55 Facts About Karpal Singh

Karpal Singh was Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bukit Gelugor in the state of Penang from 2004 to 2014.

Karpal Singh was one of Malaysia's most prominent lawyers and took a number of high-profile cases, including drug-trafficking charges against foreign nationals.

Karpal Singh was an opponent of the death penalty, especially for drug trafficking.

Karpal Singh was suspended from Parliament several times, charged with sedition and detained under Malaysia's internal-security law.

Karpal Singh was elected to parliament in 1978 as representative for Jelutong, Penang, and held the seat for more than 20 years until he lost it in 1999.

Karpal Singh returned to Parliament in the next general election, and led the DAP to its strongest-ever performance in the 2008 general election.

Karpal Singh died on 17 April 2014 after another motor-vehicle accident.

Karpal Singh studied at St Xavier's Institution and received his Bachelor of Laws degree from the National University of Singapore, where he was the president of the student union.

Karpal Singh was barred from his hostel for protesting against the university's decision to mandate certificates of political suitability for incoming students.

Karpal Singh said he took seven years to graduate, admitting that he was "playful" and "didn't attend lectures".

Karpal Singh was called to the Penang bar in 1969 and joined a firm in Alor Star, Kedah.

Karpal Singh founded his legal firm the following year, and was known for his expertise in the field of litigation.

Karpal Singh was a pioneer in drug trafficking and habeas corpus cases, and opposed the death penalty.

Karpal Singh was described as a leading opponent of the death penalty in Malaysia, and successfully defended at least ten foreigners on serious drug charges.

Barlow and fellow Australian Brian Chambers were convicted of trafficking heroin by the High Court in Penang in July 1985, and Karpal Singh continued fighting to clear Barlow's name after his execution.

Karpal Singh defended New Zealanders Lorraine Cohen and her son, Aaron, against heroin-trafficking charges in 1987.

In 2006, Karpal Singh represented two sisters who were charged with allegedly masterminding the murder of their Australian stepfather Hans Herzog, who was killed by two male teenagers in a parang attack at his Kuala Lumpur home in 2003.

Karpal Singh took on cases outside of Malaysia's jurisdiction during his legal career.

In January 1995, Karpal Singh travelled to Singapore and represented Malaysian gunman Ng Theng Shuang in his appeal against the death sentence issued to Ng under the Arms Offences Act for discharging his firearm during a goldsmith robbery heist at Singapore's South Bridge Road.

Karpal Singh represented former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during Anwar's 1998 sodomy trial.

Karpal Singh was the lead defence counsel in Anwar's second sodomy trial, after new allegations in 2008.

Karpal Singh joined the Democratic Action Party in 1970, citing its multiracial platform after the 1969 race riots.

However, Karpal Singh was persuaded by DAP national organising secretary Fan Yew Teng to stand for the Alor Setar parliamentary seat and the Alor Setar Bandar state seat.

Karpal Singh won only the state seat, the first DAP candidate to win a seat in Kedah.

Karpal Singh held the Bukit Gelugor state seat until 1990, losing subsequent elections for the Sungai Pinang and Padang Kota seats.

In 1992, Karpal Singh produced the alleged videotape in parliament and gave it to Deputy Speaker Ong Tee Keat.

In 2000, Karpal Singh was ordered to pay Vijandran RM500,000 in damages for defamation after he accused Vijandran of cheque fraud.

Karpal Singh strongly opposed a PAS plan to introduce hudud into the Terengganu state legal system in 1999, threatening to take the state government to court.

The DAP regained its position as the largest opposition party in Parliament, and Karpal Singh became the party's national chairman on 4 September 2004.

Karpal Singh retained his seat in the 2008 election with a nearly-20-fold-vote increased majority.

Karpal Singh called Ramasamy a "warlord" and asked for him to resign as deputy chief minister.

Karpal Singh cited David Saul Marshall, Mahatma Gandhi and John F Kennedy as influences.

Karpal Singh praised the country's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman for promoting racial unity.

Karpal Singh criticised the legal immunity granted to the hereditary Malay rulers in the original constitution, which was removed by the Mahathir Mohamad government in 1993.

Karpal Singh opposed the idea of Malaysia as an Islamic state, arguing that the constitution provided for a secular nation with Islam as the official religion, and clashed with Mahathir and fellow opposition party PAS over the issue.

Karpal Singh said "an Islamic state over my dead body" about the debate during a political speech, but later said that he had apologised for the remark.

Karpal Singh was a controversial figure, and he and fellow DAP politician Lim Kit Siang have been referred to as racial provocateurs.

Karpal Singh was nicknamed "the Tiger of Jelutong" by admirers after serving five terms as Jelutong MP.

Karpal Singh clashed with government parliamentarians and assemblymen during debates.

On two occasions in the Penang State Assembly, the speaker called police to have Karpal Singh removed from the chamber.

Karpal Singh ordered the police officers out both times, saying that they had no right to be there before walking out on his own.

Karpal Singh criticised the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in the Dewan Rakyat for allegedly assaulting two men who were brought to the palace by police, which sparked demands for an apology from members of Parliament; Karpal refused.

Karpal Singh filed a lawsuit against the king, Iskandar of Johor, in 1986 on behalf of one of the men.

Karpal Singh lost, and the sultan reportedly named one of his dogs after him.

Karpal Singh served two six-month suspensions from Parliament: in September 2004 for "misleading" Parliament, and in December 2010 for contempt.

Moments later, Karpal Singh was mocked by Ibrahim Ali and Bung Moktar Radin for his inability to stand while speaking as a result of his disability.

Karpal Singh was released for several hours in March 1988 in response to a habeas corpus application before being rearrested and imprisoned until January 1989.

Karpal Singh was again charged under the Sedition Act in March 2009 with threatening to sue the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, in the wake of the 2009 Perak constitutional crisis.

Karpal Singh had contended that the sultan had exceeded his constitutional powers in appointing Zambry Abdul Kadir Menteri Besar.

However, the Court of Appeal reversed the acquittal in January 2012 and ordered Karpal Singh to enter a defence.

Karpal Singh married Gurmit Kaur, eight years his junior, in July 1970.

On 28 January 2005, Karpal Singh was involved in an accident which left him in a wheelchair.

Karpal Singh's funeral was held on 20 April 2014 with full state honors in Penang, attended by his Family, Prime Minister Najib Razak and other mourners.

The Full Biography: Karpal Singh, Tiger of Jelutong by Tim Donoghue, published in 2014 by Marshal Cavendish International, is an updated edition of Donoghue's Karpal Singh: Tiger of Jelutong which published prior to his death.

Karpal Singh received the Glory of India Award of Excellence in 2011, and was one of the top 10 NRI Newsmakers of 2008.