This man makes Malaysia Malaysia!

This Tiger sleeps tonight!

I would not do justice to this great man if I do not pen a word or two about him. He actually lived around my neighbourhood in Penang and been the punching bag of the people in power even at the time before I started reading newspapers. I used to wonder what keeps people like him and his like minded to go and on like an Energizer bunny fighting and fighting unwinnable wars for something I could not grasp at that time of life. To me then, justice and liberty was either black or white, good or black. Your actions are either good or bad, no two ways about it.
It was much later that I realised that everything has two side of the coin. Somebody who is fighting back is not being disobedient but just asking for what is due to him. And the people in power are not always right.
Like that Karpal Singh (1940-2014) has been fighting all his life, for the oppressed, the downtrodden, the condemned and the hopeless whose life, given by God, was numbered by Man.
Standing like lone wolf amongst a pack of coyotes in the court of law and his brand of politics, he must have fought battles in his family and own front. Spending too much time in student affairs, he must have fought hard to keep his grades and complete his degree in the specified time.
All those dead ends and maze defending low rung members of society involved in indefensible crimes and waiting for time to be brought to the gallows, he stood his ground. He did not crumble. When all roads were caving in, he stood his ground.
His political work, his legal work, family life and duty as a father came to a standstill in 1987 when he was unceremoniously incarcerated. I am sure the deterrers must have pressured him to just give up and lead a less of a roller coaster of a life. He still stood his ground.
Again, in 2005, a freak accident and whiplash injury left him quadriplegic. At a juncture when most mortals were quietly retire and whither away into obscurity, he stood his ground. He went on to win elections and clashed swords with political juggernauts and legal Titans.
Not everyone has the spirit to be what they are. Not everyone can be a Mahatma Gandhi, a Mother Teresa. And so too a Karpal. It takes a certain kind of strong headedness, a certain kind of arrogance, a certain kind of madness and drive to repetitively dodge the curveball and to return with that killer smash to survive and
carve a name forever in annals of Malaysian history where the playing field is forever clogged with mud, pebbles and is lopsided!
Salutations also go to the immediate family members who must have stood through thick and thin through his seemingly ridiculously suicidal decisions which would have had tremendous bearings on the family. They too stood steadfast behind embracing all the failures and rejoicing in all victories alike!

Heart of a Lion, Roar of a Tiger, that is Karpal Singh, The Tiger of Jelutong!