The Economist: Karpal was rare gem of Malaysian politics

MMO

APRIL 18, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 — Since his shocking death yesterday, the late Karpal Singh has been called “friend” by many that others would have thought to be irreconcilable foes.

At an emotive scene at the lawmaker’s home in Penang hours after his death, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin consoled a distraught Gobind Singh Deo, Karpal’s second son, when he went to pay his respects to the family.

Before that, contemporary and regular rival Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu had described the Bukit Gelugor MP as “good friend”, despite regularly crossing swords with Karpal when he had still been MIC president.

“Karpal Singh, who died in a car accident in the early hours of April 17th at the age of 74, was a rarity in the venomous world of Malaysian politics: a man respected by many of his opponents as well as those on his own side,” according to an obituary by The Economist today.

In the tribute titled “Burning Bright”, it noted that once-bitter rivals have lined to honour the man known as the “Tiger of Jelutong”, even those who tasted the acerbic sting of his tongue.

The business weekly pointed out that this included Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was among the earliest to offer his sympathies to Karpal’s family.

“In politics, he was an implacable leader; in law, a committed advocate,” the prime minister said in a brief statement issued by his office.

“At this difficult time, our thoughts are with the families of those who have died in the accident. I extend my deepest condolences to them. We pray that the other passengers make a full recovery,” Najib added.

Karpal’s popularity was also not solely due to his courage and tenacity, The Economist said. Instead, it was the veteran lawmaker’s dignity, modesty, humour and courtesy that turned foes into friends, begrudging or otherwise.

But the weekly also made pains to point out the outpouring of sympathy and friendship now was as rare as the man receiving it.

“It was also a reminder that, though his death has been greeted with respect and regret (some nasty political jibes notwithstanding), that is not how Malaysia’s opposition politicians are treated when alive.

Karpal, 74, 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 at about 1.10am yesterday.

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

Karpal will receive a state funeral in Penang this Sunday.

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Karpal’s last words in Parliament

By
Aidila Razak | Malaysiakini

Apr 18, 2014

Karpal Singh is best known for his fiery speeches in the Dewan Rakyat, earning him the moniker the ‘Tiger of Jelutong’. Even during his last appearance in a parliamentary debate, the 74-year-old wheelchair-bound MP didn’t disappoint.

“The Honourable Speaker should not play around with the (Federal) Constitution. Follow the Constitution. This is the supreme law of the land, not the Standing Orders.

“Standing orders can be suspended. There are provisions (for that), discretion can be used. Why are you not using your discretion?

“This is the second time the conduct of judges is raised in this House. I had (before) moved a motion against… the former chief justice Zaki Azmi (left). Nothing happened. Why?

“Why is this House afraid of judges? Are we afraid to debate about judges’ conduct? So what am I saying… (is) don’t play around (with the Constitution),” said Karpal, igniting an uproar in the House.

These were Karpal’s last words in the parliamentary Hansard, recorded on April 10, 2014 – 36 years after he first stepped into the House for the first time as the Member of Parliament for Jelutong.

He was intervening on the Speaker’s decision to oust PKR’s Gombak MP Azmin Ali and PAS’ Sepang MP Hanipa Maidin from the Dewan Rakyat, over a motion on the conduct of the Court of Appeal judges.

Judicial independence

A veteran lawyer, judicial independence was close to Karpal’s heart and was the topic of his final parliametary debate speech on April 8.

Debating the Judges’ Remuneration Bill (Amendment) 2014, Karpal again pointed out that judges were not above parliamentary scrutiny, but they should themselves remain above politics.

Similarly, he called for legislation to bar retired judges from practising as lawyers, like the former Lord President Mohd Salleh Abas, citing conflict of interest for this.

“We must defend the dignity of judges, including those who have retired. But lately, retired judges have become political beings. Can this be defended? This is the question this House must answer,” he said.

Karpal gave the example of former Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad, the head of the National Unity Front, a movement consisting of 50 NGOs, including Perkasa.

“Perkasa, Honourable Speaker, is an illegal organisation and yet even you know of it. What is voiced by its leader Ibrahim Ali is seditious, yet the Sedition Act is not used against Ibrahim Ali (left).

“No attorney-general or public prosecutor in this country dares to take action against Ibrahim Ali because even though it is illegal, its patron is former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and now they also have a former judge, the former chief justice.”

‘Raucous applause for this rascal’

He also took issue with former Court of Appeal judge Mohd Noor Abdullah, who has, as late as on yesterday, made controversial statements against non-Malays and non-Muslims.

Citing Malaysiakini, while stressing that “Malaysiakini tells the truth”, Karpal said Mohd Noor once said that the Chinese should prepare for backlash from the Malays for trying to seize political power in the 13th general election.

Malaysiakini had reported on Mohd Noor (right) saying this at a forum in Kuala Lumpur, to raucous applause from the audience.

“Raucous applause to this rascal,” said Karpal.

Despite his criticisms, Karpal supported the Bill and called for pay and pension rises and better facilities for all judges and retired judges in the country.

“We in DAP support this Bill, but more than that, we feel the pension and facilities given to retired judges in Singapore should be mirrored because the pensions and salaries and facilities for Malaysian judges are just not enough.

“And with that, Honourable Speaker, I thank you,” he said.

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Kit Siang drapes comrade’s casket with DAP flag

by Looi Sue-Chern

The Malaysian Insider

April 18, 2014

It was a sombre, moving scene at the home of Karpal Singh this afternoon as veteran DAP leader Lim Kit Siang draped the party flag over the casket of  his “brother-in-arms” in honour of the former chairman’s 44-year crusade for the opposition party.

Kit Siang, who brought along an old record book of the party, said that Karpal joined DAP during the “darkest hours” of the nation and the party on December 28, 1970.

It was more than a year after the May 13, 1969 racial riots and Kit Siang had just been released after a 17-month detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) following the riots.

“There were very few who came out to the forefront to lead the party at the time, but Karpal came. He had no hesitation to come forward to carry that banner,” he said of the man he called his ‘brother-in-arms”.

Kit Siang said the 1970s was also a time when DAP faced many legal cases, with its leaders charged with breaching laws like the ISA, Official Secrets Act and the Police Act.

Karpal was one of the leading lawyers defending the DAP leaders on the various charges.

“When I was charged with the OSA in 1978, Karpal defended me,” he said, referring to the time he got into trouble for exposing the scandal involving the Malaysian Royal Navy’s purchase of RM9 million SPICA-M weapons from Sweden.

“Karpal remains an inspiration to Malaysians in the struggle for justice, democracy and upholding the rule of law. Malaysians must now carry the torch he has passed on.”

Among a steady stream of mourners who visited the house to pay their respects to Karpal was former Bar Council chairman Datuk Param Cumaraswamy, who said the nation and legal profession had lost a patriot.

He described Karpal as a real gentleman who was highly principled, and a person who never turned anyone away if they sought his help to defend their rights.

“I spoke to him about politics and the law and between the two, his first love was the law. Politics was secondary to him… so much was his love for the law,” he said today.

Karpal, Param said, had the respect of the judiciary, earning no complaints but high standing before the courts.

“Karpal was so entrenched in the finer qualities of the Bar and in the 1980s, senior judges highly commended his conduct in the courts.

“He stood for the highest qualities. Judges were also respectful of him. We’ve really lost someone who is very hard to replace, a leading light in the legal and political arenas.

“However, I see his four children in court. I think they will carry on the torch he has left behind,” he said, referring to Karpal’s sons – Jagdeep Singh Deo, Gobind Singh Deo, and Ramkarpal Singh, and daughter Sangeet Kaur, who are also lawyers.

Karpal, 73, was killed in a car accident about 1am yesterday on the North-South Expressway near Kampar, Perak when his Toyota Alphard multi-purpose vehicle collided with a lorry.

His long-time aide Michael Cornelius Selvam Vellu also died in the crash while Ramkarpal and the driver escaped with minor injuries.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng will present the Penang flag to the family tomorrow.

On Sunday, the funeral procession will stop at important landmarks of Karpal’s life and illustrious legal career.

Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow, who is overseeing the funeral arrangements, said the casket was scheduled to leave Karpal’s home in Jalan Utama at 8.15am on Sunday for the public ceremony at Dewan Sri Pinang at 9am.

“The public can pay their respects until 10am. Then, the ceremony will be opened to state dignitaries like the governor, political parties, and non-governmental organisations before ending by 11am with a religious ceremony for Karpal’s family.

“The casket will then stop at the Lebuh Light-Jalan Greenhall junction in front of the Penang High Court. Karpal’s firm is on Jalan Greenhall,” he said.

The casket will also stop at the state legislative assembly building, where Karpal began his early political career. He won the Bukit Gelugor state seat in the 1978 general election when the seat was under the Jelutong parliamentary constituency, which he also won.

Then, the procession will proceed to St Xavier’s Institution, which was his alma mater, to which he had made many contributions in recent years, Chow said.

“The school band will accompany the procession as we leave for the Batu Gantung crematorium for the final ritual,” he said.

Karpal’s eldest son Jagdeep, who is a state executive council member, thanked the state government for according his father state honours.

“It would have made him very proud to be regarded a son of Penang and for his sacrifices to be recognised. He had never asked for such acknowledgements.

“Our family will also not forget the kind wishes from the thousands of people who have offered their sympathies. Please continue to remember us in your prayers and we hope to see all of you on Sunday,” he said. – April 18, 2014.

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Loss of statesman and ‘adab’

– Abdul Haleem Abdul Rahiman

The Malaysian Insider

April 17, 2014

The nation lost a statesman – Karpal Singh. The tragedy is not his death but the death of compassion and “adab” – manners. Are we growing as a nation or merely breeding for sake of God?

Why the religion is used for utter nonsense and moronic theories?  Where is the compassion? Does the skullcap on your head make you dumb and dumber?

In my humble opinion, we have bigots in the august house because we lack of men and women with integrity.

The ones with principles. Surely, he is one hell of a man with strong principles. A man who never compromised on his principles.  Even if you were going to throw him in jail.

He is gone now.  He is not coming back and we are not sure if we’ll see another Malaysian lawyer cum MP as good as him.

Where are your manners when you proudly post those pictures? Be it real or graphics. Don’t you have any shame? Do you call yourself a leader? You are a disgrace.

Apparently, “RIP” is not allowed. Since when God is working overtime digesting what condolence means when a Muslim speaks English. Do you think all Muslims in this country are stupid?

You are stupid. Jakim, I am talking about you. You use religion to make a living. Not to contribute but to stir nonsense. By the way, we are the nation which debates alphabets, words and language on the name of religion.  No surprises.

I even saw a text saying “Rest in Hell”. I wonder if he was not taught about manners.

The Islam he professes has no meaning when he has no “adab”. Poking fun at someone’s death shows how immature you are.

You are a father. If I am your son, I will commit suicide.

Why are we being so insensitive? (The irony is we are so sensitive that we can’t even watch a movie about Noah.)

Why are lacking of compassion and humanity. Where are we going with all the superficial growth and twin towers when the people of this nation act without souls?

Are we fighting so much for Islam that we forget how to be a Muslim? Or are we trying to be a pious Muslim that we ignore to be a good human being?

I beg you my fellow brothers and sisters. Be kind. Have some compassion. Give some love and receive love in return with an open heart. – April 17, 2014.

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One of modern Malaysia’s great men

By
 P Gunasegaram | Malaysiakini

Apr 18, 2014

Taking an overview of his own tempestuous life, Karpal Singh believes he has been able to achieve more via the law than he has as the perennial hardball opposition DAP politician.
  – author Tim Donoghue in his book, ‘Karpal Singh, Tiger of Jelutong.

QUESTION TIME
 It seems like he has been in politics forever but it was in law where he made his mark first. History will likely remember him more for his achievements in that arena and the truly tireless efforts he made towards the cause of human rights and equality, the last nine years in a wheelchair.

The cruel hands of fate may have dealt Karpal Singh a double blow, making him a tetraplegic in a car accident in 2005 and then, after he courageously made a life for himself following that tragedy, the accident early yesterday morning where he lost his life.

But it can’t ever take away the many achievements he made in his full and varied life, overcoming great obstacles and odds to make a significant positive difference to this country, making him one of modern Malaysia’s greatest men and a patriot.

It was in 1978 that Karpal stepped firmly into the national political arena, winning the Parliamentary seat of Jelutong in Penang. He held it for 21 years, lost in 1999 but was returned as MP for Bukit Gelugor in 2004, retaining the seat in the two subsequent elections of 2008 and 2013.

Last year, for my birthday, a friend of mine gave me a copy of the book, ‘Karpal Singh, Tiger of Jelutong’, a biography by New Zealand journalist Tim Donoghue who first met Karpal in 1987. Karpal was representing New Zealand mother and son Lorraine and Aaron Cohen in a drug trafficking case but was himself in detention under the infamous Internal Security Act at the time used by Dr Mahathir Mohamad to detain over 100 people under his Operation Lallang.

I put the book away then for another day but last night I pulled it out and stayed up to read it, coming up with a new and fresh appreciation of the man who I already admired tremendously for his guts, gumption and zeal in battling an increasingly corrupt, arrogant and authoritarian Barisan Nasional government at great cost to himself and his family.

Karpal is in the ranks of the great bygone opposition leaders of the country such as Dr Tan Chee Khoon of the Labour Party and Gerakan Rakyat, DR Seenivasagam of the People’s Progressive Party and the latter day ones such as Lim Kit Siang, Anwar Ibrahim, Syed Husin Ali and Abdul Hadi Awang.

Of those in the past probably Seenivasagam was closest to his own style. Like Karpal, Seenivasagam was a brilliant lawyer and courageous politician who never stepped away from a fight and did all he could for the underdog and downtrodden.

Opposition politics was usually his public face and as important as that was in the overall scheme of things, Karpal’s role was much more important than that and much more basic  – it was about the rule of law, the right to representation, the right to dissent, equality and plain justice at the end of the day.

Sidetracked into student politics

Karpal was born in born in 1940 as World War 11 began to throw its long shadow into this region, eventually enveloping it. His father was a watchman. Eschewing medicine as a career his family was pushing him into, he opted for law instead.

Despite being the among the top two students at St Xavier’s Institution in Penang, Karpal was sidetracked into student politics at the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) and took eight years before graduating in 1968. A pep talk by one of his lecturers, Tommy Koh, subsequently Singapore’s representative to the UN, was said to have helped, according to Donoghue’s book.

Three years later in 1971 he set up his own office in Penang. The same year, his first son, Jagdeep was born. Many of his early cases involved the controversial ISA and the Essential (Security Cases) Regulations 1975 or ESCAR. The laws provided a mandatory death sentence for anyone found in a possession of firearms in a  security area.

Among Karpal’s clients were communists who at the time were engaged in insurgency action against the state. Karpal did not believe in the death sentence and mandatory sentencing and looked for loopholes in the law and pardons to stop his clients from going to the gallows.

This later extended to drug cases where laws mandated a death sentence for those who had more than a prescribed amount of some drugs. In his time he defended a number of foreigners including Australians Barlow and Chambers.

Donoghue says that over 50 of Karpal’s own clients went to the gallows for various offences but Karpal’s actions directly or indirectly saved hundreds of others from the gallows because of legal precedents and rulings following from his cases.

A landmark case involving Karpal was that of Penang carpenter Teh Cheng Poh who was charged under the ISA and ESCAR with possession of a revolver and ammunition. Teh was convicted and this was upheld by the Federal Court in 1977.

Karpal made an appeal to the Privy Council that the ESCAR was invalid and unconstitutional and succeeded in 1978. Hussein Onn’s government scrambled to close off the loophole and tabled the Emergency (Essential Powers) Bill in 1979 which validated the earlier regulations which were declared void. Teh went to the gallows in 1982.

While many of those Karpal defended were Chinese, he also defended others, including Malays. He took up the case – unsuccessfully – of the first man in Malaysia to be convicted for waging war against the King – Mohamed Amin Mohamed Razali, the leader of the Al-Maunah. For him, it was not about race but justice and the right to representation under the law.

Karpal’s legal saga is too long to mention in detail here. One of them includes a case against the government taken by Lim Kit Siang for awarding the North-South Expressway to an Umno-linked company. Karpal, as Lim’s lawyer, was transported to the court for these hearings from detention in 1987-89 under the ISA and Operation Lallang. He lost the case by a 3-2 decision of the Supreme Court.

Taking Mahathir to court

He later took Mahathir, then also home minister in addition to being prime minister, to court for wrongful detention under the ISA and won a settlement in February 2002, the terms of which were kept confidential, getting some amount of vindication for his arrest. He is said to be the only one to have taken and won a case against Mahathir.

The other thing that is notable about Karpal is his courage in speaking against the excesses of royalty and actually taking cases against them. Karpal was suspended from Parliament for two years in 1984 when he brought up the issue of the late Johor sultan in Parliament over a case involving the Pahang royalty as well.

The late Johor sultan was also the Agong at that time and his questions related to the behaviour of the Agong in that case. According to Donoghue’s book, Karpal sued the Agong in his own name in 1986 on behalf of businessman Daeng Baha Ismail Daeng Ahmad who alleged that he was brutally attacked and whipped by the Agong. The case was thrown out.

But he had an unlikely ally on the royalty issue in Mahathir who moved a constitutional change in 1993 making all persons, including sultans, accountable before the law, helping to deliver to Mahathir the 20 DAP MP votes for that.

But there was no love lost between the two men. Karpal fought tooth and nail much that Mahathir represented and especially the erosion of judicial independence where Mahathir moved against key judges, appointing others in their place during the 1988 judicial crisis.

In Mar 2007, four years after Mahathir stepped down as prime minister, Karpal wrote to Mahathir saying the judiciary has not recovered and urged him to make an unqualified and unconditional personal apology to three judges involved and their families.

Mahathir replied scathingly that Karpal was moved by pure hatred. “I have done what was my duty and I owe nobody any apology… I think you (Karpal) are the most contemptible of politicians and individuals.”

Apart from the detention under the ISA for 15 months in 1987-89, attempts to get Karpal under the law have been unsuccessful. He survived a sedition charge earlier, was acquitted under a second one only to lose a prosecution appeal recently. If he loses an appeal to the apex court, he could go to jail. But the accident intervened.

His death also deprives Anwar Ibrahim of his main lawyer in his forthcoming appeal to the Federal Court of his Sodomy II conviction by the Court of Appeal after the High Court had acquitted him earlier. Karpal was also Anwar’s main lawyer in Sodomy 1.

Karpal fought against one other thing loudly and strongly – the introduction of Hudud law, a sore point because Pakatan Rakyat coalition partner PAS is the one introducing these. Karpal points out that Huhud law is there and waiting to be implemented in Terengganu. Meantime legislation is being introduced in Kelantan and at the Federal level by PAS.

Grotesque twist

This caused the extremist Zulkifli Nordin to declare that Allah killed him, in a grotesque twist at a time of great mourning for a courageous Malaysian who did more for the country than all the likes of Zulkifli put together, the likes of whom Karpal spent his life fighting against, in fact.

For him and other bigoted people like him who don’t have the grace to acknowledge the passing of a true Malaysian who never differentiated people on the basis of race, religion, language or creed and who never purported to know what God wants, this letter to online portal The Malaysian Insider reproduced in full below says all.

A promise to insensitive politicians.

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 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 cruel and 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 judgment? I am not the Almighty.

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.

– Sheela R.

May Karpal’s soul rest in peace and may his family and friends take comfort that his life was so full of meaning.

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The life and times of Karpal Singh: A fighter to the very end

By Zurairi AR

The Malay Mail Online

April 18, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 — Karpal Singh, the veteran opposition politician, died in a car crash early this morning on the way to a court hearing in Penang, forever defining the DAP chairman as a fighter for just cause to the very end.

Despite his reputation as a political institution, the Bukit Gelugor MP thought of himself as more of a lawyer than a politician, as noted in a media interview during his 70th birthday in 2010.

He was survived by five children, four grandchildren, and Gurmit Kaur, his wife of over 40 years.

Here are some of his defining moments in the Tiger of Jelutong’s illustrious career as a lawyer and statesman:

1970

Following the May 13 riots the year before, Karpal joined DAP citing the party’s multiracial political platform.

He had also started his own law firm after being called to the Penang Bar in 1969.

1977

As a staunch advocate against the death penalty, one of Karpal’s earliest victories was to successfully get a pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for a 14-year-old Chinese boy who had been sentenced to death for possessing a firearm under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

He is alleged to have told the King that the boy’s death would be “politically explosive”.

1978

Karpal won the parliamentary seat of Jelutong, keeping it for five subsequent terms, spanning a  21-year period.

Four years earlier, he had contested for parliamentary and state seats in Kedah. He won the state seat.

1985

In July that year, Karpal defended Australians Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers, who were convicted of drug trafficking by the Penang High Court.

Barlow was sentenced to death in 1986, but Karpal still tried to clear his name afterwards.

1986

Karpal criticised the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Iskandar of Johor, and filed a suit against the King for allegedly assaulting two men in his royal palace.

He was criticised by Barisan Nasional MPs  but refused to apologise.

1987

Karpal defended New Zealander Lorraine Cohen and her son Aaron, who had been charged for drug trafficking. They were both convicted and sentenced to life, before being pardoned and freed in 1996.

It was during this time that Karpal met New Zealand journalist Tim Donoghue, who would later complete his biography. The book, titled “Karpal: Tiger of Jelutong” was released in 2013.

Together with other opposition politicians, Karpal was detained in October under the Internal Security Act, which allows detention without trial,  for “inciting racial tensions”. He was detained until January 1989.

He was subsequently named a “prisoner of conscience” by human rights group Amnesty International.

1989

Karpal accused Deputy Speaker D.P. Vijandran of acting in pornographic videotapes, leading the latter to resign in 1990 despite the case being dismissed due to lack of evidence.

In 1992, he would later pass a copy of the alleged videotape in Parliament to unsuspecting Deputy Speaker Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat with a contingency plan that would include burning the evidence in a flameproof briefcase.

Karpal was worried that the videotape may not be accepted as evidence and that he could be charged with possession of pornographic material instead.

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

1990

In a political rally in Sungai Pinang, Karpal was reported to have made the “An Islamic state over my dead body” quote, leading his detractors to brand him as an “anti-Islam”.

Karpal continued to be a staunch critic against implementing Islamic laws and the Islamic state, insisting that Malaysia is a secular country that has no place for either.

1998

Karpal became the lead counsel for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim after the former deputy prime minister was charged with sodomy.

In September, he accused the authorities of poisoning Anwar, which led him to be arrested under the Sedition Act in January 2000, the first against a lawyer in court.

Karpal would return as Anwar’s lead counsel when Anwar was charged for sodomy the second time in 2008.

2002

In February, Karpal and DAP criticised the Singaporean government for banning Muslim female students from wearing headscarves.

He was barred from practising in Singapore and was denied entry to the city-state to represent the students.

2004

Karpal returned to politics after winning the newly-created Bukit Gelugor parliamentary seat, after five years of absence.

He was also elected DAP National Chairman, succeeding Lim Kit Siang.

2005

Karpal was paralysed from waist-down and bound to a wheelchair after a car rammed the taxi he was travelling in.

A number of people, including some of his best friends, were reported to have suggested it would have been better if he had died.

2009

In February, Karpal was charged for sedition a second time for questioning the involvement of the Sultan of Perak in the Perak Constitutional Crisis, saying the Sultan’s move could be questioned in a court of law.

2010

Karpal was suspended from Parliament for six months, along with opposition fellow MPs Anwar, Azmin Ali, and Sivarasa Rasiah.

Karpal Singh was suspended for contempt of parliamentary proceedings for revealing an influential parliamentary committee’s decision on Anwar before it was disclosed in parliament.

2014

In March, The Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Karpal was guilty of sedition for saying that the Sultan of Perak’s involvement in the constitutional crisis in the state in 2009 could be questioned in a court of law. He was fined RM4,000. The ruling put his political career at risk.

 In the early hours of April 17, the car Karpal was travelling was involved in an accident with a lorry, killing him and his long-time aide, Michael Cornelius.

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A poem for Karpal

– C.K. Yeo

The Malayian Insider

April 18, 2014

Part 1 – The sad tribute

 Fate,

 As life will dictate

 Sad,

 Your work more to add

 Cry,

 Our tears will never dry

 Mourn,

 We will, as you journey on

 Rest,

 You have done your best

 Stay,

 Forever in Heaven’s bay

Part 2 – The tiger’s roar

 Cry,

 We shall, for your sacrifice

 Ask,

 Not why, but who will rise

 Fight,

 Never let justice out of sight

 Roar,

 Louder from shore to shore

 Long,

 Are the days ahead, but no, we won’t fail you, Tiger of Jelutong! – April 18, 2014.

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He is the one…

– Tan Zhong Yan

The Malaysian Insider

April 18, 2014

He is the one whom I look up to since young;

the one whom I respect and admire.

He is the one who will always be at the forefront,

to fight for justice and rights of the weak and oppressed.

He is the one who believes in justice;

the one who upholds the Constitution and the rule of law.

He is the one who is willing to sacrifice everything;

including his liberty and life for a better Malaysia.

He is not Nelson Mandela.

He is not Mahatma Gandhi.

He is not Martin Luther King Jr.

He is Karpal Singh;

a fighter; a hero; a true Malaysian! – April 18, 2014.

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Honour Karpal by continuing his legacy

Mariam Mokhtar | April 18, 2014

Free Malaysia Today

It is now for us to band together and emulate his unshakable sense of duty and fair play, to resume his fight for a just and equal society.

COMMENT

Karpal SinghA plaque, presented by a grateful client, hangs on the wall of Karpal Singh’s office and it reads, ‘Noble and able defender of the defenceless’. The words were a source of inspiration for the Bukit Gelugor MP, whose untimely death in the early hours of Thursday morning, has shocked a nation.

“I will definitely return,” said Karpal to Penang’s Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, when they met recently, and he told Lim that he would vacate his post as the DAP chairman, pending his appeal against the charges of sedition.

A few days after making those remarks, Karpal perished in a car accident on the highway near Gua Tempurung. Malaysia has been robbed of one of its true patriots.

Karpal will return. His death has stirred our consciences. His “return” would be symbolic because it is now for us, to band together and continue his legacy, to resume his fight for a fair, just and equal society for all Malaysians.

Instead of having to thwart one Karpal Singh, the authorities will now have to fight off hundreds, if not thousands of Karpal Singhs, all with one aim – to continue the struggle for fairness, to fight injustice and to uphold the rule of law, without fear or favour. That is Karpal’s “return”.

With his unshakable sense of duty and fair play, Karpal was someone who was never afraid to speak his mind and talk about his values. He fought an uphill battle to make Malaysia a better place for everyone. The politician was a man of conviction, who was much loved, but he was aware that he had made many enemies and was loathed by several extremists.

The lawyer cum politician, whose dogged determination to dispense justice to everyone, rich or poor, Malaysian or foreigner, has touched many lives both at home and abroad. He has defended the poor, pro bono. When he defended four Singaporean Malays who were banned from wearing the tudung in a Singaporean school, the Singaporean government denied him a work visa, and banned him from practising in the island nation.

The Singaporean authorities accused him of meddling in Singapore affairs but he denied this and said that he was trying to defend the constitutional right of the four girls. He has maintained his principle of preserving and defending the Constitution throughout his lifetime.

During a very personal interview with CNN Talk Asia’s reporter Lorraine Hahn, believed to have taken place in 2002, Karpal stressed that he was more a lawyer, than a politician. He talked about his dedication and commitment when discharging his duties as a lawyer, his wife’s sacrifice, his children and his detention under the ISA.

He reflected on his life, and touched on the trial in which he defended Anwar Ibrahim in 1999, when Anwar believed he was being poisoned with arsenic by “those higher up”. Karpal also talked about being the first in the world to be “charged for sedition in the course of defending a client”.

In a moving tribute, he thanked his wife, Gurmit Kaur whom he met in a library in 1968, in Penang.

He said, “I must thank her for what I am today, and for my children. It is not easy to manage my offices when I was under detention, manage the home and take care of the children.”

‘Rest in Peace, Karpal’

Four of his five children have taken up law, and he believes that his incarceration, by former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad, may have some bearing upon their choice of profession.

When asked why his children had chosen to follow in his footsteps, as lawyers, he said: “They have seen me as a lawyer and in politics. None were forced into law. They are probably impressed by my principles, my dedication and my commitment to the law.”

He told his children: “Go by your conscience. Go by your commitment. Do the best you can for your client. Whether you win or not, is not the point. You’ve put in your best. As long as your conscience is clear, and that you gave of your best.”

He talked about his origins in politics, and his involvement in student politics when reading law in Singapore.

He said: “I started in politics because of the race riots of May 13, 1969. The country needed to become a united society, and I thought I could contribute to this, by helping a multiracial party to win power. The DAP, which I joined in 1970 was, and still is, the best party to meet this “end”.”

He explained why he read law in Singapore and his admission to the bar in Penang. He said: “My father wanted me to be a doctor, but I took up law as a challenge. I felt it was the right profession for me and I think I made the right choice.”

He talked about himself: “Yes, one has to be idealistic to achieve one’s aim.”

Reflecting on his past, he said: “I have no regrets and would start again the same as before. A lawyer has no free time. I am always thinking of the cases. You have to take it as it comes. I read a lot, most of it is legal text.”

When Hahn asked him when he would call it quits, he said, almost prophetically, “A good lawyer dies in the saddle. A lawyer has to keep going. I have to go on, physically and mentally.”

Today, in open defiance of the foolish political statement made by the National Fatwa Council, I would like to join all Malaysians and say “Karpal Singh, Rest in Peace. You have done your best, we will continue your work.”

To Karpal’s long-time aide who also died yesterday: “Michael Cornelius, Rest in Peace.”

We wish a speedy recovery for the injured, Karpal’s driver, Karpal’s son and also his maid.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Karpal Singh and Michael Cornelius, in this very difficult time.

Mariam Mokhtar is a FMT columnist

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KARPAL SINGH

Michael Ong

19.4.2014

Karpal was unquestionably unique

A gentle giant among lawyers and politicians

Relentlessly reaching for justice within a weaken judiciary

Playing the game despite rigged rules and changing goal posts

Always hoping against hope that a new dawn will deliver

Light despite the constraints of a limited democracy

Such was his lifelong quest fighting for others less versed in law

Indomitable in spirit and against the odds he persistently prevailed

Not counting the personal costs he fought for all Malaysians

Giving his time and energy to achieve a Malaysian Malaysia

His life is thus a challenge and call to all Malaysians to achieve his dream.

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Karpal’s roaring spirit lives on

Josh Hong

Malaysiakini

Apr 18, 2014

Like many, I belong to the generation who grew up hearing the great name and deeds of Karpal Singh who fought tirelessly for a just Malaysia that would adhere to constitutionalism at all costs.

The fact that I had never met the man personally did not stop me from developing a profound admiration for his fighting spirit. In the past 15 years especially, the borderless Internet has made access to news and information far easier, and I enjoy thoroughly watching Karpal’s public speeches and listening to his uplifting messages that he was hammering home.

 Most importantly, coming from a generation when legal practice was highly respected and in which lawyers and judges must work strenuously, arduously and judiciously to prove their worth, Karpal has clearly left a deep imprint in Malaysian society.

 In any mature and healthy parliamentary democracy, the tragic and untimely passing of an outstanding lawyer and also a formidable parliamentarian who has contributed tremendously to upholding the true spirit of law and constitution as well as to the democratic process would rightly deserve a full and proper acknowledgement by the state, and parliament would be recalled so that fellow lawmakers could have an opportunity to pay tributes to an experienced and well respected statesman.

 But Karpal was not born in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada or New Zealand but Malaysia. Be that as it may, one can take comfort in the fact that the Tiger of Jelutong himself would have no regret being born a true son of Malaysian soil and fighting a good fight for a country that he held dear.

 Karpal’s powerful legal arguments, unshakeable sense of principle, impeccable command of the English language and, needless to say, sacrosanct adherence to the secular basis of the Malaysian consitution are largely unmatched by others. Without belittling those who are in the legal fraternity, the Tiger is indeed a tough act to follow.

It is already public knowledge that Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh have been the twin pillars of the Democratic Action Party. With Karpal’s departure, Kit Siang’s journey to a better Malaysia has become all the more lonely.

 Karpal’s role in Malaysian politics can never be underestimated. Despite the readily available young blood in the party, I would say none has his acute sense of constitutionalism and legal insight as of now. As Malaysia is on the verge of democratic change, a senior and experienced lawmaker who is fastidious – almost to the point of being dogmatic – about the rule of law would be badly needed, whicn makes the untimely demise of Karpal all the more lamentable.

Never partisan and communal

 What distinguishes Karpal from other politicians – be they from the BN or Pakatan – is that he is never partisan and communal in terms of political view. One hardly heard him talking about ethnicity, race or religion, for his leitmotif has always been the constitution, the constitution and the constitution.

 And it is this unassailable conviction and unswerving determination that prompted him to support Mahathir Mohamad in curtailing the powers of the monarch in accordance with the constitution back in 1993, their political differences notwithstanding. And the same Karpal would have no qualms in chastising PAS whenever the latter was (and still is) bent on implementing hudud.

 As for those who are quick ot accuse Karpal of being anti-Islam, they would do well to know the man once represented a group of Muslim girls in Singapore who wanted to have their headgear on in school. As far as Karpal was concerned, it mattered not if one was Muslim or else, or Chinese or Indian, but whether one’s rights were enshrined in the constitution. Bravo!

I must admit I myself have in the past misunderstood Karpal when it came to the Islamic state issue, criticising him for seeking to upstage his coalition partners by tackling the PAS leadership head-on.

 In retrospect, it is clear that the presence of Karpal in Pakatan has been a wonderful and  immense blessing to the country, for only he would have the valour to speak up when the politicians and the masses were on the wrong side of the constitution. It is this unique quality that has earned him the respect of both Mahathir and Nik Aziz Nik Mat, PAS’s spiritual leader.

 Yes, I am truly wrong to have once considered Karpal to be in the same league as other political publicists, but I am certain the good man would just laugh at me and move on to the issues that should deserve his utmost attention.

 Rest in peace, Karpal. You have given your best and will be sorely missed. We are doomed to failure as a nation if we do not rise up against the bigots and safeguard secular constitutionalism as you have valiantly done. I will mourn now no doubt, but I will make sure I emerge stronger, braver and wiser thereafter.

 After all, being proud of and thankful to you is not enough, for your biggest legacy would be that we all become inspired by you to take up the cause and fight on fearlessly for a better Malaysia. So long!

 JOSH HONG studied politics at London Metropolitan University and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A keen watcher of domestic and international politics, he longs for a day when Malaysians will learn and master the art of self-mockery, and enjoy life to the full in spite of politicians.

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St Xavier’s schools honour Karpal

 – Francis Loh Kok Wah

The Malaysian Insider

April 18, 2014

The Board of Governors and Managers of the St Xavier’s schools in Penang have expressed sorrow over the death of one of their most illustrious students.

We, the Boards of Governors and Managers of St Xavier’s Institution, SK St Xavier’s, and SK St Xavier’s Cawangan are deeply saddened to hear of YB Karpal Singh’s sudden death.

Karpal was one of our “towering Malaysians”, a most illustrious son, no doubt.

He was dubbed the “Tiger of Jelutong”, from where he was repeatedly elected into Parliament, before he moved to contest and represent Bukit Gelugor, both constituencies in Penang.

Karpal was a fearless and renowned lawyer. In and out of Parliament, Karpal spoke out bravely against the making of unjust and bad laws, and opposed policies that discriminated against the downtrodden and minorities while favouring the cronies and racial or religious exclusivists.

He also condemned the use of these bad laws to oppress critics, activists and opposition leaders.

In this regard, he was among those detained without trial under the Internal Security Act during Ops Lalang 1987.

He was respected not only among freedom-loving and justice-seeking Malaysians of all races and religions, he was also respected by foreign political leaders and law experts, and international human rights groups.

He was proud of his party, the Democratic Action Party, and ultimately served as its chairman.

Yet Karpal never forgot his roots. One of these roots led back to his alma mater in Penang. In 2009, he was the guest of honour at SXI’s annual speech day.

In 2011, he came to SXI to speak at the launching of the memoirs entitled “The Man from Borneo”, authored by Rev Bro Datuk Michael Jacques, his former teacher.

In 2012, he found time to grace the 160th anniversary dinner commemorating the founding of his alma mater in 1852, and in 2013, he came to pay his respects and to bid farewell to Rev Bro Datuk Charles Levin, the longest-serving director of SXI.

Indeed, it was Karpal who had nominated the good Brother for datukship honours from the Penang government. He also donated generously to SXI’s various causes.

And now, we mourn the passing of YB Karpal Singh, too. No doubt, he imbibed many La Salle values, not least our special concern for “the last, the lost and the least”.

Karpal’s death is a major loss for our country and Parliament, his party and the democratic struggle, and to our St Xavier’s schools.

May our students and all young Malaysians learn from Karpal’s love, service and dedication to his nation Malaysia, and to people of all faiths and races.

Rest in Peace, dear Sir. God’s Peace and Blessings to you, and to your family and friends on this sorrowful occasion. – April 18, 2014.

* Dr Francis Loh Kok Wah is chairman, Board of Governors, St Xavier’s Institution, and Board of Managers, SK St Xavier and SK St Xavier Cawangan.

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We love you, Tiger of Jelutong, grandchildren bid Karpal farewell

by Lee Shi-Ian

The Malaysian Insider

April 19, 2014

The late Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh was given a moving tribute and farewell by his grandchildren tonight, who vowed to take up the mantle of Tiger of Jelutong.

The 11 grandchildren, aged between 1½ years and 11, showed the media a poster which they had made together.

“Singh is King. We love you, Tiger of Jelutong. We will miss you. Jangan main-main. My defender of the defenceless. We will all be tigers like you,” the grandchildren said.

Karpal’s eldest son, Jagdeep Singh Deo, told the media that his son had a dream about Karpal on the night the accident occurred.

The Datuk Keramat assemblyman said Aakshay Singh Deo, 11, had the dream prior to discovering that Karpal had died in the accident.

“I had a wonderful dream that night, as me and Karpal were walking along a beach,” Aakshay said in a clear voice.

“He was hugging me a lot as we walked on the beach. I felt that he had gotten his legs back,” he said.

“After a while, he walked off into the sunset,” said Aakshay.

Jagdeep said when he reached home and his son told him about the dream, he asked his wife whether the children knew Karpal had died.

“My wife told me that she had not broken the news to the children yet,” Jagdeep said, adding that he left for Kampar at 2.30am on Thursday.

It had been a hectic day at Karpal’s house in Jalan Utama with hundreds of well-wishers queuing up to pay their respects.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and his father, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, were at the house for most of the day.

PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail also paid her respects and recalled how Karpal had defended her husband, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“In both the sodomy cases, Karpal represented Anwar as his legal counsel,” Wan Azizah said.

“What is more saddening is that when the accident occurred on Thursday, Anwar’s documents and case files were with Karpal.”

She said despite defending Anwar on two occasions, Karpal had never taken a single sen from her family for his services.

“The country has lost one of its favourite sons who had contributed immensely to Malaysia throughout his life.”

She said Karpal was never afraid to stand up against cruelty and injustice, giving hope when all was lost.

Karpal had been detained under the Internal Security Act 1960 in 1987 when opposition figures were arrested during Ops Lalang.

“He was very good to our family, he could be very fierce but he was always soft and polite to us.”

In the 1.10am accident on Thursday, Karpal, 73, and his personal assistant Michael Cornelius, 39, died after their Toyota Alphard was involved in a collision with a lorry.

The accident occurred along KM306.1 of the North-South Expressway. – April 19, 2014.

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A grand send-off for the Tiger of Jelutong

By Zalinah Noordin and Michael Murty

The Rakyat Post

20.4.2014

GEORGE TOWN, April 20:

The streets of Penang today were filled with tens of thousands of people from all walks of life who came out to celebrate the life of the late Karpal Singh.

The day started as early as 6am at Karpal’s residence today with many gathering outside his bungalow in Jalan Utama even before the gates were opened at 7.30am.

Things started to pick up from there as Karpal’s hearse left his home, accompanied by his eldest son, Jagdeep Singh Deo.

Jagdeep appeared composed, but somewhat forlorn as he sat in the front passenger seat of the van.

The past three days have also seen a steady stream of political leaders, supporters, friends, family and the common folk of Penang, who had adored Karpal, pouring into his residence to pay their last respects.

It was an emotional farewell as his hearse was brought to the Dewan Seri Pinang in Jalan Tun Syed Barakbah for a two-hour funeral service in which the former DAP chairman and Bukit Gelugor Member of Parliament (MP) was accorded state honours.

The weather seemed to accommodate the thousands of people who waited patiently for their turn to pay their last respects to the man known fondly as the “Tiger of Jelutong.”

At the hall, there was a wide range of emotions.

Being there, it was apparent that people from all races and standing had come together to pay their last respects. They put their hands together in prayer, kneeling in respect and sobbing in honest despair at the death of a leader they had come to respect.

The energy exuded within the hall was unforgettable.

Karpal’s wife Gurmit Kaur and the couple’s children remained composed, shedding the odd tear, knowing that they had to be strong to see that he received the send-off he deserved.

His grandchildren were playful, their young age shielding them from the abundance of hurt their parents were going through.

Karpal was honoured by various people, parties and even the state governor Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas and his consort, Toh Puan Majimor Shariff.

About noon, the cortege left the hall, making its way to four significant stops for Karpal before arriving at the Bukit Gantung United Hokkien Cemeteries crematorium.

The stops were the Penang High Court, the veteran politician’s office in Green Hall, the Penang State Assembly building as well as Karpal’s alma mater St Xavier’s Institution (SXI).

Penang came to a standstill for one of its most loved sons.

The cortege eventually made its way to where the last rites were performed at the crematorium by his family to the roar and cheer of the Penang folk.

Tensions arose when people refused to give space to the family to perform these rites, a testament to how much Karpal and his family had given to the people, even in his death.

His body was eventually cremated at 2.30pm and his ashes will be collected tomorrow and scattered into the sea.

As reporters covering the whole wake and funeral of Karpal Singh, it was hard for us to contain the tears ourselves as we realised how much this one man had meant to the people.

The massive turnout was an indication as to how he had dominated the legal fraternity, how much he had influenced the political scene in the country and how much he meant to those in the Pearl of the Orient, who had turned out to bid him their last goodbye.

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Awe, hysteria and vindication at Karpal’s funeral

by Himanshu Bhattand Sangeetha Amarthalingam And Azril Annuar

FZ.COM

Apr 20, 2014

GEORGE TOWN (April 20): It was the sort of send-off never before seen by Malaysians in living memory.The dramatic outpouring of of adulation as the cortege of the late Karpal Singh passed through the streets of his hometown of Penang will surely reverberate in the annals of our history.

It was indeed a sumptuous tribute to a most iconic and colourful hero of our times.

Karpal, 74, who passed away in an accident in the pre-dawn hours of April 17, was neither a minister nor an official dignitary, and did not hold any position in the government.

He was an opposition parliamentarian and an advocate noted for his courageous and bold stands for various segments of society.

At the same time he was reviled by the powers that be for his indignant and untiring efforts to weed out malpractices and misgovernment.

Karpal, had in his long and eventful career in law and politics been famously incarcerated without trial under the draconian Internal Security Act.

In fact, prior to his death he was on the verge of appealing a sedition-related sentence of RM4,000 fine which would have stripped him of his status as an MP for Bukit Gelugor.

However, as it had so happened, the immense tributes and public grief from all segments of society at the epilogue of his life have appeared as vindication of his unwavering commitment to stick by his principles, no matter the challenges heaped against him.

Resounding Sikh call to defend innocents

His funeral day began with firecrackers erupting as the cortege emerged from his Jalan Utama home to make its way for ceremony with state honours at the Dewan Sri Pinang hall.

The stream of personages who queued to pay their respects was no less impressive than the tens of thousands of common people who thronged around the complex for an opportunity to bid him farewell.

Fittingly, his casket was draped with the state flag of Penang, and the flag of his beloved party, the DAP.

At the end of the official ceremony, the wafting strains of the verses of the Sikh holy book `Guru Granth Sahib’ were heard by all.

It was then – in the most symbolic projection of Karpal’s reputed character – that the loud clarion call of the Sikhs, as defenders of the innocent, resounded through the speakers in the hall as well as along the entire hushed complex and the roads outside: “Bole Sonihal! Saasriakal!”

Poignant moments during cortege procession

As his casket was led out, the floods of emotion surfaced amidst the multiracial crowd as people wept and cried “Karpal Singh! Karpal Singh!”.

Thousands of people on foot and scores of roaring motorbikes escorted him.

The cortege stopped in a deeply poignant moment in front of the Penang court complex’s main gate at Light Street with the avenue of Green Hall where Karpal’s legal office is sited just across the street.

It next stopped at the Penang State Legislative Assembly where Karpal had served as an assemblyman in 1970s and 1980s. Known as the “Tiger of Jelutong”, Karpal was an eight-term MP of Bukit Gelugor and Jelutong, as well as 4-term assemblyman in Kedah and Penang, first elected in 1974.

Later, hundreds of St Xavier’s Institution students and alumni burst into the school’s anthem as the cortege of one of their favourite sons stopped at the front gate of Farquhar Street.

Meanwhile, the crowd swelled further, and a convoy of firetrucks and ambulances belonging to volunteer squads wailed their sirens as his cortege turned into Penang Road.

Traffic came to a standstill along entire stretches of Penang Road and Burma Road as the streets were flooded with people and bikes streaming with the cortege in its journey to the United Hokkien Cemetery in Batu Gantong where he was later cremated.

As the day approached its end and the hysteria waned, all those who had witnessed the historic occasion were left to rue if such a one as the great Karpal Singh will ever, in flesh or in spirit, rise on the Malaysian soil again.

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In funeral procession, thousands chant ‘Karpal Singh! Karpal Singh! Karpal Singh’ (VIDEO)

BY SHAZWAN MUSTAFA KAMAL

The Malaysian Insider

APRIL 20, 2014

GEORGE TOWN, April 20 — The streets of Penang’s historical city centre roared with the voices of thousands calling out the name of their state’s beloved son — Karpal Singh.

Elbows jostled with shoulders as admirers of the late lawyer and lawmaker surged through a sea of bodies for a final glimpse of their hero as his casket was loaded onto a hearse for the state funeral procession around the streets of George Town, where Karpal had studied, set up his legal practice, fought epic courtroom battles and debated the law.

Emotions ran high as the huge crowd, which had gathered in front of Dewan Sri Pinang as early as 7am, shouted in unison “Karpal Singh! Karpal Singh! Karpal Singh!”

Banners and posters bearing the deceased Bukit Gelugor MP’s familiar face were placed all over the entrance of the building; tents were erected to allow visitors a place to rest and to shelter from the sweltering heat.

Inside the town hall, family members recited last prayer rites for Karpal. Outside the chanting tumult swelled to a roar.

Earlier, three separate official tributes were given to the former DAP national chairman — one by the Penang state government, one by his party and one more by Pakatan Rakyat leaders led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

DAP leaders, young and old wore their trademark white shirt and black pants, and watched silently as Karpal’s casket was shut for the last time.

The funeral cortège has left the building and will pass and stop briefly at the Penang High Court, his legal firm in Green Hall, the Penang state legislative assembly and alma mater St Xavier’s Institution.

It will then proceed to the Bukit Gantung crematorium for the final rites.

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In Karpal, slain Beng Hock’s kin saw a beacon of hope

By Opalyn Mok

The Malaysian Insider

April 19, 2014

GEORGE TOWN, April 19 — The house at Number 144A Jalan Utama has seen a ceaseless stream of visitors since morning.

They came from all walks of life, mostly in groups, sometimes alone to offer their condolences to the family of the late Karpal Singh.

And to pay homage to the man they had greatly respected in life for his dedication to serving his fellow men, fighting their battles in Parliament and in court, unwavering in his steadfast belief in the rule of law.

The small group that managed to squeeze in after lunch had travelled all the way from Malacca.

On the faces of the late Teoh Beng Hock’s family was the sombre look that signalled the grief of a loved one snatched from life all too soon.

But their faces also wore the knowledge that even death does not halt the pursuit of justice.

Teoh Lee Lan, younger sister to Beng Hock found dead under suspicious circumstances while in the custody of anti-corruption officials, related how her family had run into the indefatigable lawyer at the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya just a day before his death and how he had helped lift their flagging spirit.

“He told us we have a good chance to win the case, to get the police to reopen the investigation and to nab the culprits behind my brother’s death,” she told reporters.

The Teohs have spent the last four years seeking a revision of the open verdict made at the inquest into 31-year-old Beng Hock’s death.

Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas had on January 5, 2011 delivered an open verdict that said Beng Hock’s death was not due to suicide and neither did it involve a third-party.

But on July 21 last year, a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Beng Hock’s death — chaired by now-retired Federal Court judge Tan Sri James Foong Cheng Yuen — ruled the young father-to-be had killed himself.

Beng Hock was the political secretary to then-Selangor state executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah.

He was found dead on the fifth floor corridor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 16, 2009, after giving a statement at the Selangor branch of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s office, then located on the 14th floor of the same building.

Gobind Singh is the Teoh family’s lead counsel in their appeal while Karpal had assisted in the case.

“We are very grateful to Karpal and Gobind for the support they gave us and we too feel the pain of this loss,” Lee Lan said.

She said she came to the wake to tell Karpal that they were there to visit him and to thank him for all his help.

“I am sure he can hear us and he knows we are here,” she said, adding that they will stay on for the funeral tomorrow.

Coincidentally, tomorrow is also Beng Hock’s birthday. He would have been 35 had he lived.

Lee Lan said the family would normally visit his grave at the Nirvana Memorial Park in Nilai, Negri Sembilan.

This year, they postponed their annual visit to attend Karpal’s funeral.

“We wanted to be here for Karpal and his family, like how he and Gobind were there for us,” Lee Lan said.

She also expressed her utmost confidence in Gobind in handling their appeal, even without Karpal to assist.

“Gobind is a very capable lawyer, we fully trust him. We only feel sad for his loss now,” she said.

Karpal was killed in an early morning road accident on the North-South Expressway April 17, while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Penang for a court hearing.

The 73-year-old is survived by his wife of over 40 years, Gurmit Kaur, his five children and 11 grandchildren.

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Karpal’s dead body still no walkover

Abdar Rahman Koya

The Malaysian Insider

April 19, 2014

The Malay adage “Harimau mati tinggalkan belang, manusia mati tinggalkan nama” (A tiger leaves behind its stripes, a man leaves behind his deeds) can’t be more apt in describing the passing away of the Tiger of Jelutong.

Karpal Singh was both a tiger whose stripes patterned the Malaysian political landscape for so long, and a man whose name dominated contemporary Malaysian legal history. The courts and the Parliament will have a hard time shedding away his stripes for a long time.

In court, Karpal’s presence is a signal that a case is to be treated as important, deserving the widest coverage. He can choose to represent a food stall owner, or a former deputy prime minister, and both cases would be keenly observed by the legal fraternity. For when Karpal is the lawyer, it is not how a case would end, it is how it was argued in court.

Karpal proved that a good lawyer is not someone who never loses a case, but someone who takes the most difficult one and stands not a chance to either acquit or get a huge sum rewarded to his client.
 But Karpal wasn’t interested in the end result of his cases.

In a difficult one where his clients’ conviction was a foregone conclusion, he saw an opportunity to expose the judiciary and challenge existing laws in order to highlight their deficiencies and push for changes where parliament failed. Such was the case when he defended many foreign nationals facing the mandatory death sentence for drug trafficking, something he had opposed at a time when Malaysians would proudly hear this law announced to airline passengers who touched down at the Subang airport, believing it was the best solution to the scourge.

Karpal also took cases which did not need his decades of experience, and which could well be handled by that young lawyer who pretends a hectic court life, whose shelves are filled with hardbound books on criminal law but whose desk is piled with sales and purchase agreements waiting to be signed. Such was the case when Karpal represented Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the criminal charge brought against the former inspector general of police, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor, who had beaten a blindfolded Anwar to a pulp after the latter was said to have uttered the word “anjing” (dog), the street slang to describe the men in blue during the height of the reformasi.

Who would forget the way he remarked in court while cross-examining Rahim Noor, who had then claimed he was provoked by Anwar’s choice of word. Karpal then questioned how a blindfolded Anwar could have directed the word “anjing” at Rahim, and wondered loudly in court if it was the canine-like body odour of the former police chief which could have triggered Anwar’s response!

But perhaps Karpal is best known for his strong and uncompromising stand against the goal to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state, symbolised by his challenge to advocates of the Islamic state to walk “over my dead body”. This phrase soon became a household name in the debate on the Islamic state, while at the same time turning Karpal’s enemies into friends, and friends into enemies, something he seemed to be good at in his long career.

While many at that time took it as an insult, Karpal had essentially thrown a challenge to PAS and other advocates of the Islamic state, who either out of ignorance or for political points have made the hudud as the end-all of their faith. It then occurred to them that turning Malaysia into an Islamic state was fraught with legal challenges and was a task not helped by Malaysia’s socio-political reality, mainly thanks to the way Islam was preached and controlled in this country.

Walking over Karpal’s dead body means proving his perception of the Islamic state wrong. It is a perception formed by the state of the Malaysian Muslim intelligentsia and their confusion about religion and race. It is a perception brought upon by the silly bureaucrats in the cushy seats of Putrajaya, who dish out fatwas during the day and stalk sinning couples during the night. It is a perception formed by the failure of the so-called Islamic states, such as the one helmed by the Saudi priests, whose spotlessly clean, long garbs betray their cluelessness about life’s realities.

Such perceptions have only been further reinforced by the custody battle involving a Hindu mother and her Muslim ex-husband, when the Shariah court thought the role of the Islamic justice is to ensure the Muslim demography.

Two decades have passed after Karpal’s statement was thrown into the Islamic state debate, but his dead body is still not a walkover. The Islamic state debate has become shallower than ever, made worse by the kiss of death given by skull-capped nincompoops from Umno to well-meaning Muslims in this country. – April 19, 2014.

Abdar Rahman Koya is at the end of his thirties, and considers himself to have all the qualities of an ordinary Malaysian, a practising Muslim, and an incorrigible cynic.

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Melbourne’s MAP 2010: A response to the withdrawal of speaking invite to YB Tony Pua in Melbourne

― Zairee Othman

The Malay Mail Online

April 19, 2014

APRIL 19 ― I feel compelled to share my stories in light of the recent withdrawal of speaking invitation from MASCA to Tony Pua, a Member of Parliament from DAP. Although this came not as a total surprise, I have been constantly disappointed with the endless attempts by government officials who try to control Malaysian student-movements, overseas or locally.

I was asked by a good friend of mine to give my take on this issue in my capacity as a project manager of a previous conference in Melbourne in 2010, which also involved politicians.

In 2010, we held our first ever public debate and conference in Australia called Malaysian Aspiration Program (MAP). The conference was fully organised by students and we had the privilege to host 4 speakers as our guest panellists ― i.e. a Malaysian university professor, the then President of Australia-Malaysia Business Council (AMBC), President of IDEAS (Tunku Zain al-‘Abidin), and YB Tony Pua.

I could remember vividly that we too had trouble of getting the approval from the Education Malaysia (EM, or Malaysian Students’ Department (MSD), as it was known then) to hold the conference. We had a roundtable discussion between the organisers and the MSD as a sign of goodwill to get them onboard. The discussion was very calm and fruitful as we managed to turn the table around and get them to agree on our line of speakers. As a result, they were even willing to become a major sponsor for the event under one of their so-called student development programmes. We agreed to hold the discussion with them regardless of many of the organizing committee members are JPA and MARA scholars ― who would risk being questioned by the scholarship officials on their participation.

We had a rehearsal the night before the event kicked off. Our MSD representatives were there to observe our preparation. We planned to have a poll on “Do you think Malaysia has a brighter future?” before the students and guests go inside the conference hall and would project the outcome of the poll just before the event concluded. When the officials saw it, they subtly told me to “manipulate” the outcome should it go negatively.

It really was a huge integrity test for the team and me. As much as I would like to please them, I also have a responsibility to everyone attending the event to tell the truth ― as much as my responsibility as a Muslim to be honest by telling the truth. As such, I did not let it happen.

The event was a great success and we managed to create a platform for intellectual discourse. The students in attendance spoke their mind and gave positive inputs towards building a better future for Malaysia. We hoped that the forum could be the “spark” that would encourage more participation in intellectual discourse.

Values that may have changed

Given my experience with MSD and the government officials in Australia at large, I would understand the predicament that the MASA organisers are facing right now. In fact, I am sure our student council in the UK back in their early days faced the same difficult situation in dealing with MSD. I also heard stories of how some of them almost got sent back to Malaysia due to their being too outspoken in the late 90s. Well, mark my word; these outspoken, blunt and vocal lads are currently the Who’s Who in the Malaysian corporate and political landscape. Go figure.

What I am trying to say is, whatever decision that MASCA had made, it must have been a reflection of their values. They could have risked losing a sponsor had they agreed to bring along Tony Pua. In fact, the repercussion of losing a sponsorship is so great that they would give up on the very values of having a public debate in the first place i.e. allowing for different perspectives on things. Or they could have let Tony Pua speak, but risked losing a big chunk of their sponsorship money. Either way, a point of compromise must have been made before coming to a decision and to a certain extent, being a laughing stock of those who care.

Whatever the outcome is, I am glad that the organisers had the courage to make the call despite being seen as clearly succumbing to pressures by EM and to bitterly own up to their decision. A word of comfort, you will feel a sense of deja-vu when you enter the working world in the near future and by then, you would know what you need to do. Whatever it may be, do not wash your hands of the responsibility as a student council and lose your integrity by being a puppet to people who are not interested in student development and critical thinking ― because that would be unbecoming of a student leader.

To the officers at EM, I implore you to look at things from a positive side. There is absolutely no harm in inviting an opposition leader for a forum so long as there is another person from the other side of the political aisle who can tip the balance.

*The writer is a former Deputy Chairman of the Victorian Chapter of the Malaysian Students’ Council of Australia (MASCA) and a co-founder of MAP

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MH370 flight recorders search to be completed within seven days

The Guardian/Reuters

19 April 2014

Indian Ocean hunt by US navy deep-sea vehicle narrows to an area with a radius of just 10km

The underwater search for the flight recorders from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 could be completed in five to seven days, Australian officials said on Saturday.

A US navy deep-sea autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), Bluefin-21, is scouring a remote stretch of the Indian Ocean floor for signs of the plane, which disappeared from radars on 8 March with 239 people on board and is believed to have crashed in the area.

The underwater search has been narrowed to a circular area with a radius of 10km (6.2 miles) around the location from which one of four pings believed to have come from the recorders was detected on 8 April, officials said.

The huge international search-and-rescue effort for any physical evidence of the plane’s wreckage, now in its seventh week, had so far proved fruitless.

“Provided the weather is favourable for launch and recovery of the AUV and we have a good run with the serviceability of the AUV, we should complete the search of the focused underwater area in five to seven days,” the Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre said.

Officials did not indicate whether they were confident this search area would yield new information about the flight, nor did they say what steps they would take if nothing was found.

The comment came after the agency said on Thursday previous media reports suggesting the underwater search could take as long as several months were inaccurate.

Search planes and ships from a half dozen countries had tried to catch any glimpse of the wreckage after nearly two months of daily sorties, making this the most expensive such operation in aviation history.

After almost two weeks without a signal, and long past the flight recorder battery’s 30-day life expectancy, authorities were increasingly reliant on the $4 million Bluefin-21 drone, which on Saturday was expected to dive to unprecedented depths.

Because visual searches of the ocean surface had yielded no concrete evidence, the drone and its ability to search deep beneath the ocean surface with “side scan” sonar had become the focus of the search 2,000km (1,200 miles) west of the Australian city of Perth.

The search so far had centred on a city-sized area where a series of “pings” led authorities to believe the plane’s flight recorders might be located.

The current refined search area was based on one such transmission.

After the drone’s searches were frustrated by an automatic safety mechanism that returned it to the surface when it exceeded a depth of 4.5km (14,763 feet), technicians adjusted the mechanism and sent it as deep as a record 4.695km (15,403 feet).

But hopes that it might soon guide searchers to some wreckage were dwindling with no sign of any debris after six deployments spanning 133 square kilometres (83 square miles).

Footage from the drone’s sixth mission was still being analysed, the agency said on Saturday.

Malaysian acting transport minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said in a Twitter post the government’s deployment of assets committee was considering using more AUVs, a possible sign of growing confidence in the vessels. He did not elaborate.

On Monday, the search co-ordinator, retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, said the air and surface search for debris would likely end by the middle of the week as the operation shifted its focus to the ocean floor.

But the air and surface searches have continued daily, and on Saturday the agency said up to 11 military aircraft and 12 ships would help with the day’s search covering about 50,200 square kilometres (31,000 square miles) across three areas.

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Mourn, but fete Karpal’s achievements, too

Lim Guan Eng

Malaysiakini

Apr 20, 2014

EULOGY
 We mourn the untimely and unexpected passing of DAP national chairperson and Member of Parliament for Bukit Gelugor, Saudara Karpal Singh.

 Karpal is an eight-term MP, for Bukit Gelugor and Jelutong, as well as a three- term state assemblyman in Penang, first elected in 1978.

For 40 years, Karpal dedicated his life to the legal profession, fighting for justice, upholding our constitutional rights to freedom and human rights. His landmark cases are textbook references for lawyers.

 A devoted father and husband to his wife Gurmit Kaur, both of them brought up five children who are all successful practising lawyers, except for the youngest who is an accountant. The eldest, Jagdeep is at present a Penang state executive councillor, while the second eldest Gobind is the Member of Parliament for Puchong.

 With his life suddenly cut short at 74 years, following the tragic accident on the highway on April 17, Penang has lost an upstanding and outstanding leader and lawyer. The rakyat lost a fearless “tiger” with an indomitable spirit who stood up for the poor, weak, defenceless and dispossessed.

Karpal’s fighting spirit stands out

 But it his fighting spirit that stands out. You can detain Karpal physically, but you can never detain his spirit.

 I saw this myself, when we were both detained without trial under the now repealed Internal Security Act (ISA) in 1988, at the Kamunting Detention Camp. He suffered from severe spinal back pains, but refused to yield.

 This refusal to yield was evident even after Karpal suffered an unfortunate accident in 2005, which paralysed him waist-down.

 Not only did he overcome this paralysis, but he continued his brilliant legal and political career. Karpal became the first disabled person in Malaysia to be elected twice to Parliament, both times with huge majorities.

In seeking both rule of law and a better Malaysia, Karpal practised what he preached – refusing to take fees for cases of gross injustices, even from the famous VIPs like parliamentary Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Kit Siang, and even from the poor Malay, Indian or Chinese.

 His departure will leave an immense void, not only in his family’s lives, but also in those of all Malaysians whose lives have been inspired by his principled cause.

 To Karpal’s family, we share your grief in this time of bereavement with deepest sympathies and condolences.

 Thomas Jefferson said that when the government fears the people, there is liberty; when the people fear the government, there is tyranny. Throughout his life, Karpal showed us how not to fear the government.

 Let us therefore mourn Karpal Singh, and at the same time, honour him by celebrating his accomplishments and realising his aspirations for justice, integrity and freedom.

 Thank you, Karpal. Rest in peace.

This is the State Eulogy presented by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng during the public funeral conducted by the Penang State Government for Karpal Singh at Dewan Sri Pinang at 10.15am on April 20.

 LIM GUAN ENG is Chief Minister of Penang and DAP secretary-general.

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My tribute to Karpal Singh

 – Sakmongkol AK47

The Malaysian Insider

April 19, 2014

Are the tears of a grieving non-Muslim widow any different from the tears of a grieving Muslim widow? Are the tears and feeling of absolute loss by non-Muslim sons and daughters any different than those of the same who are Muslims?

They are undeniably the same.

It does not matter if some people took the opportunity from the death of Mr Karpal Singh, lawyer and MP for Bukit Gelugor to make fun and revel in derisive jubilation. It only reflects their upbringing.  In the immortal words of Michael Caine in the war movie The Eagles Have Landed- they remind me of something I occasionally pick up on my shoe in the gutter, very unpleasant on a hot day.

At round 2.33am in the early morning of 17th April, there was a whatsapp message from Mr V Sivakumar MP who said: jus received a call from someone, said sdr Karpal met with an accident near Gopeng. Is it true?

The first answer came from Kahsturi  Patto, MP who answered: Not Sure Yb.

At 2.55am a message from Gobind Singh MP said:

Just been informed Mr Karpal and Michael passed away. Driver in serious condition. Ramkarpal is alive.

I can’t even begin to imagine the emotions that went through Gobind when he relayed that message. Utterly devastating.

That was the time when many DAP MPs received news of the passing of Mr Karpal Singh, MP and his faithful assistant and minder, Michael.

Last week towards the end of the Parliament session, I caught hold of Mr Karpal at the exit of parliament chambers. His son, Mr Gobind Singh MP was standing beside him. I bent forward to touch the arm of Mr Karpal to wish him some pleasantries. I then shook hands with Mr Gobind and said Hello Puchong to which he answered, Yes Raub, everything ok?

That was to be my last encounter with Mr karpal Singh MP, who will forever be iconised as the Tiger of Jelutong. On a number of previous occasions I came across him when he alighted from his Alphard helped by the driver and his Michael Cornelius.

I join all conscientious Malaysians of all races to express the deepest of sadness, sorrow and a feeling of loss over the man known for his uncompromising upholding of truth and justice. Fought with equal vehemence through politics and the law.

What did Karpal Singh fight for?

For as long as I remember Karpal fought for the supremacy of the law. The law which he understood to mean that everyone living in the realm is subjected as equals before the law. As a result of this unshakeable conviction, he has been able to dispute and challenge every transgression of the law irrespective of who the author of those transgressions is.

Be it the high and mighty, the royal family and we have had so many of them who have broken all sorts of law these years, the politicians and the powerful. I suspect he has a natural inclination to be on the side of the oppressed, the weak and powerless, and the common people.

Karpal Singh is radical in that sense. He actually delights and savors a fight with the establishment- in any form and guise into which he tears through with reason, the law and conviction. He does not believe in any god-incarnate institutions here in Malaysia. His unshakeable motto is if in court, anytime, anywhere.

Probably a term which can be used to describe such a belief in the mortality of all forms of institution except the supremacy of the law is a political atheist. He does not believe in any incarnate unassailability of any man-made institutions.

I think this is the quality that he sought to infuse in all Malaysians irrespective of race, colour and creed. As long as all are Malaysians, we are equal before the law. This form of contribution is immeasurable.

He fought for the rule of law, supremacy of the constitution, truth, justice and protection of the weak, oppressed and hapless.  And where were his battlegrounds? He chose them well- in the courts and in parliament. Somehow I will never forget those words spoken so many years ago- if in court, anytime, anywhere. That was why he was always fighting for the integrity of the institutions that are the guardians and dispenser of justice- the courts and the judiciary.

Mr Karpal Singh will continue to teach and inspire us from whenever he is. Farewell.  – sakmongkol.blogspot.com, April 19, 2014.

* Sakmongkol AK47 is the nom de guerre of Raub MP Datuk Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz.

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One voice that dared rattle the establishment

Jeswan Kaur| April 20, 2014

Free Malaysia Today

Karpal Singh’s no-nonsense approach to BN’s machievallian ways of staying in power scared the wits out of those standing in his way for a just nation

COMMENT

If there was one voice that dared rattle the ruling government of Barisan Nasional, it was that of DAP’s Karpal Singh. His no-nonsense reaction to the BN leadership’s machievallian ways of staying in power scared the wits out of the ruling government. And it also made BN dislike Karpal, because he had the guts to pull the rug from beneath the federal government’s feet.

For over four decades as a politician, Karpal did just that – raising the red flag and cautioning the BN government of the latter’s nefarious ways of administering the country. The nation’s leaders, instead of taking cognisance of Karpal’s wise counsel, did the contrary – they punished him for speaking the truth.

The October 1987 Operasi Lalang saw Karpal along with many other opposition politicians detained, purportedly for inciting “racial tension”. He remained in prison until January 1989 and was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.

Karpal was detained under the now defunct Internal Security Act. If BN leaders thought the political hardships thrown at Karpal would scare him, they were in for a rude surprise.

Karpal refused to cower under pressure. His fight for a Malaysia that was fair and just was endless with the indefatigable Karpal determined to battle corrupt powers until the end.

The former DAP national chairperson was tireless in his quest to ‘educate’ the country’s leaders on the Constitution, opposing any move to recognise Malaysia as an Islamic state arguing that the Constitution provides for a secular nation.

Best known as the ‘Tiger of Jelutong’, Karpal remained true to his cause, until his very end. The seasoned politician passed away on Wednesday, fatally injured in a pre-dawn car crash which also took the life of his personal aide.

Karpal was 73, two months shy of 74.

The MP for Gelugor made sure the Federal Constitution was adhered to. He vociferously objected to PAS’ move to implement hudud in Kelantan, saying it was not in the best interest of the country.

He also denounced Kelantan Umno for indicating support for the move, saying it was doing so for political mileage.

Hudud is an element of Islamic law and refers to the class of punishments that are fixed for certain crimes, including apostasy, theft, fornication and consumption of intoxicants.

“The DAP’s position on hudud has been made clear time and again and that stand cannot be subjected to any compromise.

“It is fundamental to the party’s existence. The passing of such a law will not be in the national interest,” the late Karpal had reiterated.

Hudud not practical

Hudud remains a long standing ‘issue’ between DAP and PAS with the latter determined to get it going at any cost.

However, in December 2012 Karpal had described PAS as a “solid principal partner” of the Pakatan Rakyat pact, reassuring that all was good between the two despite the Islamist party’s hardline stand against hudud and the Islamic state.

PAS has repeatedly pushed for hudud to be introduced and has proposed for it to be implemented if Pakatan were to take over Putrajaya while the DAP has stood firm in its stand that Malaysia should continue being a secular state.

“We did not expect to work with PAS many years ago and now, under this alliance, we acknowledge that PAS is an important component in PR,” Karpal told a crowd of over 2,500 delegates at DAP’s 16th national congress in December 2012.

Then, Karpal said while the DAP and PAS had their ‘differences’, it did not divorce them within the Pakatan coalition.

But the scenario now has taken a drastically turn with Kelantan Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob pushing for a private member’s Bill in parliament through one of PAS’ MPs.

(Kelantan passed the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Court Enactment in 1993).

“The passing of the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Court Enactment II in the (Kelantan) state assembly in 1993 is, in the first place, unconstitutional,” Karpal, the country’s best constitutional and criminal lawyer said.

It was just last year when all was well between PAS and DAP. During its annual general meeting last year, PAS declared support to political cooperation with DAP and PKR.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang back then went so far as to claim that it was Umno and not the DAP that stood in the way of PAS going ahead and implementating the hudud law.

Kelantan, however, is not the only state keen to get the hudud going. Terengganu too, has a state enactment to implement hudud, having passed the enactment in 2002 when PAS ruled the state.

But now almost two years later, the scenario has taken a dip, with PAS vehement about its hudud agenda, indifferent as to how such move will influence its political ties with DAP.

Still, affect it did, as seen from Karpal’s response to the on-going statements by PAS leaders on the implementation of hudud laws.

“I regret that PAS is insisting that it will pursue its aim to bring in hudud, which is not in the common manifesto.

“DAP’s stand on hudud is very clear. It ought not and should not be brought into the country. When I say this, I speak on behalf of DAP,” Karpal said at a press conference.

Will DAP continue to stand firm on hudud?

PAS has gone so far as to declare support for party deputy spiritual leader Haron Din, who has insisted on hudud in a Pakatan Rakyat government even if DAP opposes it.

Karpal had asked that PAS leaders quit hankering about the hudud issue. He also wanted oppostion leader Anwar Ibrahim to make a stand on the matter.

As far as Karpal was concerned, hudud was not practical, the worry being that it would only go on to encourage more crime. The eminent lawyer believed would-be criminals would not fear hudud, knowing that it would be impossible to prove a case against them in court.

Hudud said Karpal would require proof beyond a shadow of a doubt.

“In a rape case, for instance, you must provide four eyewitnesses. It will be impossible to secure four people who saw the act.

“If hudud is applied, nobody will be convicted. It will be practically impossible to prove a case in court.”

Karpal said that without the cooperation of DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat, there was no way PAS could go ahead and amend the Federal Constitution to implement hudud in the country.

“There must be a two-thirds majority to amend the Constitution,” Karpal reminded PAS.

With Karpal gone, will DAP waver or stand firm and dismiss PAS’ never-ending obsession with hudud?

The biggest worry – how will the hudud ‘tug of war’ affect Pakatan’s chances at making it to Putrajaya, if it ever does, given that its most outspoken and outstanding politician Karpal is no longer around?

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SES volunteers the eagle eyes of the MH370 search

Paul Farrell in Perth

Guardian

19 April 2014

Fifteen-hour days are par for the course for the unsung heroes on the frontline of the aerial search for the missing plane

On the frontline of the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, one brief second can make all the difference.

“You might have a second or a second and a half between seeing something and it disappearing from your view,” said Jim Maclean, one of the searchers who has been with the Perth state emergency service (SES) for 32 years.

“So you’ve got to look at it, identify it and decide whether it warrants being called in before it disappears out the side of your view. It’s quite intense, you’ve got to be really concentrating all the time,” he said.

But the group of people doing perhaps the most important job in the search are taking on the task without payment. The SES air search observers are ordinary Australians and they are all volunteers. There are now more than 200 involved in the search from across the country, who have put in more than 2,000 hours of flight time searching for the missing plane.

Maclean, who moved to Australia from Scotland, says he is “ostensibly retired”, which has given him more time to work with the SES when volunteers are needed. “Although my wife doesn’t like it much,” he says with a bark of laughter.

The immense task of finding the missing plane, which the SES observers have been involved in since 22 March, is daunting. But Lyn Bryant, another volunteer who has been with the SES for more than 15 years, says it’s a task they will gladly take on to help give the families of those on board the flight closure.

“We’re just up there trying to find evidence that this plane went down here in the ocean to give the relatives and friends something to grasp,” she said.

The SES observers are tasked to fly on the civil aircraft involved in the search. The days are long, typically lasting about 15 hours. Maclean says he’s up at 5.30am to get to Perth airport in time for wheels-up at 7.30.

The searchers usually spend three hours heading out to sea and three hours heading back, leaving about three or four hours of actual search time.

While a series of pings believed to be from the black box have narrowed the air search area slightly, it still spans many thousands of kilometres. Searches are divided into “legs”, flying in a straight line for about 30 to 40 minutes. Those periods require intense concentration, and are no easy task.

“If you only move your eyes then you go to sleep. So you’ve got to move your head in stages of foreground, middleground, foreground, we do that all the time and we just keep moving our heads and talking to each other,” Maclean says. “We don’t stop searching, but we talk to each other and it just keeps the concentration going.”

Searchers are taught to observe rather than see. It may seem like semantics, but the precision involved in observing needs pinpoint accuracy and attention to detail.

“We teach them about the search patterns they’re flying and safety around aircraft and tarmacs,” says the Australian Maritime Safety authority’s Peter Buckley.

The method used for the search is called “saccading”. The searchers will move their heads in fixed positions to scan down and back to ensure the greatest possible area of vision is taken in.

“When you look you poise as you go up and you poise as you go down. So you’re basically covering the whole of the area that you need to cover, but as you’re moving. Your peripheral vision comes into play as well,” Bryant says.

It requires immense concentration. The sun beats down relentlessly on the ocean surface, making it even harder for the searchers to spot potential debris. The windows of the jets are small, narrowing the field of vision.

Each plane usually carries five observers so that one can rest while four continue, and they rotate sides “so that we don’t get a crick in our necks”, Maclean says. But when something is spotted a ripple of excitement goes through the plane.

But sightings of objects have become much more sporadic since the early days of the search and none has been confirmed as being linked with the plane.

The Australian prime minister Tony Abbott and the joint agency centre overseeing the search have indicated they may need to reassess the approach to the search in coming weeks if they gain no further leads.

For Bryant and Maclean, it’s a job they will gladly keep doing. For as long as the air search continues, they will keep putting up their hands to volunteer.

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