| Yang Berhormat Karpal Singh |
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|---|---|
| Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Bukit Gelugor |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 24 March 2004 |
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| Preceded by | New constituency |
| Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Jelutong |
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| In office 31 July 1978 – 29 November 1999 |
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| Preceded by | Rasiah Rajasingam |
| Succeeded by | Lee Kah Choon |
| National Chairman of the Democratic Action Party | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 4 September 2004 |
|
| Preceded by | Lim Kit Siang |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 June 1940 Penang |
| Political party | Democratic Action Party (DAP) |
| Spouse(s) | Gurmit Kaur |
| Children | Gobind Singh Deo Jagdeep Singh Deo |
| Alma mater | University of Singapore |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Religion | Sikhism |
| Website | www.karpalsingh.net |
Karpal Singh (Punjabi: ਕਰ੍ਪਲ੍ ਸਿੰਘ; born 28 June 1940) is a Malaysian lawyer and politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for the neighbourhood of Bukit Gelugor in the state of Penang since 2004. He is the current National Chairman of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a position he assumed in 2004.
Born in Penang to a Punjabi immigrant father of Indian origin, Karpal read law at the University of Singapore. He is one of Malaysia's most prominent lawyers, and has taken up numerous high-profile cases, including drug trafficking charges against foreign nationals, and sodomy accusations against former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim. Karpal is a staunch opponent of the death penalty, especially in relation to drug trafficking offences.
In both courtrooms and parliament, he is known as a fiery debater, which has gotten him into trouble with authorities on occasion. He has been suspended from parliament numerous times and has been detained under Malaysia's internal security laws. His reputation as a lawyer and opposition politician has earned him the nickname "the Tiger of Jelutong".
Karpal's political career began in 1970 when he joined the DAP. He won a seat in the Kedah State Legislative Assembly in 1974. He was first elected to parliament in 1978 as the representative for Jelutong, Penang, and held the seat for more than 20 years until losing it in 1999. He returned to parliament in the next general election, and led the DAP to its strongest ever performance in the 2008 general election.
A motor vehicle accident in 2005 has since left Karpal using a wheelchair and with neuromotor problems in his right arm. Despite this, he has continued his legal and political careers.
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Born in Georgetown, Penang, Karpal Singh was the son of watchman and part-time herdsman Ram Singh.[1] Ram had moved from India to Penang in 1921.[2] Karpal's ancestors were wheat farmers from the village of Samna Pind, near Amritsar, in the Punjab region.[1] He visited the village in 1963 while attending university and in 1974 when his father was killed in an accident there.[1]
Karpal studied at St. Xavier's Institution.[2][3] He met his wife, Gurmit Kaur, while herding his father's cows.[1]
He obtained his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Singapore.[1] During his time there, he also served as president of the student's union.[2] He was barred from the hostel for protesting against the university's decision to mandate the "certificate of political suitability" for enrolling students.[2] Karpal said he took seven years to graduate, admitting that he was "playful" and "didn’t attend lectures."[1] After failing his final year courses, the dean, Tommy Koh, made him sit at the front of the class, and according to Karpal, "I couldn’t play the fool any more and I passed my exams accordingly!"[1]
Karpal Singh was called to the Penang bar in 1969 and joined a firm in Alor Setar, Kedah.[2][3] He started his legal firm in 1970.[4] Karpal is known for his expertise in the field of litigation.[5] He has been praised for "defending the little man"[3] and called "a friend to the oppressed and marginalised."[6] Professor of Law at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Dr. Shad Saleem Faruqi has praised Karpal's legal team for their innovative interpretations which has helped people with difficult cases.[6]
He has been described as a leading opponent of the death penalty in Malaysia,[7] and has successfully defended at least ten foreigners on serious drug charges which carry a mandatory death sentence.[3] Nonetheless, in July 2010, he called for convicted child rapists to be sentenced to death.[8]
Among his most high-profile cases include defending Australian drug trafficker Kevin Barlow who was executed in Malaysia in 1986.[9] Barlow and fellow Australia Brian Chambers were convicted of trafficking heroin by the High Court in Penang in July 1985.[10] He continued to fight to clear Barlow's name even after the execution.[11] He also defended New Zealanders Lorraine Cohen and her son, Aaron, against heroin trafficking charges in 1987.[12] They were both convicted, with Mrs Cohen sentenced to death and Aaron sentenced to life in prison. However, the death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1989 and they were subsequently pardoned and freed in 1996.[13]
In 1977, he managed to persuade the king to pardon a 14-year old Chinese boy sentenced to death for possession of a firearm under the Internal Security Act, apparently by suggesting that to let the boy hang would be "politically explosive."[3]
Karpal also represented former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during the latter's sodomy trial of 1998.[14] During the first trial in September 1999, he produced a pathological report confirming high levels of arsenic had been detected in Anwar's body, and accused the authorities of poisoning Anwar, charging:[7]
"It could well be that someone out there wants to get rid of him ... even to the extent of murder...I suspect people in high places are responsible for this situation."
This accusation in court led to Karpal being charged under the Sedition Act in January 2000.[15] Karpal is acting as the defence's lead counsel in Anwar's second sodomy trial, following fresh allegations in 2008.[16]
Karpal Singh joined the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in 1970, citing the party's multiracial political platform following the race riots in 1969.[1][17] He was due to contest the 1974 general election in Penang, but withdrew after his father's death. However, following the persuasion of DAP national organising secretary Fan Yew Teng, Karpal ran for the Alor Setar parliamentary seat and Alor Setar Bandar state seat.[1] He won the state seat and became the first DAP candidate to stand for and win a seat in Kedah.[18]
In the 1978 general elections, Karpal won the Jelutong parliamentary seat and the Bukit Gelugor state seat. He held the Bukit Gelugor state seat until 1990, moving on to contest (but lose) the Sungai Pinang and Padang Kota seats in subsequent elections.
In 1989, Karpal accused Deputy Speaker D. P. Vijandran of acting in pornographic videotapes.[19] The allegations were dismissed due to lack of evidence, but Vijandran resigned as deputy speaker in 1990.[20] However, in 1992, Karpal produced the alleged videotape in parliament, and handed it over the Deputy Speaker Ong Tee Keat.[20] Vijandran was convicted in May 1994 for fabricating evidence in an affidavit which sought a court order to stop his nephew from allegedly and distributing pornographic video tapes featuring him,[21] but was acquitted in 1998 after appeal.[22] In 2000, Karpal was ordered to pay Vijandran RM500,000 (later reduced to RM100,000 on appeal) in damages for defamation after accusing the latter of deliberately issuing a cheque to him from a closed account.[23][24]
In the 1999 election, Karpal, along with opposition leader Lim Kit Siang, lost his Jelutong parliamentary seat, which he had held for 21 years.[14] The DAP had joined Barisan Alternatif, an opposition alliance with Parti Keadilan and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), a move strongly advocated by Karpal and Lim.[25] Despite the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition suffering significant losses in the election, it was Keadilan and PAS that absorbed the gains, while the DAP's support eroded due to its supporters' suspicions of PAS and its hardline Islamic stance.[26] Although the DAP actually gained seats, the party performed well below expectations, with Lim admitting that result was a "catastrophic defeat".[27] Despite the setback, Karpal was retained as party deputy chairman, while Lim was elevated to chairman after the resignation of long-serving chairman Chen Man Hin.[28]
He was one of the strongest opponents of PAS's plan to introduce hudud (Islamic codes of behaviour) into the Terengganu state legal system in 1999, even threatening to take the state government to court.[29]
In the 2004 general election, Karpal returned to parliament with a 1,261-majority win in the new Bukit Gelugor seat.[30] The DAP regained its position as the largest opposition party in parliament.[31] Karpal took over as DAP National Chairman on 4 September 2004.[32]
On 7 September 2004, Karpal was sanctioned for "misleading parliament" after claiming that MPs had to raise their right hand while taking the oath of office on 17 May. A report by the Parliamentary Rights and Privileges Committee gave him three days to apologize or face a six month suspension.[5][33] He refused to apologize and served the suspension.[34][35]
Karpal retained his seat in the 2008 election with a near 20-fold increased majority.[36] The election saw historic gains for the opposition, who managed to deny the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional (BN), a two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time.[37] The three main opposition parties subsequently formed a formal coalition – Pakatan Rakyat.[38]
Karpal was listed as the DAP's representative on Pakatan Rakyat's Shadow Ministry of Home Affairs Committee in July 2009.[39]
During a May 2008 parliamentary sitting, Karpal found himself at the centre of controversy again by calling fellow parliamentarian Bung Mokhtar Radin the "bigfoot from Kinabatangan."[40] Moments later, he was mocked by Ibrahim Ali for not being able to stand up while speaking, which provoked a furore among opposition MPs.[40] The following month, he received a death threat in the form of a bullet delivered to his law firm.[41] In October, he received a two-day suspension from parliament for calling Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia "not serious" and "playful".[42]
In March 2009, Karpal was charged under the Sedition Act again for allegedly threatening to sue the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah in the wake of the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis. He had contended that the Sultan had acted beyond his constitutional powers while appointing Zambry Abdul Kadir as Menteri Besar.[43][44] He was acquitted in June 2010.[45]
In April 2010, he was suspended from parliament for ten days after calling the speaker a "dictator".[46] In December that year, he was suspended again for six months along with opposition MPs Anwar Ibrahim, Azmin Ali and Sivarasa Rasiah. Anwar was suspended for stirring up controversy over the government's links with APCO Worldwide, while the rest rest were punished for making public the report by the Rights and Privileges Committee which found Anwar guilty before the report was presented to parliament.[47]
Karpal Singh has cited Mahatma Gandhi and John F. Kennedy as influences. The May 13 incident convinced him that Malaysia needed to take a multiracial course, hence he joined the DAP. Karpal has also commended the first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman for promoting racial unity.[1]
He strongly criticised the legal immunity granted to the hereditary Malay rulers in the original constitution, which was subsequently removed by the government in 1993.[3][48]
He is a firm critic of Mahathir Mohamad's term as prime minister. "Political life is not what it used to be in Malaysia," he commented in 1993, specifically criticising the restriction on media coverage of the opposition.[3] He has called for Mahathir to apologise for the latter's role in the 1988 constitutional crisis.[49]
Karpal is also staunchly opposed to the notion of Malaysia as an Islamic state, arguing that the Constitution provides for a secular nation, with Islam as the official religion. He has been at loggerheads with Mahathir as well as fellow opposition party PAS over the issue.[50] Karpal even once said "an Islamic state over my dead body" regarding the debate during a political speech which has led to him being portrayed as an enemy of Islam.[1] He claims to have apologised for the matter.[51]
Karpal is a controversial figure, and has been labelled along with fellow DAP politician Lim Kit Siang as a racial provocateur.[52] He has been dubbed the "Tiger of Jelutong" by admirers having served as Jeluting MP for five terms.[53] Karpal attributes the nickname to a confrontation with former Malaysian Indian Congress President Samy Vellu, when he told Samy, "he could be the lion, and I could be the tiger, because there are no lions in Malaysia!"[1]
Karpal has clashed with government parliamentarians and assemblymen during debates. On two occasions in the Penang State Assembly, the speaker called in the police to have Karpal removed from the chamber.[11] On both occasions, he ordered the policemen out, saying they had no right to be there, and then walked out on his own.[11]
He once criticized the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) in the Dewan Rakyat for allegedly assaulting two men taken to the royal palace by the police, a move which drew heavy criticism from government members of parliament, who demanded that he apologise. He refused.[11] Karpal even filed a lawsuit against the King, Sultan Iskandar, in 1986 on behalf of one of the allegedly assaulted men. He lost and the sultan allegedly named one of his dogs after him.[3]
Karpal, along with many other opposition politicians, was detained without trial under the Internal Security Act during Operation Lalang in October 1987 for inciting "racial tension" in the country.[15] He was released briefly (a few hours) in March 1988 in response to a habeas corpus application, but was rearrested and remained in prison until January 1989.[54][3] Amnesty International deemed him a prisoner of conscience.[15]
He was arrested in January 2000 under the Sedition Act along with four other opposition politicians and the editor of the Harakah Daily, the newspaper published by the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS).[14] He was charged for making seditious remarks in court during Anwar's first corruption trial.[55] This was the only known charge of sedition in any country in the Commonwealth of nations brought against a lawyer for remarks made in court in defence of a client.[7] The charges were dropped in 2002.[7][43]
Karpal Singh married Gurmit Kaur, eight years his junior, in July 1970. Gurmit's family was from Narathiwat, Thailand but moved to Penang when she was seven.[1][4] They have five children and four grandchildren.[4] His eldest son, Jagdeep is the Penang State Assemblyman for Datuk Keramat and second son, Gobind is the Member of Parliament for Puchong, Selangor. Another son, Ramkarpal and daughter Sangeet Kaur work in his law firm, while youngest son Man Karpal studied actuarial science.[1]
His wife Gurmit described his detention from 1987 to 1989 as a "very big experience" and took a toll on her life, as she had to "be strong" for their young children.[6] The initial stage of his disability also deeply upset her.[4]
He and his wife have lived in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur since 1994.[4]
On January 28, 2005, Karpal was involved in an accident which has left him using a wheelchair. A car rammed into a taxi which he was sitting in from behind, causing severe contusion to his thoracic vertebrae. As a result, he suffers from sensory impairment and reduced motor strength, is unable to walk or raise his right arm a few centimeters.[4][53][41]
To suit his mobility needs, his seat in the Parliament chamber was moved to the back row to accommodate his wheelchair.[53]
| Parliament of Malaysia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Rasiah Rajasingam |
Member of Parliament for Jelutong 1978–1999 |
Succeeded by Lee Kah Choon |
| Preceded by Constituency created |
Member of Parliament for Bukit Gelugor 2004–present |
Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Lim Kit Siang |
National Chairman of the Democratic Action Party 2004–present |
Incumbent |
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