by Kerk Kim Hock

It has been two weeks since the great statesman Karpal Singh s/o Ram Singh left us. Yet many people are still feeling grieved and the sense of loss over his sudden passing.

Poet Thomas Campbell said it well:” To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
Great men leave behind good stories. Statesmen become legends. Karpal was a living legend. And he remains one. Legends are timeless.

I thank DAP Negeri Sembilan state chairman Sdr Anthony Loke for inviting me to speak here tonight after I spoke about Karpal two days ago at the DAP Melaka Memorial Service for Karpal.

Actually, I have excused myself from almost all public party activities since my retirement in 2004 because I want to truly retire. But this is one invitation that I have gladly accepted as there are just so many interesting things one can share in memory of the great Karpal.

Working with giants
I was in active and full time DAP politics for almost 20 years and I had my moments of victories and defeats, joys and sadness, pride and disappointment.

I must say one of the proudest and challenging moments I had in DAP was having the opportunity to work closely with Kit Siang and Karpal, the two political giants and legends.

It was challenging working with giants because although I was higher ranked in party position, I was of course nowhere compared to their experience, reputation and standing.

Kit Siang is widely regarded as the best political brain in the party and Karpal was a world class lawyer.
Great leaders are people with strong views. An ordinary leader will also have strong views and character and I naturally have some strong views.

So how did we work together – ?

In the memorial service for Karpal in Melaka two days ago, I spoke about the issue of DAP pulling out of Barisan Alternatif in 2001 where Karpal and I differed with Kit Siang on the timing of pulling out.

On that issue, we finally reached a consensus and DAP pulled out of Barisan Alternatif on September 22, 2001.

I also said that to ensure unity among the top leadership, we would work as far as possible on the basis that there should be consensus among top leaders when decisions on major issues were required

But what happened when there was no consensus?

There was once an issue where the Central Working Committee discussed and achieved a consensus. It was a meeting where Dr Chen Man Hin the life advisor and Karpal the deputy national chairman were not present. But Kit Siang thought it was an issue where the opinions of Dr Chen and Karpal must be sought. He undertook the responsibility to explain the issue and decision to Dr Chen and Karpal.

That decision was never adopted because Karpal strongly objected. Even though only he objected, we respected his stand.

This episode showed not only Karpal would stand firm on something he strongly believed in even when he was alone, it showed too the kind of respect Kit Siang had for him and his views.

Later there was an issue which was hotly debated in the Central Executive Committee ( CEC) meeting. It was an issue I must confess in all honesty that it was the most difficult battle I had to do in the CEC meetings.

This was an issue where there was no consensus between me and Kit Siang.

Ultimately after what seemed to be one of the most tense CEC meetings, I managed to obtain more vote of support with Dr Chen speaking in favour of my proposal.

Karpal was not present at the meeting . When he met me at the next meeting, he uttered something to me in private indicating he disagreed with the CEC decision.

How did Kit Siang and Karpal take my stubborn attitude in pushing through my proposal?

When I spoke at Kit Siang 70 th birthday dinner organised by DAP Selangor in Feb 2011, I touched on this issue and said how I admired Kit Sang the gentleman because even though he fiercely fought me on that major policy which still remains in force till today, he was so professional after the CEC made its decision.

Likewise, Karpal behaved the same way after indicating to me his obvious disagreement.

It was indeed such great experience to work with the three most respected leaders of the Party, Dr Chen, Kit Siang and Karpal and to see that kind of genuine respect they have for each other.

Real giants become timeless wonders
A few years ago, Karpal publicly said “I’ve always said that a lawyer should die in a saddle. I think it equally applies to being a politician”.

In all honesty, I must say that I don’t agree with anyone in the party contesting in the general election or holding a party position when they are more than 70 years old especially when the party now has a large pool of talent. I believe such elder leaders should play guiding and advising roles in the Party.

But I believe that when it comes to Karpal, exception must be made.

This to me is not because Karpal had sacrificed immensely for the Party or he was still much respected within and outside the Party, or that he could still win easily in the general election, but because he was still able to make effective contributions to the Party.

Karpal continued to add value and carry the Party till his death. He did not stay on simply because he wanted to be there merely for as long as he could, but because he could still make effective contribution via his political positions.
He was fully conscious of the impact he could bring about and he really worked hard till his sudden death. He never overstayed his welcome.

In fact, after his death, he will still help carry the Party because he will continue to inspire many Malaysians to join in the crusade for justice, democracy, human rights and a better Malaysia.

I remember having read an article which says that David Heenan, author of Leaving on Top: Graceful Exits for Leaders, listed leaders under four categories: timeless wonders who have no need to quit, ageing despots who refuse to give up, comeback kids who return to their former glory and graceful exit-ers who depart at the right time.
I will say tonight Karpal was a timeless wonder. Dap is proud and fortunate to have a leader like him.

We are also fortunate to have Kit Siang who is still continuing to add value to and carry the Party every day through tireless work and even punishing travelling into the interior of Sabah.

Although Karpal is gone, he has left behind much greatness. Let’s all be thankful for the greatness he has left behind.
Let’s all thank his family for the great sacrifices too they had to make in sharing Karpal with us.

* This is the full text of a speech by former DAP Secretary General Kerk Kim Hock at a Memorial Service for Karpal (organized by DAP Negeri Sembilan) on Friday, May 02, 2014  at Wisma Ceylonese, Seremban