By, J. D. Lovrenciear, from Kuala Lumpur

Despite it being a working day; despite an almost whole day of wet weather; despite the snarling traffic jams noted along the Kuala Lumpur – Petaling Jaya – Loke Yew and the Cheras stretches at 7.00 pm and the lack of parking spaces, thousands of citizens made it a point to attend the Memorial Service held in honor of the late Yang Berhormat Karpal Singh at the Selangor Assembly Hall.

Young and old; all races and of different faiths – all them were not deterred by the last minute forced upon change of venue. With hardly any standing room in the cramped and overflowing Hall, not to mention the many more who were outside the Hall, the thousands of Malaysians stood all through the three hours and half of ceremony lined up to pay tribute to a politician, lawyer and legal service philanthropist.

It is amazing how the thousands of men and women stood shoulder to shoulder in the suffocating cramped beyond capacity Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall as they literally inched their way to the stage to place a white carnations at the huge portrait of late Karpal Singh.

And there were three words that erupted from the crowd that almost seemed like a roaring thunder. And BN needs to take notice of these words: “Jangan main main”; “Bersih”; and “Reformasi”.

It is a pity that BN chooses to continue to ignore the ground sentiments at its own peril.

When the organizers decided to hold a Memorial Service in Kuala Lumpur in commemoration of the one week of passing on of this legendary legal wizard and roaring politician, it was planned in recognition of that silent voices that were filling the hearts of citizens who were unable to be a part of the unending stream of mourners in Penang.

But alas it was seen as ‘politicizing’ by the late Karpal’s opponents.  And so the permission to hold the Memorial Service at a larger and more comfortable venue was denied at the eleventh hour.

And that set the roar amongst those who braved the obstacles to come and pay respect to a Malaysian who clearly millions recognize as their hero and icon of justice, democracy, human rights and professionalism.

That too BN messed again. It failed to see the big picture of the people’s silent voices.

Indeed, what was most telling at Memorial service is, the late Karpal is more than a legend. He is a living voice in the hearts of the people.

Even if BN hates to hear this, let truth be told. BN has messed up real big the huge public relations opportunity that Karpal Singh offered them through his untimely passing on. The people have more reasons now to believe BN’s opponents more than BN.

Perhaps this is in essence of what and how truth is and manifests itself ultimately. In life Karpal put BN on the defensive. In death too he has made the situation even more vulnerable for BN.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Rocket.