Thousands pay last respects to ‘Tiger of Jelutong’

GEORGE TOWN: Prominent lawyer and politician Karpal Singh, 73, who died in a car accident near Ipoh on Thursday, was cremated at the Batu Gantung crematorium here today after a funeral with state honours befitting one of Penang’s most prominent sons.
Nearly 10,000 people had earlier thronged the Dewan Sri Penang where his body was laid and its vicinity in a massive outpouring of grief at the sudden passing of the Bukit Glugor MP and former Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman who charted new frontiers in politics and law over the past 45 years.
The day started with mourners gathering at his Jalan Utama home in the wee hours of the morning for a quiet moment with the “Tiger of Jelutong”, a monicker given to him for representing the constituency for more than 20 years.
At 6am, prayers were offered by Sikh priests as Karpal’s wife, Gurmit Kaur, sons Jagdeep (Penang state executive councillor), Gobind (Puchong MP), lawyers Ramkarpal and only daughter Sangeet Kaur and banker Mankarpal spent their last moments with him.
By 7.30am, the crowds had grown with the road choked by traffic and Penangites on foot awaiting a glimpse of Karpal’s coffin.
The cortege left his home a few minutes later to the sound of fire crackers for Dewan Sri Pinang accompanied by a large group of super bikers and a fleet of private cars for a laying in state to enable public members to pay their last respects.
As the coffin was brought into the hall, there were shouts of “Karpal, Karpal” with thousands reaching out to touch his coffin as a sign of respect for his exceptional legal prowess and his never-say-die pursuit of the interests of the small man in the political arena.
His body was then laid at the centre of the hall where Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng draped the state flag over the coffin in a sign of the official nature of the funeral.
At 8.45am, the public was allowed in for more than a hour to file past his coffin before party leaders and NGO heads were allowed to do the same.
This went on until Penang Governor Tun Dr Abdul Rahman Abbas arrived and the doors were closed, much to the frustration of those who did not managed to pay their last respects.
After prayers, the cortege was taken past places in the city where Karpal made his mark, including his alma mater, SMK St Xavier, his legal office at Green Hall, the Penang Legislative Assembly building and the Penang Court Complex.
The procession then continued to the crematorium at 1.35pm where prayers were offered before final respects were paid by family members and relatives.
The 1.30am accident along the Gua Tempurung stretch of the North-South Expressway also claimed the life of Karpal’s assistant, Michael Cornelius, 27.
His driver C. Selvam and Ramkarpal and escaped with bruises while Karpal’s Indonesian maid, Selfiana Rengga, 26, was critically injured.