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This Tiger’s still roaring

Stories by MARTIN VENGADESAN
starmag@thestar.com.my

He’s reached an age when most people would have happily retired and gone to pasture. But not Karpal Singh, aka the Tiger of Jelutong. StarMag catches up with one of the country’s most colourful, controversial – and much admired – politicians.

ALMOST unnoticed, a Malaysian institution turned 70 recently. It wasn’t a building or an organisation, but an individual.

For better or worse, Democratic Action Party (DAP) national chairman Karpal Singh has been a part of public consciousness for nearly four decades now. Despite being seriously injured in a car accident in 2005 that left him with nerve damage and wheelchair-bound, he has continued with his life-long struggle for justice and equality in Malaysia. Now, in his twilight years, he shows no signs of slowing down.

When we met at his law office off Jalan Pudu in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, Karpal had just been discharged from hospital after suffering from pneumonia. He is weak and a little frail but manages to answer questions and dispense anecdotes with great gusto.

It’s typical of the irrepressible Karpal Singh that he keeps in his KL office a framed record of the infamous day in 1981 when he faced off against then Penang Police Chief Datuk Zaman Khan. – BRIAN MOH / The Star

The family lawman

We first discuss family and his children’s decision to follow him into law and politics. In the March 8, 2008, general election, his sons Jagdeep and Gobind were elected state assemblyman for Datuk Keramat in Penang and MP for Puchong, Selangor, respectively.

Another son, Ramkarpal, and daughter Sangeet Kaur work with him in his law firm.

Karpal insists that they followed his path out of their own volition.

“I left it to them. Probably because they saw my exploits and wanted to follow.”

Of the five children, the first four are lawyers, with two of them going into politics as well.

“Only my youngest boy, Man Karpal, has declined to enter the profession, studying actuarial science instead.”

Man Karpal was originally named after his father but fate stepped in.

“He was born on June 28, 1987, which was actually my 47th birthday! Since it was my birthday, I named him Karpal Singh, Jr. A few months later, I got arrested during Operasi Lalang (a round of detentions under the Internal Security Act carried out in October, 1987).

A leader even then: The president of the University of Singapore’s Dunearn hostel delivering a speech in 1963. – Photo courtesy of Karpal Singh and family

“There was a lot of gossiping at the Sikh temple. People were saying you cannot have two tigers because one will eat the other. When I came out, I found out that his name had been changed to Man Karpal!”

Karpal’s wife, Gurmit Kaur, is eight years his junior and the couple is celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this month.

Karpal, who was born in Penang, recalls his first encounter with the woman who has supported him through thick and thin.

“I met her when she was very young. My father was a watchman and to supplement his income, we had a few cows. The first time I saw her, I was a teenager tending the herd and she was a small girl. Her family was actually from Narathiwat in Thailand but she had been sent here (Penang) for schooling. Much later, after I finished my studies, I met her at the temple and at the library, and the little girl was all grown up!

“Back then, there was a bit of opposition. Her family was okay, but my family was stubborn. Of course, once the first son came along, order was quickly restored!” he says.

(Editor’s note: Gurmit’s wonderful account of her love story and marriage to Karpal, His pillar of strength, together with an interview with Karpal on becoming disabled, A slow road to recovery, were published in StarMag on Sept 10, 2006.)

Despite his reputation as one of Malaysia’s foremost legal minds, Karpal admits that he wasn’t always the most diligent of students.

“I studied law for quite some time in Singapore, where, in fact, I took seven years to complete my course. The more you beat the steel the stronger it becomes ... that’s my excuse for taking so long! Actually I was playful, didn’t attend lectures and so on.

“During my final year, I was the only one to fail and the dean, Tommy Koh, who later became Singapore’s ambassador to the United Nations, took me aside and said ‘From now on, you’re going to sit at the front of the class with me!’ So I couldn’t play the fool any more and I passed my exams accordingly!”

Hairy tale

Karpal is a Sikh and the maintenance of one’s hair is one of the tenets of Sikhism. Karpal’s decision to trim his locks was therefore not taken lightly.

The official photo of the new contender for the Alor Setar Parliament and State seats in 1974.

“Right up until 1970 I kept my turban. In fact, in 1969 in Penang, I was all ready to cut my hair and I was actually sitting in the barber’s chair waiting my turn when I looked out the window and saw my father cycling by! I bolted.

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