Karpal Singh to receive posthumous public service award

SHAH ALAM: The late Karpal Singh will posthumously receive a special award in recognition for his dedicated service to the nation for more than 40 years, said the Gandhi Memorial Trust (GMT) chairman S.Radhakrishnan.

He said the public service award would be presented by GMT at a special ceremony to be at the Royal Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur on June 30.

Radhakrishnan also described Karpal, who was a former DAP national chairman and Bukit Gelugor Member of Parliament, as a brilliant lawyer, an astute politician and parliamentarian and, above all, a strong human rights activist.

“Karpal’s life long passion had been the pursuit of social justice and upholding the Malaysian Constitution and the Rule of Law.

“He was a national treasure and will be clearly missed and lovingly remembered for his great contribution and sacrifices to make Malaysia a better place that all of us in Malaysia can be proud of,” he told Bernama.

Karpal, known as the ‘Tiger of Jelutong’, died in a road accident at KM306.1 of the North-South Expressway, near Gua Tempurung, in Kampar early April 17. He was 74.

Commenting further, Radhakrishnan said GMT had invited four prominent individuals with legal backgrounds to speak on the various facets of Karpal’s life and work before the presentation of the award.

They are retired judge of Court of Appeal Datuk Mahadev Shankar, former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of law Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim, former Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and lawyer Datuk Jagjit Singh, he said.

Karpal’s wife, Gurmit Kaur and all his children would also be attending the ceremony besides 20 ambassadors and high commissioners and a number of judges and retired judges.

Source : BERNAMA

'She dedicated and sacrificed life to Karpal'

Being the loyal and devoted wife, she stood in his shadows all these years without public recognition and appreciation.
 
But last night's memorial for the late Karpal Singh at the Han Chiang College Hall, Penang, saw tribute paid to his widow, Gurmit Kaur, who sat amid the 1,000 odd crowd at the event.
 
"This woman dedicated and sacrificed her whole life to Karpal for years in silence, standing steadfastly behind her husband as he went about his work, contributing to the nation," said her second son, Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo.
 
"This woman is my mother, let's give her a big round of applause, it is not easy, not easy at all to do what she had done," he added, as the crowd clapped loudly in her honour.
 
Gobind said he was only 14 when Karpal got arrested under the draconian Internal Security Act, and he remembered the sufferings the family had to endure when he was detained at the Kamunting detention centre, in Perak.
 
His little brother, Mankarpal, was a mere babe at the time and Gurmit carried him in her arms as the family tried to find out where Karpal was held early on, in which lock-up in the city.

3,000 turn up at emotional memorial service for Karpal

It was a night of mixed emotions at a memorial for the late Karpal Singh which was attended by more than 3,000 people at the Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall yesterday.

There were tears, laughter, defiance, grief and above all, respect from those who begin arriving as early as 6pm to pay their respects to the late veteran lawyer and politician affectionately known as the "Tiger of Jelutong".

Young and old, Malaysians from all walks of life came to honour the memory of Karpal who died in a road accident last Thursday along with his trusted aide, Michael Cornelius.

Outside the hall, Rela personnel ensured that traffic was smooth, directing vehicles to various parking areas.

At the main entrance of the premises a large screen had been erected, on which scenes from Karpal's state funeral on Sunday were depicted.

Another screen was set up inside the main hall where the memorial service was held.

Volunteers handed out flowers, posters and stickers of Karpal to people as they entered the hall. There were also donation boxes placed at the entrance.

Gobind: No need to withdraw conviction, I will fight for Karpal

KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 ― Gobind Singh Deo vowed last night to fight tooth and nail to clear Karpal Singh’s name, saying there was no need to ask the Attorney-General to withdraw his late father’s sedition conviction.

The Puchong MP said although there were calls to ask the AG to drop the sedition charge following Karpal's passing, he would fight the case “to the very end.”

“We don't need favours from the A-G,” Gobind said during Karpal's memorial last night at the Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH).

“If it was Mr Karpal, he would have fought it to the end,” he pointed out.

In February, Karpal was found guilty of uttering seditious comments against the Sultan of Perak in 2009 when he said during a press conference then that the Ruler’s decision to replace remove Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin as mentri besar in favour of Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir was open to legal challenge.

He had previously been acquitted without having his defence called over the same charge, before the prosecution successfully appealed the decision.

Karpal, who was DAP’s MP for Bukit Gelugor, 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 on April 17.

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

Karpal was believed to be travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Penang for a court hearing that morning.

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

He ran for Parliament in the 1978 general election and won the federal seat for Jelutong, which he held for five terms. Karpal lost in Jelutong in 1999 national polls and contested in Bukit Gelugor for the first time in 2004 and in subsequent elections.

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


Source : http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/gobind-no-need-to-withdraw-conviction-i-will-fight-for-karpal

My last moments with Pa: Ramkarpal Singh

“My parents (Karpal and Gurmit) had gone to Pantai Hospital about 8pm on Wednesday (April 16) to visit my brother Gobind (Singh Deo) who was admitted.

They left about 8pm from my father's office in Jalan Pudu Lama together with Michael Cornelius and driver V. Selvam. The four returned home (in Bukit Ledang, Damansara) about 10pm and had dinner.

Pa, Michael, Selvam, our maid (Selfiana Rengga) and I were to leave that night for Penang. Pa and I were to appear in court the following day to represent a client charged with murder.

The weekend stay in Penang was also for Pa to meet his Bukit Gelugor constituents and prepare the petition of appeal for Anwar's (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) sodomy case.

Before we left, Pa told Michael to take him to his garden. We moved into this house six months ago and Pa was in love with his garden.

Going around the garden is not unusual for my dad and he does that occasionally. We then left about 11.30pm.

Pa was seated in the front beside the driver (they were in a Toyota Alphard). Michael sat directly behind dad. I was seated beside Michael. The maid sat alone at the back of the vehicle.

We exited through the Jalan Duta toll around midnight and for the next 20 minutes or so, I spoke to Pa about some cases, including a matter he had attended in the Court of Appeal earlier in the day and political issues gripping the nation.

Karpal's family proud at 'unprecedented' crowd

The family of the late Karpal Singh expressed shock and pride at the unprecedented crowd that turned up for his funeral in Penang on Sunday.

"The unprecedented crowd came on their own volition, without us asking them to come, in recognition of the passing of a legend.

"We are so proud of that appreciation and recognition for Karpal. Even I was completely shocked by the response of the people,” Jagdeep Singh Deo (left) said at a press conference in Komtar today.

Karpal, who is Jagdeep’s father, and his long-time aide Michael Cornelius Jayakrishnan, 39, were killed in a road accident in the early hours of last Thursday morning, near Kampar in Perak.

On Sunday, more than 15,000 people thronged the city to pay their respects to the late Bukit Gelugor MP at the Dewan Sri Pinang.

In total, state DAP chairperson Chow Kon Yeow estimated, at least 50,000 people attended the former DAP chairperson's three-day wake at his Jalan Utama home, his funeral at the Dewan and the cremation centre at Batu Gantung.

More than 15,000 bid farewell to Karpal

Malaysians today paid their final respects to the late icon Karpal Singh at the Dewan Sri Pinang in a state-honoured ceremony before his cortege left for Bukit Gantung, where he was cremated.

Thousands, including members of Karpal's family, friends, politicians from various parties and the members of the public, whose lives have been touched by Karpal in one way or another, thronged his house on Jalan Utama, Penang, since his shocking death in the wee hours of the morning of April 17.

Karpal, who would have turned 74 in June, died in a tragic car crash, along with his beloved helper J Michael Cornelius, 39, near the Gopeng exit of the North-South Expressway.

The Bukit Gelugor MP, who had an illustrious career in law and politics for 40 years, leaves behind his beloved wife Gurmit Kaur, five children and 10 grandchildren.

Here, we bring you the live reports from the funeral proceedings from Penang.

PHOTO GALLERY | VIDEO

LIVE REPORT

2.55pm: As the ceremony comes to a close, the crowd eventually disperses. 

Gobind thanks all family, friends, and supporters for attending the ceremony.

Gurmit is being held up by her daughter Sangeet and several female relatives. She appears very distraught, and someone fans her from the back.

Karpal's ashes will be collected ‎tomorrow and scattered into the sea.

2.35pm: Karpal's coffin is moved into the furnace. Despite pleas from the family, the crowd refuses to leave.

2.33pm: Tempers flare as the crowded gathering does not want to make room for members of Karpal's family as they prepare to move the coffin into the furnace. 

Karpal's youngest son, Man Karpal, is seen grabbing a mobile phone belonging to a woman and smashing it on a wall in frustration.

2.30pm: People who managed to get into the crematorium compound begin performing the final rites.

Jagdeep Singh sternly requests photographers to stop taking pictures, telling them that because Karpal's wife wants privacy in this final moment.

Many refuse to leave the facility, although some people leave in anticipation of a traffic jam.

1.35pm: Lawyer Sukhindarpal Singh, who is waiting for Karpal's cortege to pass by Jalan Farquhar, says: "Today is the people's funeral. People from all walks of life have come to pay their respects.

"They are not paid (to come) or organised to come by buses,"Sukhindarpal quips.

He says he has known Karpal since they were both little boys, adding, "He was really down to earth. A people's man."

Michael: Karpal’s hands and legs

The simple, quiet and ever smiling Michael Cornelius, who used to push the late Karpal Singh around in his wheelchair, loved his boss as he would his own father.

People who knew Michael, who died in the car crash with his boss on Apr 17,  near Gopeng, Perak, said “he is with Karpal to take care of him".

At 9.30am today, a special prayer event will be held for Michael,who is a staunch Catholic, at the Ipoh General Hospital’s Forensic Department.

His remains will be flown back to his family in Tamil Nadu, India,.

Michael was Karpal’s live-in nurse but  more like a son to the veteran lawyer and former DAP national chairman, who would have turned 74 on June 28.

“More than a son,  he was Karpal’s hands and legs," said Harvinder Singh, a Penang Municipal Councillor, who is close to Karpal’s family.

"He took care of Karpal’s every need, fed him, bathed him, turned him over on his bed, carried his bags, mobile phone and work documents,” he added.

“He held up documents, the iPad Mini or newspapers for Karpal to read. He answered the phone and held it near Karpal’s ear so that he could  speak,” he said.

Samy Vellu cries for Karpal, hugs Guan Eng

As former works minister S Samy Vellu entered Karpal Singh’s home to pay his last respects today, he was met by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Even though the duo were from different political alliances, Samy Vellu (right) reached out and hugged Lim, as he expressed his condolences.

Samy’s face clearly showed his pain, as he later said, “We were in Parliament together.”

“Karpal always raised issues for the benefit of the people,” added the former MIC president.

“I could do nothing but cry when I learned about Karpal’s death,” he said.

Samy and Karpal used to argue in Parliament during debates, but he describes the lawyer as a leader, a trusted person who does work to perfection.

It was Samy Vellu who first referred to Karpal as a tiger, calling the lawyer-turned-politician a “tiger of the court” while dubbing himself a “lion”.

In response, Karpal had said that Samy Vellu could be the lion and he the tiger, but then was quick to point out that there were no lions in Malaysia.

Samy said the 74-year-old Karpal worked like a young man.

“In Parliament, he asked for information from my ministry and sometimes, he wanted more details. I would give it to him.”

Gerakan deputy president Dr Cheah Soon Hai came to Karpal’s house with a team of party leaders including state chief Teng Chang Yeow (right in photo) and state secretary Oh Tong Keong.

Cheah knew of Karpal when he was a teenager in 1974, when the latter campaigned for a state seat in Bandar Alor Setar and won.

“Even then when we saw him, we knew he was someone special. He outshone most of his peers then, and leaves behind a great strategy not only in politics but law,” Cheah, the former Derga assemblyperson, said.
‘We can still have coffee in Parliament’

Later, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim appeared.

They met in 1986 in Parliament when both were MPs - Shahidan in Arau and Karpal in Jelutong.

“Despite our differences,  we can still have coffee in Parliament. He is a friend,” he said.

“We can be different but we can be together. This is an example of unity and respect for others,” he added.

“We hope this kind of politics continues. Karpal always come across as someone open-minded,” he stressed.

Karpal’s last journey to stop at 4 key spots

Penang governor Abdul Rahman Abbas, state dignitaries and agencies are expected to pay their last respects to the late Karpal Singh in Dewan Sri Pinang at 10.30am tomorrow.

Penang executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow, who is in charge of Karpal's funeral arrangements, said this will be followed by DAP and other Pakatan Rakyat members, political parties, associations and family members.

"As Karpal's cortege will leave his home at about 8.15am for the state honour funeral at Dewan Sri Pinang, the public are urged to go straight to the venue to pay their last respects," Chow told a press conference yesterday.

"Traffic police will be escorting the cortege through 10 roads before reaching Dewan Sri Pinang where it will rest for two hours - from 9am to 11am," Chow said.

He said the cortege will proceed from Western Road, Macalister Road, Peel Avenue, Perak Road, Burmah Road, Pangkor, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Farquhar Street, Leith Street to finally stop at Dewan Sri Pinang.

"During the procession, it will stop at four locations - these are locations which are of significant to Karpal's legal and political career," he said.

The four stops are Penang High Court, the junction of Green Hall where Karpal's office is located, the Penang state legislative assembly where his early political career started, and St Xavier's Institution, his alma mater, said Chow.




The procession will be led by the St Xavier's school band.

"In the last few years, Karpal had contributed financially to the school," he added.

Karpal's cortege will be covered by the Penang flag to be presented to the family by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Come to venue early

Chow advised the public to pay their last respects between 9am and 10.30am, and to come to the venue, Dewan Sri Pinang, early.

"Parking is available at the Town Hall and City Hall. There are about 1,500 parking bays," he said.

"Associations and political parties which wish to pay their last respects during the state honours funeral may register their names at the counter at Dewan Sri Pinang," added Chow, who is state DAP chairperson.

"The cortege will leave the venue after Karpal's family perform the final religious rites for Karpal," he said.

Chow said Karpal's cortege will leave Dewan Sri Pinang for cremation at the Batu Gantung Collaborium at around 11am.








































Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/260455

Karpal Singh: A perfectionist and people-centric person, says Samy Vellu

GEORGE TOWN: Former MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has described the late DAP chairman Karpal Singh as a people-centric person and perfectionist.

“He was only 74 but he worked like a young man, day and night, all with the people’s interests and betterment in mind.

“He was a man of action and could be trusted. He was very perfect in his work.

“Everything he did, he did it with perfection,” he said before paying his last respects to Karpal at his wake on Friday.

Recalling their ‘duels’ in Parliament, Samy Vellu said Karpal had always raised questions for the benefit of the people.

“I was in Parliament with him for many years. Everytime and everything he raised, it was for the benefit of the people.

“Whatever questions he asked, I would give him very satisfactory answers. I would provide him with more information should there be further clarification.

“I am very sad today because we have lost a very good friend.

“His demise is a great loss to the country. It was so sad that this had happened to him.

“We have lost a good Parliamentarian and a leader of our country,” he said.

Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang said the country had lost once of her most formidable Opposition leader in history.

“The Gerakan Youth feels sad and is still in a state of shock when we heard the news. Every Malaysian feels the same.

“Karpal was a respected lawyer who had contributed immensely not only to the political arena, but to the legal aspect of this country.

“We salute his lifetime achievement and expressed our deepest condolences to the family of the late Karpal Singh,” he said.



Source : http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/04/18/Karpal-Singh-Samy-Vellu/

Michael Cornelius literally ‘the man behind Karpal’

The name Michael Cornelius Selvam Vellu may not be as famous as the man he was serving - renowned lawyer Karpal Singh - but his sacrifice would remain in the annals of Malaysian history for his devotion to his master or boss.

It would suffice to say that Michael was literally the man behind Karpal since the 39-year-old, would push his boss around in his wheelchair wherever he went, including to the Parliament.

Bukit Gelugor MP and former DAP chairperson Karpal Singh, 74, died in a car accident on the North-South Expressway this morning near Gua Tempurung, Kampar in Perak together with his long-serving personal assistant Michael.

Karpal’s daughter Sangeet Kaur Deo said Michael was a 'faithful servant to his master’ and stayed with him even in death.

In a 1.10am road accident at Km306.1 of the North-South Expressway near Gua Tempurung in Kampar early today, involving an MPV and a lorry, Karpal and Michael died at the scene.

Hailing from Vellore, Tamil Nadu in southern India, Michael leaves behind a wife, a son and a daughter while his body is expected to be flown back to India for burial.

Karpal, who leaves behind a wife, five children and four grandchildren, stepped aside as DAP chairperson temporarily in March, pending his appeal against a sedition conviction.




Source- Bernama

10 things about: Karpal Singh, The Tiger of Jelutong -

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

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

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

The DAP veteran left behind five children, four grandchildren, and his wife of over 40 years, Gurmit Kaur.
Here are ten choice quotes from his 44 years in the legal and political arena:

Opposition to Islamic state

• “An Islamic state over my dead body”

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

• He has since apologised for the remark, and explained in an interview last month with DAP’s online news Roketkini the party’s stand on hudud and Islamic laws:
  
  “The DAP’s stand against hudud is clear … The Federal Constitution provides for a secular state. So you cannot have in a secular state an Islamic law in the form of hudud. In a secular state, we cannot have laws other than secular laws.”

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

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”.

Karpal’s old foe has nothing but respect

PETALING JAYA: In the early 1980s, two fiery well known figures used to have explosive arguments in Parliament declaring themselves as Tiger and Lion, among other things.

The two were none other than former Works Minister and ex-MIC president S Samy Vellu and prominent lawyer and DAP diehard Karpal Singh.

One of the more memorable arguments in Parliament took place in 1982, when Samy Vellu told Karpal:

“If you are a tiger (Karpal was dubbed the Tiger of Jelutong), then I am a Lion.”

To this Karpal with his usual wit replied:”I am a Lion by birth (Singh means Lion in Punjabi).

Samy Vellu not to be outdone shot back:”Never mind you be the Lion because there are no Lions in Malaysia.”

These were the kind of war of words between the two ever since anyone can remember.

But today, hours after Karpal perished in a motor accident, Samy Vellu has no other words but to say that the vocal lawyer cum politician was a great man who brought championed peoples issues.

“Karpal’s demise is a big loss for the country and the people. He is a man who highlighted the peoples issue.

“In parliament, he was strong advocating the peoples issues. He also believed in the democratic process.

“I have worked with him…in fact we had clashed on numerous occasion.

He raised valid questions and I answered. Although we were at odds in Parliament, there was mutual respect between us.

“He was not like other politicians who like to say that and this outside the Dewan (Rakyat).

He is always consistent and believed in the cause,” Samy Vellu told FMT when contacted today.

Repeating that Karpal’s demise was a great loss to the nation, Samy Vellu said Karpal was a great leader who understood the pulse of the people.

“I will also be attending his funeral. I want to pay my respects to a friend whose loss will be sorely felt,” said Samy Vellu.

The former DAP chairman and Bukit Gelugor MP died in a road accident at Km306.1 of the North-South Expressway, near Gua Tempurung, in Kampar early today, police said. He was 73.

Also killed in the 1.10am accident, involving an MPV and a lorry, was Karpal Singh’s personal assistant Michael Cornelius, 39.

Karpal’s remains would lie in wake until Sunday at his family home in Penang before cremation.



Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/04/17/karpals-old-foe-has-nothing-but-respect/

Karpal makes last journey home to Penang

Amid tears of sorrow, a coffin bearing Karpal Singh's body was loaded onto a van for his final journey back to Penang today.

The 73-year-old, popularly known as the "Tiger of Jelutong", died early this morning after the Toyota Alphard he was in collided with a five-tonne Mitsubishi Canter.

Karpal's body had been brought to Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh at 7.25am today for an autopsy.

Before the casket was taken out of the morgue, Karpal's wife and other family members were allowed in to view the body.

Besides the throng of photographers and reporters, there were many mourners who waited outside the mortuary to pay their last respects.

As the casket was carried towards the van, many people strained to touch Karpal's casket.

The van departed from Ipoh Hospital at 1.30pm accompanied by three police outriders and other vehicles bearing his family.

The police outriders escorted the van until the toll plaza before returning to Ipoh.

It is understood that the funeral is expected to be held on Sunday at 11am so that relatives abroad have sufficient time to return to Malaysia to pay their respects.

Karpal and his aide, Michael Cornelius Selvam Velly, 39, were killed in the accident which occurred about 1.10am near Gua Tempurung in Perak.

Police said they both died at the scene.

Karpal's son, Ramkarpal, and their driver were slightly injured but their maid is said to be in critical condition.

Police, however, said that the lorry driver, who was not injured in the accident, had traces of cannabis in his urine sample.

Perak police chief Datuk Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani had told The Malaysian Insider that the initial urine screening of the 45-year-old driver revealed traces of cannabis.

"We have sent the urine sample to Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh for confirmation," Acryl said.

The Malaysian Insider also learnt that initial checks revealed that Karpal's driver is believed to have 15 outstanding traffic summonses for speeding.

Checks on the Toyota Alphard revealed that a total of 29 traffic summonses had been issued, of which 15 had not been settled.

Acryl said this was the result of initial checks and investigations which were conducted under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.

There has been an outpouring of tribute and condolences from leaders from both sides of the political divide, the legal fraternity and netizens.

Many described Karpal's passing as a great loss and hailed him as a champion of the people who had constantly pursued justice.

DAP has instructed all its branches to fly the party flag at half-mast as a mark of respect for the party's former chairman. – April 17, 2014.


Source : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/karpal-makes-last-journey-home-to-penang

Outside Karpal’s Penang home, flowers and sorrow

GEORGE TOWN, April 17 — As news of Karpal Singh’s shocking death sent shockwaves throughout the country, well-wishers and reporters began gathering at his home along Jalan Utama here.

Some brought flowers to lay in front of the late lawmaker’s house. Others brought memories of how he touched their lives from before.

“Karpal was the one to save my brother from the gallows more than 20 years ago,” P. Kalaiyarasan, (left) 51, said.

He was among those thronging the area outside the home, bringing traffic to a crawl.

According to Kalaiyarasan, his brother was convicted for drug trafficking and sentenced to hang but Karpal took over the appeal against the decision and won his brother’s acquittal.

“Every year, especially during Thaipusam, we would come to visit Karpal at his house,” Kalaiyarasan said.

Political leaders such as Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow and Pulau Tikus state assemblyman Yap Soo Huey also turned up at the house today.

Karpal was killed after the Toyota Alphard MPV he was travelling in crashed following a collision with a lorry along the North-South Highway near Gopeng, Perak at 1.10am.

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

The Bukit Gelugor MP leaves behind his wife, Gurmit, five children and four grandchildren.




Source : http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/outside-karpals-penang-home-flowers-and-sorrow

Last interview with Tiger of Jelutong

For Karpal, no going out the back door

INTERVIEW Nearly 30 years on from one of the first of many threats on his life, Karpal Singh still refuses to slip quietly out the back door.

Then, he was urged by police officers to secretly leave a courtroom to avoid the danger posed by a man, claiming to have spiritual powers, who threatened to attack Karpal for suing the sultan.

Karpal refused, saying “if I go through that back door now, I will go through back doors all my life.”

The 74-year-old lawyer-politician maintains the same stoicism today, in the face of yet another attempt by the government to not only kill his political career, but also to put him in jail.

The sentence for his recent sedition conviction, a RM4,000 fine, precludes Karpal from holding political office and imposes a five-year disqualification period on running for Parliament again.

Malaysia has no upper-age limit to enter Parliament, and Karpal said he would be 82 when he would be eligible to return to politics.

“They are not doing it fairly; it is not the right way to do it,” Karpal said of the attempt to remove him from politics.

Karpal wanted to travel at night to have time to prepare for case, says Gobind

IPOH: Karpal Singh insisted on travelling at night by car to Penang so that he can prepare for a court case later in the day, said his son Gobind Singh Deo.

"I last met him at Pantai Hospital in Bangsar when I was there for treatment.

"We talked for quite awhile and he said many many things and said we will talk later about it," said Gobind, who is Puchong MP.

Gobind said he got a call from his wife about the accident at about 2.15am Thursday.

"She wanted to get confirmation and we later drove to Kampar.

"We've seen his body and that of Michael, his caretaker, who was seated behind him in the car," Gobind said, adding that his brother, Ramkarpal, who was also in the car was slightly injured with the driver, C Selvam.

Karpal's Indonesian domestic helper, however, is critically injured.

Gobind said he would announce the date for Karpal's funeral later.

"A lot of friends and family members from overseas want to come back and pay their last respects at the family home in Jalan Utama in Penang.

"We plan to hold it either on Saturday evening or Sunday morning to allow well-wishers to make their travelling arrangements," he said.

He said he understood the feelings of the people who wanted to know more about the accident but appealed to them to give the family the privacy and time to mourn.

"We will update the people later," he said.


Source : http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/04/17/karpal-singh-Gobind-singh-accident-travelling-at-night/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Karpal killed in accident near Kampar

Veteran opposition MP and lawyer Karpal Singh was killed in an accident near Kampar in Perak this morning.

His long-time personal assistant Michael Cornelius Selvam Vellu, 39, was also killed.

Karpal's son Ram Karpal and the driver were believed to be injured in the accident which occurred at 1.10am near 301.6km northbound marker along the the North-South Highway.

Malaysiakini learnt that Karpal and his son, who is also a lawyer, were heading north for a court case later today.

Photos taken at the scene of the accident - near Gua Tempurung
in Kampar - show the white Toyota Alphard badly damaged.

Contacted later, an Ipoh police spokesperson told Malaysiakini that it is believed the MPV collided with a lorry which switched lanes without indication.

Karpal's other son and Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo (left) told The Star that his father had died on the spot.

"My brother Ram is slightly injured but we are trying to get through to him," he added when the daily contacted him at 3.30am.

According to a police statement later, Ram and driver of the ill-fated car, C Selvam, were not injured. However, Karpal's Indonesian maid suffered severe injuries and she is warded at Ipoh's Hospital Permaisuri Bainun.