Tiger, tiger burning bright

LOVE him or hate him, you could never ignore the late Karpal Singh – lawyer, politician and crusader of the downtrodden – who was tragically killed in a car accident on April 17 this year while on his way to Penang to attend a court hearing.
Even from his humble beginnings to his early days as a student leader and finally, as a politician, member of parliament and one of the most prominent lawyers in Malaysia, Karpal remained an enigmatic man.
That was why when veteran journalist Tim Donoghue penned this legendary lawyer’s life story, Karpal Singh: Tiger of Jelutong became a much sought-after read. The book was published in September last year, and Karpal himself was present at the launch.
With Karpal’s untimely death this year, Donoghue decided to update the book with the final chapter of the man’s life and launched this second edition in July.
Donoghue was in Kuala Lumpur early this month to receive the top prize in the Star-Popular Reader Choice Awards in the non-fiction category for his book, Karpal Singh: Tiger of Jelutong.
In an interview, Donoghue recalled his long association with Karpal. The writer first met Karpal in 1987 when he was instructed by his then boss, New Zealand Press Association general manager Graeme Jenkins, to fly to Penang (Donoghue was based in Hong Kong then) and interview a lawyer by the name of Karpal Singh.
Karpal was the lawyer for mother-and-son Lorraine and Aaron Cohen from New Zealand who were facing the death penalty for drug-trafficking charges.
The following year, Karpal was incarcerated in Kamunting prison under Operation Lallang.
Like many others, Donoghue was wondering if the Cohens should engage another lawyer and decided to ask Karpal himself.
“When I saw him in Kamunting,” said Donoghue, “I thought there was something to this guy. We spoke about the book in Kamunting.”
Before he left, Karpal handed him a note to be given to the Cohens, which conluded: “All is not lost. It cannot be. Both Aaron and you are always in my thoughts. Take heart. We must not lose heart. Every cloud has a silver lining. That lining will enlighten that which has been plunged into darkness.”
Needless to say, Karpal did as he promised: the Cohens escaped the gallows and Lorraine outlived her lawyer by six weeks, dying of cancer in Auckland in late May.
The book is also filled with other high-profile cases handled by Karpal and reflects on the impact those cases had, not only on our legal system but also on Karpal himself.
As many people would attest, Karpal was an enigma. “He was more of a lawyer than a politician. Much of his electorate knew he would take up causes that no one else would.”
Donoghue also recalled the case of 13-year-old Lim Hiang Seoh that launched Karpal into politics. That was the case that saw the emergence of the ‘Tiger of Jelutong’.
Hiang Seoh was just a schoolboy, aged 13 years and 11 months, when he was arrested in Penang on Feb 14, 1977, for possession of a Browning pistol and 20 rounds of .25 ammunition. The boy was facing the death penalty but Karpal managed to get him off.
It was this case that endeared Karpal to the people of Jelutong, a predominantly Chinese constituency where he served as member of parliament for over two decades.
Donoghue started on Tiger of Jelutong in 1988. “Just when I thought: ‘Hey, I got an ending’, the Tiger would be out doing something.”
Even when Karpal met with an accident in 2005, Donoghue thought that would be it. But Karpal again proved him wrong. The Tiger was back to work again.
Donoghue visited Karpal during the last general election. “He said we should do it now and I am glad we did. He loved the book.
“The last time we met was in September last year. Gurmit (Karpal’s wife) had 100 copies of the book and he said I have to sign them. I felt like I was in a book-signing ceremony.”
Even at age 73, Karpal was facing a sedition case as well as handling other major cases.
Donaghue said: “He liked to liken himself as a Sikh warrior. He said: ‘We Sikhs are capable of going into battle on horses and still pray on them’.”
That image hit the writer as an apt analogy of Karpal hitting the highway on his horse with saddle bags full of court appeal petitions.
“Basically, he fought till the very end.”