APRIL 19 — Karpal’s sudden passing away has been very difficult to accept. My heartfelt and deepest condolences to his family.
A lesser person would not have had the spiritual, mental and physical strength to go through what he had to in his mission to make Malaysia a better place for us.
The battles that he fearlessly and relentlessly fought in the courts and in Parliament were not for himself or for glory. He was sincere and forthright, and voiced the ordinary people’s issues without fear. He was ‘colour-blind’ as people were just people to him regardless of race or religion.
For doing so, he had to pay dearly when he was incarcerated in Kamunting and more recently charged for sedition when there was nothing seditious in what he had said.
His speaking without mincing words was a constant thorn in the sides of his adversaries. But all attempts to silence him and break his spirit proved futile. Such was his formidable will.
Despite being wheelchair bound after the accident in January 2005, he never let up on his mission in life, i.e. to make Malaysia a better place for all of us and the future generations. We are indebted to him for speaking up for us and for the country. It does not matter if there are some who do not appreciate all that he had done.
As a lawyer, he was a jewel of the profession and there is much that lawyers can learn, and should learn, from his example. The Bar Council should seriously consider working with a university to set up a Karpal Singh Chair with the objective or raising the declining moral and ethical standards of the profession.
Politicians on both sides also have much to learn from the dignified way that Karpal conducted himself in Parliament. If he was often suspended it was not because he had misconducted himself but because the ruling side did not want to answer his sharp questions and feeling that “might was right”, used “might” rather than reason, to throw him out. As a gentleman, he took all this in his stride. His spirit was not broken by all this, but only made stronger.
The battles he had fought and the sacrifices that he had made for the downtrodden Malaysians must be remembered. He spoke with reason and not emotions as some cheap politicians do.
Not only has the Sikh community lost a highly distinguished member, but the country has lost an icon for justice. Goodbye, Sir. Rest in Peace.
In passing, I would like to mention that one other firebrand lawyer-politician that I had held in high esteem was the late D.R. Seenivasagam of Ipoh who passed away in 1969 at the tender age of 44.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.
