#ramkarpal

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — DAP legal bureau chairperson Ramkarpal Singh has urged the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to clarify the “technical error” that led to heavy sanctions by FIFA. He said the issue must be disclosed publicly since taxpayer funds support the national team and may be used to cover FIFA’s fine of 350,000 Swiss francs (RM1.9 million) imposed on FAM, alongside 2,000 Swiss…

PARLIAMENT | Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh has questioned the lack of action against Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh over remarks related to a Penang flag blunder, calling them extreme, divisive, and potentially criminal. He cited possible offences under the Penal Code and Sedition Act, urging authorities to investigate promptly. Ramkarpal also criticised Akmal’s ultimatum to the…

KUALA LUMPUR: Former deputy law minister Ramkarpal Singh has called on the government to extend the tenure of Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, set to retire on July 1, 2025, at age 66. He also urged extensions for Court of Appeal president Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court judge Nallini Pathmanathan, retiring soon after. Ramkarpal emphasized that continuing their tenures aligns…

New Post has been published on http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/04/19/ramkarpal-warns-dap-against-working-with-tun-m/

Ramkarpal warns DAP against working with Tun M

KUALA LUMPUR April 19, 2015:

DAP’s Bukit Gelugor Member of Parliament Ramkarpal Singh has warned the party leadership against working with former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to “save Malaysia” by ousting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

In a statement today, Ramkarpal said the recent statement by DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang expressing his willingness to work with Dr Mahathir to “save Malaysia” must be addressed.

“The question of working with Dr Mahathir is an unimaginable disaster waiting to happen.

“His sudden desire to oust Datuk Seri Najib Razak is fuelled by a vested interest to ‘save Umno’ and any attempt to work with him would, in the circumstances, be an extension of that aim.”

While Ramkarpal agreed that Malaysians needed to be saved and Najib ought to leave his post, he disagreed with the means of Dr Mahathir to do so.

“Asserting pressure on a democratically elected Prime Minister to step down cannot be democratic and it is high time that Pakatan Rakyat come together at this very critical time against Umno and the Barisan Nasional.

“Dr Mahathir’s concern that if Pakatan Rakyat were to come to power, many would be charged in court and may be found guilty, presumably for corruption related offences is exactly what the Pakatan Rakyat stands for.

“Wouldn’t working with him to oust Najib mean maintaining the status quo and thus allowing such corruption to continue?”

Ramkarpal added that he was firmly of the view that saving the country would only be through a new clean, accountable and transparent government.

New Post has been published on http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/04/16/a-malaysian-epic-starring-karpal-singh/

'A Malaysian epic', starring Karpal Singh

GEORGE TOWN, April 16, 2015:

The past one year has not been easy for Bukit Gelugor Member of Parliament Ramkarpal Singh Deo, but the few hours to come leading to 12.45am April 17 will be even harder.

The same few hours last year had led to a tragedy that would forever change his life and the lives of many.

At 12.45am on April 17 last year, Ramkarpal lost his father, the late Karpal Singh, in a horrific highway accident in Kampar, Perak, in a Toyota Alphard in which Ramkarpal was also travelling in.

They were on their way to Penang from Kuala Lumpur for a court case in which Karpal was the lawyer.

Recalling the few hours leading to his father’s sudden demise, Ramkarpal said he could still remember him in the office with his father in Kuala Lumpur before they went home and pushed off for Penang.

“I don’t know whether I will be able to sleep tonight.. It has been a hectic few days but I think tonight will not be easy for me when everything comes flooding right back,” he said when met at his late father’s legal firm in Green Hall here.

He never thought that his father’s wish to  go around the garden in their Kuala Lumpur home in Bukit Ledang was actually Karpal’s way of saying goodbye to his favourite spot in the house.

“It was dark at about 11pm and I remember him asking to be taken around by Michael (Cornelius), his assistant who also perished with him in the accident.

“He normally didn’t do that.. but, of course, at that point of time, I did not find it peculiar but now that I think of it, it is like his way of bidding his garden and the home farewell,” said Ramkarpal.

On the eve of Karpal’s death anniversary, the same case is being handled by Ramkarpal.

“Until today I still feel my father’s presence everywhere I go, especially when in court or in Parliament,” he said.

After his father’s passing, Ramkarpal was nominated as the Bukit Gelugor candidate to succeed his father, dubbed as the Tiger of Jelutong, and won the by-election in May last year.

Meanwhile, for Batu Kawan Member of Parliament Kasthuri Patto, who sat next to Karpal in Parliament, his sudden passing was a major blow and loss to her.

“He was like a father to me when I lost my father in 1995, and hearing the disastrous news on April 17, 2014 was like losing my father all over again.

“It’s always bittersweet when anyone asks me what it was like sitting next to a legal giant like Uncle Karpal.

“When I stepped foot in Parliament for the third sitting in Oct 2014, I saw that the table next to me had been removed and it felt like a kick in the stomach,” she said.

“The emptiness was not physical. It was emotional and I felt tears well up in my eyes. I saw the depressions in the carpet where once the table stood, on which laid the weathered Parliamentary Standing Orders thumbed through hundreds of times by the hands of the defender of justice Karpal Singh in his many fiery and yet animated debates in the August House.

“As soon as he came in, I would switch on his computer and put on all the online news portals for him to pick. With limited movement, he would scroll down, line by line to read any news that caught his eye. But he was also interested to read all the comments that other readers left as well. And he would read them intently,” she said.

Kasthuri recalled how they would share hilarious moments in Parliament when Karpal would sometimes share with her stories of his term under the Internal Security Act (ISA), the DP Vijendran scandal and how he hit a policeman after being manhandled by them in Kedah.

“He was witty, sharp and had an insane sense of humour!! You would die laughing if you were next to him.

“He came to Parliament paperless, which means, no prepared speeches, notes or scribbles, except for articles printed for citation purposes, his copy of the Federal Constitution and his Standing Order, and would unleash hell on the powers that be with precise facts and figures at the tip of his tongue in debating amendments and legislatures — in Bahasa Malaysia.

“And that is something many MPs still fall short of doing. He would poke fun at MPs from the other side, and with that twinkle in his eye and his hearty laugh you could see he was enjoying it as well,” she recalled.

For Belinda Bhar, the late Karpal’s daughter in-law who is married to Karpal’s eldest son Jagdeep Singh Deo, Karpal was the best father in-law anyone could wish for.

“I miss him terribly. I’m still in shock and I don’t think I will ever recover. My father-in-law was one in a million. He loves his grandchildren and spending time with them.”

Recalling the fond memories she had of her father-in-law, Belinda said the first was during the birth of her eldest son, Aakshay, Karpal’s eldest grandson.

“I  remember when he came to the hospital to visit. When he held Aakshay, the look of pride n joy. I’ll never forget it.

“The following year my second son Rohith was born, just 4 days before the 11th GE (General Election). My father-in-law came to visit in his trademark red jeep with the DAP flags flying. Rohith brought him luck for the election,” she said.

However, she expressed sorrow that Karpal never had the chance to meet his youngest grandson, Sherr Karpal, as she was still carrying him when he passed away.

Padang Serai MP N. Surendran told The Rakyat Post that what stood out with Karpal was his fighting qualities and his refusal to give up.

“Both politically and personally, Karpal simply would not give up. Politically he never gave up despite all the odds stacked up against him, against an all powerful government which includes his detention without trial.

“Personally, after that terrible accident that left him paralysed for life and the consequences of it, he never gave up,” he said.

He summed up Karpal as a “Malaysian epic”.

“His life story is a Malaysian epic. He is truly a Malaysian hero. There was no denying he was a heroic figure. We do not have too many heroes in Malaysia,” Surendran said.

He added that Karpal fought hard and long for the civil liberty of every Malaysian since the 1970s until the day of his death.

“That fight is not over. I hope all Malaysians come together to realise his vision of a country that respects the rights of its people and freedom of the press and where the people are free to speak without fear of being persecuted.”

While the Tiger of Jelutong is no longer around, Surendran said Karpal’s name still comes up in conversations.

New Post has been published on http://www.therakyatpost.com/news/2015/03/13/rm100m-civil-suit-filed-by-altantuyas-family-likely-to-be-amended/

'RM100m civil suit filed by Altantuya's family likely to be amended'

SHAH ALAM, March 13, 2015:

The RM100 million civil suit filed by the family of Altantuya Shaariibuu in connection with the death of the Mongolian woman is likely to be amended based on new evidence contained in the appeal records of the Federal Court.

Counsel Ramkarpal Singh, who represents Altantuya’s father Shaariibuu Setev and three family members, said the case management of the suit was fixed for April 23 by Shah Alam High Court deputy registrar Asyida Abd Rahim@Ibrahim today.

He said the relevant documents and appeal records on the conviction and death sentence on former Special Action Unit personnel Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar for Altantuya’s murder was received from the Federal Court last week.

“We have received many records on the case and require time to research before the possibility of the statement of claim in the suit is amended,” he told reporters when met at the lobby of the High Court here today.

On June 4, 2007, Setev and Altantuya’s mother, Altantsetseg Sanjaa, and her two sons, Mungunshagai Bayarjargal and Altanshagai Munkhtulga named Azilah, Sirul Azhar, political analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda and the government as defendants in the suit.

In the suit, Altantuya’s family is claiming RM100 million in compensation.

Abdul Razak was charged with abetting Azilah and Sirul Azhar in the murder of 28-year-old Altantuya in 2006.

He was acquitted by the High Court in October 2008 without calling for his defence while Azilah and Sirul Azhar were convicted of the offence in 2009.

In Aug 23, 2013, the Court of Appeals allowed the appeal by Azilah and Sirul Azhar by acquitting them.

However, on Jan 13, 2015, the Federal Court set aside Azilah and Sirul Azhar’s acquittal and sentenced them to death after granting the prosecution’s appeal against the duo’s acquittal.

In the statement of claim, Altantuya’s family alleged that her death had caused them mental shock and psychological trauma, entitling them to be compensated with exemplary and aggravated damages.

They alleged that Altantuya was shot dead and her body blown up with C-4 explosives by Azilah and Sirul Azhar, who were policemen in the Special Unit Force, and her remains were subsequently found in a forest area in Puncak Alam, Shah Alam, on Nov 7, 2006.

They claimed that Azilah and Sirul Azhar had acted unconstitutionally and abused the trust placed in them as officers of the Royal Malaysian Police and servants of the Malaysian government.

The family claimed that as a result of the acts of Azilah, Sirul Azhar and Abdul Razak, they had suffered loss and damage, particularly Altantuya’s two sons, who had lost the love of their mother and sole breadwinner.