim against charges of sodomy in 1998.

 This accusation led to him being charged under the Sedition Act in 2000, the first against a lawyer in court.

• Karpal filed a lawsuit against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for assault in 1986, but in the same 2014 Roketkini interview, he made clear his opinion on the monarchy:

“It is important for every citizen in the country to know, that no one, no one is above the law … In the case of the king and the other rulers, the Special Court is the only court which I think is quite unfair because it is one-tiered … Even the rulers have the right to the rule of law.”

The tricky political tiger

• In 1982, Karpal’s rival Datuk Seri Samy Vellu from MIC had dubbed himself as the “Hindu lion” and referred to Karpal as “the tiger of the court”.

Karpal’s moniker as the “Tiger of Jelutong” was derived from the confrontation, when he responded: “(Samy) could be the lion, and I could be the tiger, because there are no lions in Malaysia!”

• In a 2010 interview with English daily The Star, Karpal said that his youngest son was supposed to be named after him. But that was before he was arrested during Operasi Lalang in 1987:

“There was a lot of gossiping at the Sikh temple. People were saying you cannot have two tigers because one will eat the other. When I came out, I found out that his name had been changed to Ram Karpal!”

• “But Mr Speaker, what is more interesting is this tape,” said Karpal before dumping the pornographic videotape of then Deputy Speaker D.P. Vijandran to the unsuspecting Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat in 1992.

 Karpal risked being charged with possession of pornography, and had made an elaborate arrangement involving a flameproof briefcase and a small bottle of petrol to burn the videotape in Parliament if his plan to introduce the evidence failed

The audacious move has been described in his biography by Tim Donoghue as the“biggest bluffs of his political career”.

Personal life

• “I am religious, but I’m not one to go to the temple every week. I believe that the principles by which you live is a measure of your faith,” said Karpal in a 2010 interview.

 Karpal did not keep his hair nor wear a turban as required by the Sikh faith.

• “There are always people who are insensitive, we just have to take it … There is nothing you can do about it. We cannot be discouraged, as that’s exactly what our enemies would want,” Karpal said in another interview with The Star in 2006, after he was mocked by Barisan Nasional MPs in Parliament.

Karpal had  just started using the wheelchair after a car accident in 2005 subsequently paralysed him from waist-down.

The legacy of Karpal Singh

Karpal died just weeks after he was convicted of sedition over his remarks on the Perak Sultan’s role in the 2009 state constitutional crisis. Faced with the possibility of losing his seat, Karpal had remained cool.

“The fight goes on. You knock out one Karpal Singh, a hundred Karpal Singhs will rise,” he said last month.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 April 2014, 11:11 am and is filed under
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A promise to insensitive politicians

Dear sirs,

At some point in the future, you will depart from this world, as I will.

It would be a time of intense grief and mourning for your loved ones. During that particular period, I promise not to gleefully gloat over your death. I further give you my word, that I will not claim, that my Maker, unique to my faith, had a hand in it. Although you may not realise it, to do so is despicably cruel and completely unbecoming of any human being. Only a beast or an imbecile would behave in such a manner.

I also promise not to splash your morbid or gory photos in death over the internet, to boost my twitter and facebook ratings. You may not be aware that such a move does not bring fame, only infamy.

In addition, I give you my word that if I can’t find a decent word or two to express my condolences, I shall keep mum. This is because, to condemn you in death would only bring shame to me. I sincerely believe that I am above such behaviour, as most Malaysians are, save for a lunatic fringe of the society.

I will also endeavour not to attribute your passing to divine retribution, after all, who am I to pass judgement? I am not the Almighty, after all.

In the event you have difficulty understanding or appreciating the promises that I have agreed to undertake, I have little else to offer you, but my condolences. For it is truly a tragedy to be cursed with so little insight and compassion.

Very truly yours,

A fellow human.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 April 2014, 6:24 am and is filed under
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Death of a True Son of Malaysia

Kee Thuan Chye

Yahoo! News

17.4.2014

The Tiger of Jelutong has died in a road accident. It happened at 1.10am this morning near Kampar on the North-South Expressway. He was on his way to Penang to represent a client in court. To practise the law as he had done for more than four decades. In army parlance, he died with his boots on.

Karpal Singh would surely not have chosen to leave us this way, and would have wanted to continue fighting the great fight for the good of the nation which he did untiringly in politics, but we have to accept that at least he never stopped.

He fought endlessly to uphold democracy and the Federal Constitution as a lawyer and a politician. And for his good work, they shut him away under the Internal Security Act (ISA), charged him with sedition, called him an enemy of Islam.

But he leaves behind a legacy that not only his wife and children can be proud of, but all Malaysians as well.

May he now rest in peace.

Karpal had been nothing but fearless. When the Government did things that were wrong, he told them to do it right. When Government policy and practices impinged on Malaysia’s well-being, he exposed them. If any party threatened the spirit and letter of the Federal Constitution, he staunchly opposed it.

In 2007, he wrote to former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad to ask him to make a personal apology to the Lord President and Supreme Court judges he had dismissed in 1988.

In 2013, he challenged Mahathir to respond to Tamrin Ghafar’s allegation that he was involved in the incident leading to the May 13 riots.

When Mahathir made the declaration in 2001 that Malaysia was an Islamic state, Karpal slammed him for doing it without legal backing. He said it contravened the five-bench declaration of the Supreme Court in 1988 that Malaysia is a secular state.

In 2012, he called on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to invoke his power under Article 130 of the Federal Constitution to refer to the Federal Court the issue of whether Malaysia was a secular or Islamic state. “A country governed by secular laws is not an Islamic state,” Karpal reiterated. He also said the Federal Constitution did not state that Malaysia was an Islamic state, unlike Pakistan, Bangladesh and Iran.

He was also consistent in opposing the imposition of hudud, even to the extent of endangering the fragile relationship between his party and its Pakatan Rakyat ally, PAS. “I’ve time and again said that hudud ought not be brought into the country,” he asserted when PAS raised the issue during the 13th general election campaign. Despite the potential damage this could have done to the alliance, he stood by his principle.

He even demanded that PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim state his and his party’s stand on hudud and also on PAS’s fixation on setting up an Islamic state.

For his fearlessness, Karpal had to pay the price a few times. In 1987, during Operation Lalang, he was detained without trial under the ISA for supposedly inciting racial tension. He was shut away for 15 months.

That proved to be a challenging time for his wife, Gurmit. “The ISA detention in 1987 was … very unexpected and took a toll on my life,” she recalled. “The children were small then, a few of them were sitting for exams because it was near the end of October.”

Karpal was charged with sedition twice. In 2000, in the course of representing Anwar Ibrahim against his first sodomy charge and discovering that a pathological report had confirmed high levels of arsenic detected in Anwar’s body, he was hauled up for saying, “It could well be that someone out there wants to get rid of him … even to the extent of murder … I suspect people in high places are responsible for this situation.”

Was that even libellous, to begin with?

In 2009, he was charged with saying that the Perak Sultan’s act of removing Mohammad Nizar as menteri besar and replacing him with Zambry Abdul Kadir could be challenged in a court of law. He was found guilty in February 2014 and in meting out sentence last month, the court fined him RM4,000, which automatically disqualified him from continuing to be MP. He appealed the ruling and sentence.

But if we consider objectively what he said, it doesn’t sound seditious. It is a fact that the Sultan can be brought before the Special Court. There is provision for that. So what wrong did Karpal commit in stating a fact? Were his enemies trying to get him out of Parliament?

After that, it looked like the prosecution wanted more blood from him. It filed a cross-appeal seeking a heavier sentence. As the maximum fine under the law is RM5,000, it was obvious they wanted him to suffer more. “They want me in jail,” Karpal said. And he was probably right.

But shame on them. Karpal was 73 years old and a man confined to a wheelchair because of a car accident in 2005. What would imprisoning him have proven? Who would have derived satisfaction from it? There are so many others who truly deserve punishment but are out there running around free. What is the Attorney-General’s office doing about that?

When news of Karpal’s death broke out, a friend of mine SMSed me, “His enemies must be happy now.” I replied, “Or ashamed.”

But then I read The Malay Mail report about Perkasa Vice-President Zulkifli Noordin saying in a tweet, “The Kelantan PAS government wants to enforce hudud law with the help of Umno. Allah has killed off Karpal, who was the major opponent of its implementation!”

What a thing to say at a time like this. Karpal was the voice of conscience and righteousness. He fought on our behalf. He was the champion of upholding the law and democracy. And he never gave up. A lawyer friend told me this morning, “I’ve never met him in person but having him with us through the years fighting endlessly for justice was like having a righteous judge with us. I shed tears when I heard about the bad news over the radio this morning.”

Why did Karpal go on fighting? Just before his 70th birthday, Karpal told The Malaysian Insider, “I’m doing it for the country. At the end, that’s what it is for.”

MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong once said, “Karpal is one of those people who really calls it like he sees it. When he feels the Government is doing wrong, he will say it. But when he feels the Government has done something good, he will also give praise. To me, that shows he is doing it out of his love for the country. I respect him for that.”

Our Cabinet ministers talk much about patriotism, even about trying to impose it on Malaysians artificially through various means, including legislation, obviously oblivious to the reality that patriotism comes from within the individual. If they needed an example, they could look to Karpal Singh. He was a true patriot, notwithstanding what the blackguards of Umno and BN did to try to denigrate him.

Now that he’s gone, let’s see if they will finally acknowledge him as a patriot.

Ah, but perhaps what they say doesn’t really matter. They speak so much nonsense, anyway. Sensible people will be able to judge for themselves what is true.

For me, Karpal was a true son of Malaysia. And a loving husband, too.

As Gurmit, whom he had known since she was a child, recalled in an interview with The Star in 2006, “On my birthday on May 10, 1987, when Karpal was under ISA, I was feeling particularly down and lost, and went to his office. Suddenly, an assistant ran in calling, ‘Mr Karpal has sent you a letter!’ Inside the envelope was a little card with a drawing on it. It started off with ‘To my girl in blue …’ You see, I had a lovely blue frock when I was nine or 10 which I wore everywhere. He remembered that! That was the most beautiful thing he had ever done just to tell me he was still there and that he loved me! I don’t know how he managed to get that card delivered right on time.”

We shall miss the Tiger of Jelutong.

* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the book The Elections Bullshit, available in bookstores.

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From Air Itam, memories of ‘Karpal’s coffee shop’

By
Opalyn Mok |MMO

April 18, 2014

GEORGE TOWN, April 18 — In the working-class neighbourhood of Air Itam in Penang’s Bukit Gelugor constituency, the Ju Huat Coffee Shop is just another local eatery in a city famous for its food.

But locals call it by another moniker — “Karpal’s coffee shop”.

This was the coffee shop they went to if they wanted to seek the help of Karpal Singh, the veteran lawyer-politician who was killed in a road accident early yesterday.

Ju Huat Coffee Shop has been since 2008 Karpal’s chosen venue for holding press conferences and meeting voters.

Coffee shop owner Tan Bak Chooi, 50, said Karpal has probably held hundreds of press conferences at his coffee shop.

“He used to have press conferences once or twice a month here and he would always call us before he comes so that we will prepare a parking spot for him and get the tables arranged,” he said.

He said he had once asked Karpal why he had chosen his coffee shop out of all the eateries in Air Itam.

“He told me that my coffee shop brought him luck and that every time he comes to my coffee shop, whatever he does will be smooth going,” he said.

Tan said he heard about Karpal’s accident at about 2am on that night itself.

“I didn’t believe it when I heard it at the wholesalers’ market in town,”

“So at about 4am, I called the number that Karpal had always used to call me and I got a shock when a policeman answered the phone but I still didn’t want to believe that anything had happened to Karpal,” he said.

Ju Huat coffee shop’s owner, Tan Bak Chooi said the late Karpal Singh was always humble and patronised his coffee shop because he felt it would bring him good luck.

He only accepted that Karpal had died in the car crash on early Thursday morning after a reporter confirmed the news at about 6am.

“He was a humble and very down-to-earth leader despite his position,” he said.

Air Itam resident Sally Tan said at the coffee shop today that Karpal used to take on cases and not charge legal fees.

Tan said she once had some legal problems and Karpal had helped her to resolve it without accepting a single sen from her.

“When I went to ask him for help, he immediately helped me and didn’t charge any legal fees,” she said.

She said she was not the only one whom Karpal had helped.

“I’ve so many friends who went to him for help, on legal matters and court cases, and he never turned any one of them down,” she said.

She said her friends were all from poor background so the Bukit Gelugor MP did not charge them any legal fees too.

The housewife became teary-eyed  when she recounted how Karpal loved to frequent Ju Huat coffee shop.

“We will know when he’s coming because there will be a lot of reporters, the coffee shop will arrange the tables in a row and he will always sit at one particular spot,” she said.

Karpal was killed when his car collided with a lorry on his way north from Kuala Lumpur.

He will be accorded a state honours funeral with a public ceremony for the public to pay their last respects at Dewan Sri Pinang on Sunday morning and the state flag will be held at half mast until Sunday.

– See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/from-air-itam-memories-of-karpals-coffee-shop#sthash.xEgA8cyw.dpuf

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Karpal Singh, 17-04-2014: Our Deepest Condolence

by Allan CF Goh

17.4.2013

In the screech of an accident,

A flame dies in this incident.

This great flame is called Karpal Singh,

Justice for people, he would sing.

His song will live eternally;

People’s right will triumph finally.

His death is the nation’s great loss,

Ere democracy becomes boss:

His hopes end not in apathy,

But gain in strength in empathy.

His legacy will rouse our flame,

To achieve justice in his name.

The Tiger has ended his roar,

But his deeds live on in our lore.

May his soul rest in deserved peace,

By his God’s side, mightily pleased.

                This entry was posted on Friday, 18 April 2014, 12:41 am and is filed under
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Karpal Singh, a man for true believers of justice

BY
LIM GUAN ENG | TMI

APRIL 18, 2014

As I sat here at my home in Penang at 4 am in the morning of April 17, 2014, waiting for my driver to come and pick me up to go to the Ipoh Hospital, I felt numb by the shocking news relayed to my wife Betty through my sister Hui Ying an hour earlier. I had gone to bed early as I was unwell and was still groggy when the import of her words sunk in.

DAP national chairman Karpal Singh, who meant so much to us, was gone. A man filled with such vitality, brilliance and energy was no more. A leader who gave forth so much strength, vision and guidance had left us.

A true friend in our darkest days whether in the depths of prison cells or the abyss of electoral defeat had departed. A loving father and an even more loving husband had suddenly passed away on the early hours of this terrible, rainy April 17, 2014.

As the messages and tweets on the handphone flashed back and forth, scattering my thoughts everywhere, I could not find the words to describe my acute sense of loss. DAP leaders are shaken because it was so sudden and unexpected. Karpal left before his time when he still had so much to contribute.

I will miss hearing the cheer in Karpal’s voice, the optimism that comes from doing the right thing and the fighting spirit no matter highly impossible the odds. But I can still hear Karpal’s voice – undaunted and forthright with a deep sense of humanity.

Karpal was one of those rare voices who spoke his mind, respected by friend and foe alike and completely fearless. Even Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyidin Yassin had personally told Mrs Karpal when he paid his last respects that “politics aside, Karpal was a great man and very bold”

Indeed, Karpal was not afraid to offend anyone no matter how high and mighty, how wealthy or powerful, if he felt he was right. And he forgave easily those who could not live up to his exacting standards but he never forgot.

He was a lawyer’s lawyer upholding the basic tenet that everyone had a right to a fair trial and counsel. That was why he was more than willing to defend former foes who were victims of injustice. Truly there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics, only permanent principles.

He reminded me – from the time we shared our dormitory in the detention camps in Kamunting in 1988-89 when we were both detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) or in his visits to my dingy Kajang prison in 1998-99 when I was serving time under the Sedition Act – of the importance of distinguishing the true believers from the unreliable ones.

The true believers were the ones who anchored their beliefs simply in terms of right and wrong. The true believers were incorruptible and fought on even when all was lost because it was the right thing to do. They continued the struggle because they had to as a human being, for simply to live and permit such injustice and corruption was unacceptable.

He never feared defeat. He told me that to lose occasionally is good for you as it puts iron in your soul, where you learn to climb back up quickly. “After all he lost electoral battles, Kit Siang had lost too and both of us are still here”, he reminded me with a twinkle in his eye. He said defeat is merely a test of your mettle to see how quickly you bounce back.

Even when his body failed him after the 2005 traffic accident outside his house in Penang, he refused to bow out. He did not allow his wheelchair-bound body to still his voice but focused his brilliant legal mind totally on improving the law and righting wrongs.

We had bonded at the Kamunting Detention Camp and the years after as only comrades in adversity could. I learnt from him, was guided by his wisdom and refreshed by his iron will and spirit. We shared the same travails, whether persecuted or prosecuted under the ISA’s detention without trial or Sedition Act. And indeed it only made us stronger and more determined.

He shared his passion for DAP and his open brotherhood with my father Kit Siang as well as his comradeship with Sdr Dr. Chen Man Hin, the late Sdr P.Patto and Datuk Chian Heng Kai. His belief and trust in Kit Siang and faith with Sdr Dr. Chen was the bedrock which the party pulled itself up and built upon the ashes of defeat.

This trinity of Kit, Karpal and Chen in the DAP would never yield and submit to a corrupt and authoritarian regime. They were all prepared to be broken as men with honour, who preferred to live by dying on their feet rather than surviving on bended knees.

I will miss you Karpal. I am honoured to be your associate. Malaysians will miss Karpal too, and salute a towering Malaysian patriot who made every citizen proud of his country and gave hope to the dispossessed, weak, defenceless, poor and voiceless.

Your greatest legacy is not the honour bestowed by leaders or tributes by famous personalities overseas or locally. What moves us are the tears shed by the many ordinary Malaysian who do not know you and whom you never met but yet are touched by the sacrifices you have made.

Rest In Peace – you deserve to, after all you have done for the party, nation and people. – April 18, 2014.

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Karpal Singh – Fearless Tiger, Freedom Fighter

By
Pauline Fan | MMO

April 18, 2014

The death of Karpal Singh marks the passing of a people’s hero.

A larger-than-life figure on the troubled terrain of Malaysia’s political landscape, Karpal hailed from a generation who were unafraid to fight for what they believe in and who summoned unflinching tenacity to see their principles through to the bitter end.

A fiercely uncompromising warrior for social justice and human freedom, Karpal embodied what is most brave and noble in the Malaysian spirit. He showed us time and again that we are made of sterner stuff than the communalism and factionalism that has come to dominate our national politics in recent decades.

There was much about Karpal that was iconic — his bristly white beard; his keen eyes aflame with wit and idealism; his warm, fatherly smile; his arm outstretched in defiance; his trademark phrase, ‘Jangan main-main’.

In a political career with the Democratic Action Party (DAP) that spanned eight terms in Parliament and four terms as state assemblyman in Kedah and Penang, as well as a year-and-a-half of detention without trial under the Internal Security Act (ISA), Karpal was the consummate opposition leader.

The immense outpouring of grief across the country since news broke about Karpal’s passing is testimony to his great spirit, and to the countless lives he touched through his life and work, transcending race, class, age, gender, and ideological divides.

Malaysians of all walks of life are experiencing Karpal’s death as a deeply personal loss. He was a man who made us truly proud to be Malaysian, a freedom fighter who loved, and was truly loved by, his people.

Karpal was one of those rare human beings who inspired admiration and respect in friends and foe alike. He gave us a sense that the wounded scales of justice in Malaysia — chronically misaligned after decades of abuse and tampering — could still bend towards the good and just if guarded with the force of moral courage. His ‘roar’ was the voice of our country’s buried conscience.

My late father, Fan Yew Teng, was among the early generation of DAP leaders — together with his comrades Lim Kit Siang, Chen Man Hin and Karpal Singh — who were willing to dedicate their lives to their principles and vision of building a Malaysia for all Malaysians.

When my father was charged and convicted under the Sedition Act for publishing a speech by Dr Ooi Kee Sek in 1970, Karpal stood by his side. It was Karpal who served as my father’s counsel during this time and brought the case, Fan Yew Teng v. Setiausaha Dewan Rakyat (1975), all the way to the Privy Council. Although they eventually lost the case, and my father was convicted of sedition and disqualified from Parliament, the fight for freedom and democracy was what mattered.

My father had always considered Karpal a true brother in arms, a fellow fighter, and one of the most principled men he had ever encountered. Even during the decades when my father maintained his distance from the DAP, his respect and fondest regards for Karpal never waned.

Karpal emanated great dignity, humanity and humour in everything he did, in politics as well as in private. When my father passed away in 2010, Uncle Karpal’s warmth and friendship brought my family solace during a very difficult time of loss.

One of my dearest memories of Uncle Karpal is when he spoke so movingly at the memorial for my father. He related how my father, then DAP National Organising Secretary, had ‘persuaded’ him to stand for the Alor Setar State Assemblyman seat in the 1974 General Election. Lim Kit Siang had initially convinced Karpal to contest a seat in Penang, but Karpal withdrew after his father’s death. Papa then set upon the task to make Karpal change his mind.

Papa called Karpal late one night, and told him they were contesting the state seat in Alor Setar because it was important to field candidates in Malay areas. Karpal replied that he would help in any way he could and asked who the candidate was. Papa went on and on about the importance of fielding a candidate before revealing that the candidate was Karpal himself.

Karpal tried to object but my father kept talking and talking until Karpal grew sleepy and when he finally consented in a spontaneous moment, Papa immediately put down the phone. Karpal tried to call back but Papa did not pick up the telephone. And that was that.

Karpal’s untimely passing has shaken Malaysians to the core of our being. Through the shock, the tears, and the profound sense of loss I feel now in his absence, I call to mind these words by Rabindranath Tagore:

Say not in grief that he is no more

but say in thankfulness that he was;

A death is not the extinguishing of a light,

but the putting out of a lamp

because the dawn has come.

Rest in Peace, Uncle Karpal. Your fearless roar will resound always through the corridors of justice and in the hearts of all Malaysians.

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Karpal Singh left his mark on Malaysian law, say legal experts

BY
V. ANBALAGAN, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR | TMI

APRIL 18, 2014

In a legal career spanning almost half a century, the late Karpal Singh contributed immensely to the development of Malaysian criminal and civil law with nearly 600 citations in the Malaysian Law Journal, say fellow legal minds.

They told The Malaysian Insider that the prominent legal eagle, who died in a road accident yesterday, could do this as he was a versatile lawyer who argued and tested cases in court.

They also said that Karpal had the advantage of pointing out why certain laws were inapplicable and needed further amendment as he could also lobby for change in Parliament.

Karpal was also a perfect role model for any aspiring law student because he possessed qualities required of a fearless advocate, they added.

Penang-based lawyer Datuk K. Kumaraendran, who started practice at the same time as Karpal, said the lawyer-cum-politician took up cases that involved the burden of proof.

“In the interest of justice, he developed the law because there was uncertainty over the issue of innocent until proven guilty,” said Kumaraendan, who appeared together with Karpal in many criminal cases in the late 70s and early 80s.

Karpal was also a pioneer in taking up drug trafficking and habeas corpus cases, added Kumaraendan, who started his legal career in Alor Star together with the late lawyer.

“He is the lawyer responsible for the Malaysian apex court clarifying the issue of double presumption in drug trafficking cases,” he said, adding that subsequent judgment of the court spared many of the gallows.

(In double presumption, the court had to decide whether the crime committed was either possession or trafficking, not both.)

Lawyer Datuk V. Sithambaram, who entered practice in 1978, described Karpal’s courage as a lawyer as unparalleled, and his passion for the law was hard to emulate.

“His legacy will remain deeply entrenched in the legal and political arena,” he said.

As a junior lawyer in many criminal cases, he said Karpal taught him to be absolutely forthright before the courts.

“Brevity in his submission in court is his hallmark,” Sithambaram added.

He said Karpal was very effective in promoting the cause of justice and pursued it in Parliament if he saw any weakness in the application of law in the courts. He also described Karpal as “Jack of all trades and good in all.”

Senior lawyer and former Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram said his first impression of Karpal was that Karpal was a master of criminal procedure and the law of evidence.

“In one criminal case he was able to convince the trial judge to review the confession his client had made. After submission, the judge directed the jury to acquit the accused,” said Sri Ram, referring to a murder charge case in 1973.

Sri Ram started out as a lawyer in 1970 and was appointed Court of Appeal judge in 1994.

He said as a judge, it was a pleasure to watch Karpal submit as he made his points quickly and the issues raised were easily understood.

He said in the celebrated case of Teh Cheng Poh, Karpal failed before the Federal Court but was successful at the Privy Council in London.

“The executive had to table amendments in Parliament as a result of Karpal’s court action,” he said.

[In 1979, the government unveiled its Emergency (Essential  Powers) Bill to validate all the regulations earlier declared void by the council and this dashed the hopes of condemned security prisoners like

Teh.

The question before the court was whether a law passed during an Emergency was valid after Parliament resumed sitting. The Privy Council held that the Essential (Security Cases) Regulations (ESCAR) was unconstitutional, and Teh who was charged with possession of a firearm and ammunitions escaped the gallows.]

Police inspecting the Toyota Alphard of the late Karpal Singh at the Gopeng police station today. Bukit Gelugor MP and veteran DAP leader Karpal Singh was killed when the car he was travelling in collided with a five-ton lorry near Gua Tempurung on the North-South Expressway early yesterday morning. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, April 18, 2014.

Sri Ram also said it was Karpal who raised the doctrine of separation of powers among the three arms of the government and the Court of Appeal agreed with his submission.

“However, the Federal Court disagreed but the general view among lawyers was that Karpal was right,” he said.

Sri Ram, who retired as a Federal Court judge in 2010 added that “every time the history of the Malaysian common law is written, Karpal’s name will appear in gold letters for his great contribution to that area of law”.

To Salim Bashir, who became a lawyer in 1995, Karpal was a mentor for being fearless and yet humble in advancing his client’s cause.

“He had the skills of using all legal arsenal to obtain justice for his clients,” said Salim adding that he enjoyed seeing Karpal in action during proceedings.

Salim said law undergraduates could also pick up advocacy skills which they would not obtain in lecture halls if they had seen him in the courts.

He said Karpal had pushed for courts to make ground-breaking decisions because he was innovative and tested the laws, especially the Federal Constitution.

Karpal, 73, died in the road accident when his car was involved in a collision with a five-ton lorry near Gua Tempurung on the North-South Expressway in the wee hours of Thursday.

Karpal was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Penang to attend a court hearing.

The impact of the crash which took place at about 1am killed the prominent lawyer and his personal assistant, Michael Cornelious, on the spot.

Karpal’s son, Ramkarpal, and car driver, C. Selvam, were injured. Karpal’s Indonesian domestic helper was also injured and is in critical condition at the Ipoh Hospital. – April 18, 2014.

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