Contributed by Ambiga Sreenevasan, Member of the Bar
My Lords, ladies and gentlemen,
This evening, in the fine recent tradition of the Malaysian Bar, we pause to pay tribute and record for posterity the achievements of a learned friend and colleague at the Malaysian Bar that should be emulated and forever cherished. Karpal Singh was an eminent and distinguished Member of the Bar, and one of our foremost and leading advocates.
The Honourable late Karpal Singh s/o Ram Singh MP was born in humble circumstances on 28 June 1940 in George Town, Penang, to Ram Singh Deo and Kartar Kaur. Growing up amidst the Japanese Occupation of Malaya, in difficult and deprived wartime conditions, imbued in him tenacity and courage, which became some of the most enduring qualities that Karpal exuded as a lawyer.
He received his primary and secondary education at St Xavier’s Institution, where it is said he excelled in English and History. In 1961, he went on to read law at the University of Singapore, as part of the inaugural cohort of law students. He was a resident at the Dunearn Road Hostel and became President of the Hostel. He was also active in university politics and later rose to become President of the Student Union Council.
There is a story that as President of the Dunearn Road Hostel, he was once barred from entering the hostel because he had campaigned against the requirement for a “certificate of political suitability” for enrolling students. It would appear that getting locked out of a place so closely connected with him would become a recurrent motif of his later life.
Karpal took his time (seven years) to complete his law degree. There is another story that Professor Tommy Koh, Karpal’s law lecturer and later Dean of the Law Faculty, once asked Karpal, “Look here, Karpal, don’t you want to go home?”, to which Karpal responded, “Well, if you fellows will not let me go home, what can I do about it?” Professor Koh took it upon himself to ensure that Karpal came home to Malaysia; he made him sit at the front of the class and, according to Karpal, “I couldn’t play the fool anymore and I passed my exams accordingly”. He graduated with an LLB Honours degree in 1968.
Legal Career
Upon his return to Malaysia, Karpal was called to the Bar at the High Court of Malaya in Penang on 15 January 1969, and started work in a legal firm in Alor Setar, Kedah. He later set up his own legal firm, Karpal Singh & Co, in 1970. He rapidly established himself as a formidable litigator, with an expertise in criminal law, constitutional law and administrative law. He was renowned as a firm and fair lawyer, with a reputation for presenting arguments that had the merit of brevity, force and focus. His strong conviction for equality for all, particularly justice for the downtrodden, was evident from the very beginning of his practice.
Karpal was also committed to the objectives and activities of the Malaysian Bar, and supported the work of the Bar Council. Early on in his career at the Bar he was a leading opponent of the Government’s proposal for the Essential (Security Cases) Regulations 1975, better known by the acronym ESCAR. This amended the law for the trial of offences against national security, and changed the basic rules of evidence and removed judicial discretion in the passing of sentences in such cases. At the Extraordinary General Meeting convened by the Malaysian Bar, Karpal and R Rajasingam, also of the Penang Bar, moved a resolution to condemn the attempts by the Executive to diminish the rule of law and to interfere with the independence of the Judiciary in sentencing. Old habits die hard, and we see today vestiges of ESCAR in the Prevention of Crime Act 1959, which was extensively revamped and revised in 2013, and in the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015. Karpal would have been with the Malaysian Bar in our opposition to these repugnant and abhorrent laws.
No one can do sufficient justice in recounting Karpal’s extensive legal career, which spanned 45 years. However, let it be noted that Karpal was involved in a number of landmark cases, and over 600 of his cases have been reported in the law reports. He was a pioneer in drug trafficking cases and a staunch opponent of the death penalty, although in 2010 he gave an interview in which he called for the death penalty to be imposed on child rapists. Among his early high–profile death penalty cases were those involving the Australian Kevin Barlow, and later the New Zealanders Lorraine and Aaron Cohen.
His landmark cases included:
(1) Johnson Tan Heng Seng v Public Prosecutor,[1] where Karpal raised Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution to challenge the Attorney General’s power to discriminate in the way he preferred charges and prosecuted accused persons under different provisions of the law;
(2) Teh Cheng Poh v Public Prosecutor,[2] one of several cases Karpal argued before the Privy Council, which clarified the reversion of powers to Parliament post–Emergency, and the availability of judicial review in the form of mandamus against Cabinet decisions;
(3) Public Prosecutor v Lau Kee Hoo,[3] where Karpal argued that the imposition of the death penalty was unconstitutional. The challenge failed but the case remains a leading authority on the constitutional approach to the death penalty;
(4) Arulpragasan A/L Sandaraju v Public Prosecutor,[4] where a full bench of the Supreme Court decided that the prosecution in criminal cases was obliged to prove the guilt of an accused person beyond a shadow of a doubt at the close of the prosecution’s case, before the defence was to be called;
(5) Public Prosecutor v Kok Wah Kuan,[5] where Karpal argued that the power vested in the Yang di–Pertuan Agong by the Child Act 2001, to detain at his pleasure a child convicted of an offence carrying the death penalty, violated the doctrine of separation of powers. He argued that as the power to determine guilt and the measure of punishment was a judicial power, the vesting of a sentencing power in the Head of State constituted a violation of the doctrine of separation of powers. The Federal Court rejected that argument and held by a 4–1 majority that as there was no specific provision in the Federal Constitution incorporating the doctrine of separation of powers, it was not unconstitutional for Parliament to vest sentencing power in the Executive. It is interesting to note that Karpal’s argument was vindicated by the decision of the Privy Council in State of Mauritius v Khoyratty,[6] where Lord Mance observed that new constitutions based on the Westminster model would not usually contain any express provision incorporating the doctrine of separation of powers, but that the doctrine was nevertheless an integral part of such a constitution; and
(6) Ng Chuan Hock v Tan Sri Musa bin Dato’ Hj Hassan (Inspector–General of Police and Chairman of the Disciplinary Authority, Royal Malaysian Police) & Ors,[7] where Karpal appeared and argued for a member of the public service, arguing that he had not received procedural fairness in the hands of the disciplinary authority.
Karpal was also an uncompromising and dogged defender of the Federal Constitution against those who tried to misconstrue or change its fundamental provisions and structure. In particular, he was a steadfast advocate against attempts to change the original and fundamental secular structure of the Federal Constitution. He was staunchly opposed to the idea that Malaysia was an Islamic state. He felt strongly about civil liberties, independence of the Judiciary, freedom of belief and religion, and about being true to the founding principles underpinning the Federal Constitution.
Political Trials
Karpal Singh will also be remembered for the pivotal role he played as lead defence counsel for Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim in both his prosecutions for alleged sodomy. Indeed, as a result of his conduct of the defence in the first sodomy trial, Karpal himself became embroiled in his own prosecution for an alleged offence under the Sedition Act 1948. This only cemented the intertwining of two colourful and larger–than–life personalities who have come to dominate contemporary Malaysia over the last almost three decades, and who will remain a mainstay of Malaysian history for years to come. It has been noted that Karpal’s first prosecution under the Sedition Act 1948 was very likely the first and only time an advocate was prosecuted in the Commonwealth for words uttered during the conduct of a trial in defence of his client. Providentially for Karpal, the prosecution was dropped in 2002.
Karpal’s second prosecution under the Sedition Act 1948 was in respect of a commentary on the law and constitution of Malaysia and an oral opinion given that the exercise of discretion by a Malay Ruler in respect of the dismissal of a Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) was a justiciable matter. This time, he was sentenced to a fine of RM4,000, and the appeal is still pending in that matter.
It is quite clear that both these prosecutions were politically motivated, and were attempts to remove Karpal from the legal and parliamentary scene.
Political Life
In 1970, prompted by the race riots of May 1969, Karpal Singh joined the Democratic Action Party (“DAP”). In the 1974 General Election, he stood as the DAP candidate for the Alor Setar Parliamentary seat and the Alor Setar Bandar State Legislative Assembly seat in Kedah, and won the state seat. In 1978, he moved to contest the Jelutong Parliamentary seat and the Bukit Gelugor State Legislative Assembly seat in Penang, and won both. Karpal remained Member of Parliament for Jelutong until his defeat in the 1999 General Election. For his long service to his constituents, and his unyielding defence of the common person, he earned the moniker “Tiger of Jelutong”. It recalls to mind that very famous poem by the English poet William Blake (1757–1827):
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,In the forests of the night;What immortal hand or eye,Could frame thy fearful symmetry?In what distant deeps or skies.Burnt the fire of thine eyes?On what wings dare he aspire?What the hand, dare seize the fire?And what shoulder, & what art,Could twist the sinews of thy heart?And when thy heart began to beat,What dread hand? & what dread feet?What the hammer? what the chain,In what furnace was thy brain?What the anvil? what dread grasp,Dare its deadly terrors clasp!When the stars threw down their spearsAnd water’d heaven with their tears:Did he smile his work to see?Did he who made the Lamb make thee?Tyger Tyger burning bright,In the forests of the night:What immortal hand or eye,Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
Having challenged a king and a sultan, politicians and the police, and judges, the image of Karpal Singh as a fiery–eyed tiger, evoking dread in the hands and feet of his opponents, clasping those against him in deadly terror, having a mind honed and sharpened in the furnace and by the anvil, acknowledged by the stars and the heavens, would be a fitting picture of this great man. Even after his car accident in 2005 in which he suffered serious spinal injuries that left him wheelchair–bound, his indomitable spirit, in the face of adversity, never flagged.
He overcame his disability to such an extent that we sometimes forgot it existed. In an interview on his 70th birthday, when asked about his health, he said, with a laugh, “But one of these days, with stem cell research and so on, you never know – I might just become an athlete and break all sorts of records!”
In the 2004 General Election, Karpal successfully stood in the newly–created Bukit Gelugor Parliamentary seat, which he then held until his demise in 2014. Karpal also remained a member of the Penang State Legislative Assembly from 1978 until 1990, when he moved to contest the Sungai Pinang state seat but lost. In 1991, he stood as a candidate in the Prai state seat by–election but lost. In 1995, he contested the Padang Kota state seat but lost. He did not stand again for a seat in the Penang State Legislative Assembly.
As a harking back to his principled obstinacy and determination during his student days at the University of Singapore, Karpal Singh was twice ordered to leave a sitting of the Penang State Legislative Assembly. In 1980, he was handed a two–year ban from the Penang State Legislative Assembly. He was also suspended twice for a six–month period from the Federal Parliament, in 2004 and 2010, and also served a short two–day suspension for calling the Speaker “not serious” and “playful”, and another for 10 days for calling the Speaker a “dictator”. He crossed swords many a time with Members of Parliament from the government benches, and members of the government, and was well known, and perhaps even feared, for his forthrightness and advocacy, both in court and in the legislature.
From 1976 to 1995, Karpal served as Chairman of the Penang DAP. He also served as Deputy National Chairman of the DAP. In 2004, Karpal became National Chairman of the DAP, a position he held until he stepped down in February 2014 following his conviction for the second time under the Sedition Act 1948.
Karpal Singh was detained twice under the Internal Security Act 1960 (“ISA”). The first occasion was as part of “Operation Lalang” in October 1987. For this, Amnesty International named him a “Prisoner of Conscience”. He successfully challenged his detention and was ordered to be released by the then–Supreme Court in March 1988. However, as soon as he was released, he was re–arrested under the ISA and held until he was released by order of the Minister at the time.
Conclusion
My Lords, ladies and gentlemen,
In delivering this citation, one has looked back on the life of Karpal Singh and spoken about him in segments and compartments, under headings and chapters. But anyone who knew Karpal Singh will know that his was never a serially–led life. He was never at one point barrister, at another politician, and at yet another husband to Madam Gurmit Kaur, father to Jagdeep Singh Deo, Gobind Singh Deo, Ramkarpal Singh Deo, Sangeet Kaur Deo and Mankarpal Singh Deo, and grandfather. He was all of these, and more, at all times.
Karpal personified the immortal words of Sir Winston Churchill, “All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.” He was indeed a special and rare breed amongst us, a man of unshakeable principles. His commitment to justice, freedom and, above all, the rule of law, remained unabated, and his passion for the law and the well–being of his fellow citizens has inspired, and will continue to inspire, many generations of Malaysians to come.
I believe it was Dato’ Mahadev Shankar, a former Judge of the Court of Appeal, and himself recipient of the Malaysian Bar’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014, who put it best when he said:
To say that the man had charisma would be a gross understatement. From start to finish, he left nothing to speculation. He had the unique ability of penetrating the façade and get into the core of the material issues without beating about the bush. What stood out was his transparent honesty together with his powerful voice and command of the language, never faltering as he moved like a juggernaut to the inexorable conclusion of his submission. Indeed he was a colossus who was greater than the sum of his parts.[8]
My Lords, ladies and gentlemen,
Please join me in saluting the recipient of the Malaysian Bar’s Lifetime Achievement Award for 2016, the late Karpal Singh.
Endnotes
[1] [1977] 2 MLJ 66.
[2] [1979] 1 MLJ 50.
[3] [1983] 1 MLJ 157.
[4] [1997] 1 MLJ 1.
[5] [2008] 1 MLJ 1.
[6] [2006] 2 WLR 1330.
[7] [2013] 3 MLJ 805.
[8] Shanker, Mahadev, “A Man who Touched Many Minds and Many Hearts”, The Commonwealth Lawyer, Journal of the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association, Vol 23 No 2 (August 2014), p 30.
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Ambiga Sreenevasan records her appreciation to Andrew Khoo Chin Hock for his assistance in preparing this citation.
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Malaysian Bar Lifetime Achievement Award
The Bar Council instituted the Malaysian Bar Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 as a form of recognition of and appreciation for outstanding Members of the Malaysian Bar who have demonstrated particular dedication and exemplary lifetime service, and made invaluable and outstanding contributions, to the Bar.
The Award was first conferred (posthumously) on Raja Aziz Addruse, at the Malaysian Bar’s Annual Dinner & Dance on 10 Mar 2012. The second, third and fourth recipients were Peter Mooney, Mahadev Shankar, and Dr Radhakrishna Ramani (posthumously) respectively.
The Award was conferred on Karpal Singh s/o Ram Singh (posthumously) at the Bar’s Annual Dinner & Dance on 19 Mar 2016.