Karpal in memoriam at Reformasi 2.0 gathering
A Reformasi 2.0 gathering in Penang last night became a memorial service to the late Karpal Singh as speakers paid tribute to the late DAP chairman.
Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Karpal was worried about his five-year jail sodomy verdict appeal case.
Anwar, who is PKR's de facto leader, said the late veteran DAP politician's wife Gurmit Kaur had told him that Karpal was upset about his case.
"His passing is a personal loss to me, (Datuk Seri Dr Wan) Azizah (Wan Ismail) and my family," he said.
Anwar recounted to the crowd of several hundreds that Karpal had tried to call him on Wednesday evening.
"I received four missed calls from him at about 6.30pm. I called him back immediately and Karpal told me we have only 10 days to submit our appeal to the Federal Court.
"He told me not to worry. He said to me, 'You carry on'.
"Karpal said he would take care of the submission and do his best to fight the case in court," he said.
Anwar was found guilty for sodomising his former aide in 2008 by the Appeals Court last month.
The Appeals Court reversed the Kuala Lumpur High Court's decision to acquit him in January 2012.
He is appealing against the jail sentence. If he fails in the appeal, he will end up in prison and lose his Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat.
"I already have resignations (about the case)," he said, citing how the law and the judiciary had been allegedly used by the ruling government against their rivals.
He said putting him in jail will not stop issues like rising prices.
Anwar said Karpal was not just his long-time lawyer, but had become a member of his family.
He said Karpal would not charge him for his legal services.
"When I was behind bars, money was raised to pay Karpal but he would not take it. He refused the money, saying that he could not take it while I was sacrificing myself. He described his legal services to defend me in court as a small contribution... that is Karpal Singh," he said.
Karpal was killed in an accident on the North-South Expressway near Kampar, Perak at about 1am yesterday.
He was on his way back to Penang from Kuala Lumpur for a murder trial at the Penang High Court when his car collided with a lorry.
He died at the scene. His aide Michael Cornelius Selvam Vellu also died, while Karpal's son Ramkarpal and driver survived.
At the gathering, everyone present observed a minute of silence to show their respect for the former DAP national chairman.
Several speakers at the gathering who also paid tribute to Karpal were Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin, Penang PAS commissioner Mohamad Sabu, PKR strategist Razli Ramli, Penang exco member Dr Afif Bahardin and deputy Selangor speaker Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
The speakers, who also included PKR secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution, spoke about the Reformasi movement and topics like the judicial system, the goods and services tax (GST), and other issues.
They also urged the people to participate in the coming May 1 street rally in Kuala Lumpur to object against GST and rising prices. – April 18, 2014.
