PETALING JAYA – In remembrance of the late party stalwart Datuk Seri Karpal Singh, DAP will be launching the Karpal Singh Scholarship programme, aimed to aid students eager to pursue their higher education in law.
DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said the scholarship programme is named after Karpal, known as the “Tiger of Jelutong”, to honour his contributions to the country.
RM100,000 has been allocated to start the fund, said Loke, who is also transport minister, at an event to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Karpal’s death here last night.
Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan will chair the committee running the scholarship programme. Loke also added that further information and criteria will be announced later.
“10 years have gone by, yet it is very pleasing to see the crowd that has come together to remember Karpal, who always fought for justice,” Loke said, referring to the late prominent lawyer and veteran opposition politician who built DAP.
Karpal was killed in a car accident on April 17, 2014. Prior to that, a previous crash in 2005 paralysed in the legs and consigned him to a wheelchair. However, he still did not give up his legal and political work.
The Penang-born Sikh lawyer began his legal career in 1969, becoming well-known for defending the accused in drug trafficking cases, as well as other cases involving the death penalty.
He also defended Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the latter’s sodomy trials.
Karpal joined DAP in 1970. In 1978, he won the Jelutong parliamentary seat which he held for 21 years until he lost in the 1999 general election.
He also held the Bukit Gelugor seat, which his son Ramkarpal Singh currently holds.
Meanwhile, Karpal’s other sons are Gobind Singh Deo, who is currently Damansara MP and digital minister; as well as Jagdeep Singh Deo, who is Penang deputy chief minister II and Datok Keramat assemblyman.
Several prominent DAP figures attended the event honouring Karpal last night, including former chairman Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang and current chairman Lim Guan Eng.
A forum moderated by Syahredzan was also held and featured former high court and Court of Appeal judge Datuk Seri Mohd Hishamudin Yunus, former attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, and human rights lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar as panellists. – April 18, 2024