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 ©The
Sun (Used by permission)
by Regina William
PENANG (Nov 8, 2007): It was supposed to have been a
family gathering to celebrate Deepavali.
Instead, the family of Datuk S.P. Annamalai had to hold a wake in their home on
Lorong Air Terjun so that friends and family could pay their last respects to
the slain civil lawyer.
The first to arrive at the house this morning was Annamalai’s wife, A. Anusuyal,
59, who had been in India visiting relatives when Annamalai, 59, was stabbed on
his way to his car after work at about 6.35pm on Tuesday (Nov 6).
Annamalai, who was taken to a private hospital, died from his injuries at about
8pm.
He leaves behind a daughter Sorna Nachiappan, 37, who is a practising lawyer in
Australia, sons Raja Annamalai, 31, an accountant, and Manikandhan, a bank
officer.
Annamalai’s remains, which had earlier been lying in state at the Immaculate
Conception Church funeral parlour, was brought home at about noon.
Raja, who works in the Klang Valley, was, like his brother, still shocked over
his father’s death, saying he last spoke to his father on the morning of the
incident.
"I had called to ask if he wanted to come over to KL or he wanted me to come
over to Penang for Deepavali, since my mother was away," he said.
"Deepavali, for us, has always been a very family-oriented celebration, and we
would always have a small gathering.
"He told me to come over and I had planned to drive back on Deepavali eve. We
were supposed to drive to KL on Saturday (Nov 10) to be with my brother."
Reja said Annamalai had scaled down his legal work and concentrated more on
social work after the death of his eldest son, fondly known as Bapu, who drowned
in 1990 while studying in Canada.
Raja said his father had been in a jovial mood over the past week.
"He had a reunion last Saturday with his university mates from the National
University of Singapore Class of 1969," he said.
"He was a religious man, a teetotaller who did not smoke, but on that day, he
was so happy he even had two glasses of wine and told me about it."
He added that he could not think of anyone who would want to hurt his father as
he was someone who was kind, humble and generous and always went out of his way
to help others.
Raja said Annamalai had dedicated his life to the Hindu Sangam and the
Ramakrishna Ashrama for the past 12 years.
Annamalai studied at St Michael’s School and Sultan Abdul Hamid College in Alor
Setar and though he was offered a scholarship to pursue a legal degree in the
UK, he had to give it up as he could not afford to pay for his living expenses.
Raja said his father only managed to pursue his legal interests after he got
married, worked as a legal adviser with the Penang City Council, then as a legal
assistant with Karpal Singh before setting up his own practice in 1980.
Karpal described Annamalai as a good friend who was hardworking and intelligent.
Karpal said it was disheartening for lawyers to hear about such deaths.
He urged the police to track down the killer immediately as there have been too
many unsolved cases of lawyers being killed.
The talk within the legal fraternity was that Annamalai’s slaying was probably
related to work.
Penang CID chief Datuk Abu Samah Mat said police were investigating the case
from all aspects.
"So far, we have not made any arrests. We have interviewed eye witnesses, his
family members and his office staff and we hope they can shed some light on the
case," he said.
Police have classied the case as murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
Annamalai’s cortege will leave his home at 3pm tomorrow for cremation in the
Batu Gantong crematorium.
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