With five more days to polling day, the Bukit Gelugor campaign trail has been less than exciting due to Barisan Nasional’s absence from the by-election. Although this is said to be a “safe” seat for DAP, candidate Ramkarpal Singh is not taking anything for granted, insisting that his team needs to continue to work hard to ensure a victory.

Since the three state seats (Air Itam, Seri Delima and Paya Terubong) under Bukit Gelugor are all held by DAP, it is easier to arrange activities and programs for the campaign. Ram has been working hard in the constituency to get to know the people, and to make himself know.

As a political novice, in the eyes of the public he begins his political career very much in the shadow of his father, the late Karpal Singh, whose death last month occasioned the by-election.

Nevertheless, Ram takes these comparisons in his stride. He is in no hurry to “replace” the iconic DAP politician. “It’s impossible to replace someone of his stature,” he says with pride, adding that he does not plan to be the reincarnation of the Tiger of Jelutong.

“While we shared a lot of ideals and I intend to carry on his work, I am not my father. Nobody is. Not my brothers or any one else. He was a special person.” Ram intends to carve out a niche for himself if given the chance to represent the people of Bukit Gelugor in Parliament.

“Give me some time to become my own man. My father took 40 years, I have just come into this (campaign) for two weeks,” he quips.

Ram’s brothers Jagdeep Singh Deo and Gobind Singh Deo are both politicians in their own right, giving rise to accusations of nepotism. Ram is quick to address detractors that despite his famous family name, he is also a formidable candidate with the qualifications to boot.

“For what it’s worth, I do have experience and qualifications, I know how parliament is conducted, because I used to do it first hand. But people don’t really see that.”

As compared to his two elder brothers, Ram has a stern countenance and is seldom seen smiling. “It’s a job hazard,” he tells us. “In politics and in law, one must always be ready to face any challenge thrown in your way.”

Upholding constitutional rights

The 38-year-old lawyer strongly believes that the younger generation must continue to uphold the constitution. “The Federal Constitution must be upheld, especially during these times when certain parties are trying to undermine the very basic principles enshrined in it.”

Constitutional and human rights have always been a subject close to Ram’s heart, even from his student days. He tells us he was studying in Bristol at the time when the reformasi movement was born. As Anwar Ibrahim was unceremoniously sacked as Deputy Prime Minister overnight, a generation of shocked youths took to the streets to express their anger, only to be met by tear gas and violent clampdowns by the ruling government.

Seeing the contempt that the ruling government had for human rights stirred Ram to fight to defend the constitutional rights of all citizens. As an experienced lawyer in one of the most well-known law firms in the country, Ram was counsel in many high profile cases including Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy case, Karpal Singh’s sedition case. 

Ram says it is worrying that the BN government continues to deny freedom of assembly to citizens. He referred to several court cases where opposition activists have been arrested for illegal assembly after the introduction of the ironically-named Peaceful Assembly Act.

“Anwar Ibrahim, Azmin Ali, Badrul Hashim (popularly known as Chegubard), and others have been arrested for gatherings by Bersih 3.0. Freedom of assembly is a fundamental right that must be defended,” says Ram.

Besides assisting Karpal in his legal firm, Ram is well-versed in the school of political hard-knocks as he was involved in assisting his father’s duties as a parliamentarian and politician.

“You could say that I was his de facto political secretary. I started assisting him in his duties since the late 80s.”

“The people of Bukit Gelugor know me because I often accompanied Karpal during his walkabouts and constituency visits. They may not know my name, but they recognise my face.”

Over the years, Ram has come to know the constituency well. Bukit Gelugor is a new parliamentary constituency that was formed after the constituency redelineation. The area covers part of the previous Jelutong parliamentary constituency which was held by the late Karpal since 1978 – the year Ram was born – for the next 21 years, until 1999. 

In the 2013 General Election, Karpal Singh won the seat by a majority of 42,706 votes, the second highest majority in the nation. Bukit Gelugor comprises 82,431 voters of which 74.49% are Chinese,14.48% Malay, and 10.56% Indian.