5 - Funeral for a True Son of Penang

Summary

The morning was soft and cloudy, but only for a while. By 10:00 am, the sun was blazing and having its usual relentless way with Penangites. Perhaps as many as 20,000 of us were already gathered outside the Dewan Sri Pinang, where the body of one of Penang's most beloved sons had been lying in state since 8:00 am that Sunday, 20 April 2014.

Karpal Singh, respected lawyer, fiery Member of Parliament for Bukit Gelugor and foe of countless bigots is no more. He was killed in a traffic accident on the North-South Highway in the first hour of 17 April.

Huge throngs of people who three days later lined the streets around the State Assembly Hall, the courts and St Xavier's Institute to wave goodbye and to shout ‘Karpal Singh’ one last time, following thousands of others who had over the two nights before the funeral visited his family home in Western Road to pay their respects. Many made the trip from as far away as Johor to join fellow countrymen and countrywomen to publicly mourn Karpal Singh and who felt that this was the least they could do for a man whose fighting spirit had always been inspirational.

We should certainly pause and ponder why so many Malaysians and Penangites felt such a strong need to come together. I am sure there is a whole range of reasons, but chief among these has to be the iconic status achieved by the man. He had simply come to symbolise the stand against bigotry and abuse of the law which the country has been suffering from for so long.

His belief that respect for the law is the necessary foundation for a just society and for protection of human rights was something that has had immediate appeal to people of all classes. His bravery in speaking back to arrogant power and the directness of his words carried immediate appeal in a society given to hushed compromise and feudal diffidence.

These values held so strongly in him certainly resonated well in Penang, whose people struggled to consider it liberal and modern. In all ways, Karpal Singh was indeed a true son of Penang – he represented Penang values with great ease. In fact, he amplified them more loudly than anyone else.