Remembering Karpal, his legacy

THE late Karpal Singh Deo would have endorsed collaborating with Umno and Barisan Nasional if he were alive today for the sake of the nation’s stability, said his eldest son.

Ahead of the 10th anniversary of his father’s death tomorrow (Sunday), Jagdeep Singh Deo, 53, took time off from his busy schedule to talk about the legacy left by Karpal, popularly known as the Tiger of Jelutong.

As part of the anniversary, there will be a walkathon through Karpal Singh Drive and a forum.

Karpal died in a horrific vehicle collision in April 2014 while travelling back to Penang, his hometown and bastion for some four decades of political activism.

Jagdeep, who is Penang deputy chief minister II, said his father believed there are no permanent friends or foes in politics, but only permanent principles.

“There might be lingering suspicions (on joining forces with Umno/BN) but in the name of stability, I think that Karpal would have lent his support. Hence, I think the party (DAP) made the best decision possible,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

According to the four-term Datuk Keramat assemblyman, politics tend to change on a daily basis nowadays due to its dynamics and the people’s expectations.

He said that DAP should not be seen as compromising on its principles but rather becoming a bigger party in accepting a former foe to ensure that the country was brought back onto the path of progress and peace amid the stability.

Before the landmark 2022 general election, which saw PKR president Anwar Ibrahim securing the premiership, from 2018 to 2022, the country had witnessed three prime ministers and three cabinet changes, punctured by three years of battling the Covid-19 global pandemic.

It caused the country’s erosion in many aspects, especially from the economic standpoint, thus Anwar has a major challenge on hand to steer the country through the turmoil of global economic uncertainty, regional conflicts and runaway living costs.

DAP has become a major partner of Anwar in navigating through such pitfalls.

Asked to define Karpal’s legacy to DAP and Penang, Jagdeep replied that first and foremost, his father was a loving man to his family and a consummate lawyer.

“He always told me to work hard in my legal profession and even harder to overcome obstacles. I am who I am because of him, and his courage is exemplary to the family. We lived through the struggles and his imprisonment. We stayed loyal to his cause.”

Karpal was charged twice under the now-repealed Internal Security Act – he had fought vigorously for the law’s abolition.

He was also involved in countless court proceedings to defend human rights and of his own role as an opposition politician and a defender of the rights of the accused.

Jagdeep also spoke of his father’s love for DAP, the party that backed Karpal all the way until his death.

“It is first and foremost the party. Individuals came second and Karpal knew it. The party came first for him when he was the party chairperson.”

It is also because of Karpal that his other two sons, Gobind and Ramkarpal, have become politicians in their own right.

And Karpal’s principles were seen when the sons held a family meeting to decide that Ramkarpal should resign as a deputy minister when Gobind was offered to lead the Digital Ministry in Anwar’s first cabinet reshuffle last December, Jagdeep revealed.

Fight for justice

Jelutong MP R.S.N. Rayer echoed Jagdeep in saying that Karpal would have thrown his support behind the national unity government if it could lead to political stability.

There was no other choice but to follow this path, as the interests of the nation were more important than any individual point of view here, said Rayer.

Regarded as one of Karpal’s legal proteges, Rayer said that he is reminded daily of his mentor’s fight for justice, which now reverberates through the entire country.

Karpal was one of Malaysia’s most prominent lawyers and took a number of high-profile cases, including drug-trafficking charges against foreign nationals. 

He was an opponent of the death penalty, especially for narcotics, a role which his son Ramkarpal had assumed crucially last year when parliament did away with the mandatory death sentence.

Lawyer Shamsher Singh Thind said that it was Karpal who inspired him to join politics when he was 15-years old.

“It was the 1991 Prai (state) by-election in Penang, when I saw Karpal in action.”

But alas for the Bukit Mertajam lawyer, he quit DAP in 2016 after a falling-out over the direction of the party.

Another lawyer S. Raveentharan said that Karpal’s devotion to both politics and law was an eternal flame for politicians and lawyers to emulate.

He added that there should be a government road map to spell out reforms that mirror the legacy of Karpal.

“We want our permanent principles to shine through and not be clouded by over-politicking. As at the end of the day, we must serve our voters, who are our paymasters,” said Raveentharan. – May 18, 2024.