8 Things We Can Learn From Karpal Singh's Legacy

Karpal filed a lawsuit against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong for assault in 1986, but in the same 2014 Roketkini interview, he made clear his opinion on the monarchy: “It is important for every citizen in the country to know, that no one, no one is above the law ... In the case of the king and the other rulers, the Special Court is the only court which I think is quite unfair because it is one-tiered … Even the rulers have the right to the rule of law.”

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“They want to make it as difficult as they can for us here so we’ll go away. But we will not go - that would be giving them what they want, and that would be wrong. We have to stay and fight.” Karpal in an interview with an online news portal in 2014, discussing his guilty verdict on the charge of sedition.

“There are always people who are insensitive, we just have to take it …There is nothing you can do about it. We cannot be discouraged, as that’s exactly what our enemies would want,” Karpal said in another interview with The Star in 2006, after he was mocked by Barisan Nasional MPs in Parliament.

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Karpal died just weeks after he was convicted of sedition over his remarks on the Perak Sultan’s role in the 2009 state constitutional crisis. Faced with the possibility of losing his seat, Karpal had remained cool. “The fight goes on. You knock out one Karpal Singh, a hundred Karpal Singhs will rise,” he said last month.

“The tiger is still alive and ... a wounded tiger is even more dangerous.” – Karpal in April 1995 after DAP was defeated in Penang. The then-state chairman said the defeat did not mean the end of the opposition in Penang.

“I know what it is like to lose your liberties. So I want to go on being in Parliament as long as I can.” – Karpal in 1995, when asked about his determination during the general elections campaign period.

“Once you are in this situation, you realise how little the disabled have in this country. Governments in many countries make lots of allowances to include them in society. We haven’t reached that stage. I will do what I can to make sure the disabled are given all opportunities in line with other countries.” – Karpal in 2006, commenting on the lack of disabled-friendly infrastructure and legislation in Malaysia.

“As long as I am alive, I will continue to struggle to see a non-Malay become prime minister.” – Karpal in 2012, saying the Federal Constitution did not provide that only Malays could be prime minister.