Karpal shocked at Zam's request to represent him

Senior lawyer Karpal Singh is taken aback by former information minister Zainuddin Maidin’s intention of having him as counsel to represent him in a suit by Lim Kit Siang.

Saying his firm did not send any letter of demand to Zainuddin, he said he only sent the letters to Utusan Malaysia and to former Batu Pahat MP and Umno supreme council member Puad Zarkashi.

Karpal, who is also Bukit Gelugor MP, asked what gave Zainuddin the impression that he would want to defend the former minister.

“I am shocked by his remarks about wanting me to defend him in a possible lawsuit. There is no letter of demand sent to him. As a material consequence, Lim had wanted me to act for him in the suit (againstUtusan Malaysia and Puad Zarkashi).”

Hence, Karpal asked how could he represent Zainuddin (right), if no such letter was sent, and that it would be unlikely he would do so if Lim wanted him as counsel to initiate legal action against the former minister.

“It would be unethical,” the senior lawyer and DAP chairperson toldMalaysiakini.

Zainuddin had written in his blog yesterday of possibly wanting Karpal to act for him pro-bono since he is renown as a defender of democracy.

The veteran journalist, who previously headed Utusan Malaysia, wrote in his blog yesterday that if Lim took legal action against him, it would be akin to gagging him as a freelance journalist and go against the spirit of democracy.

“If Lim sues me, then I plan to approach Karpal for his pro-bono services, as I believe he is a steadfast defender of democratic principles in all circumstances,” Zainuddin, who is widely known as Zam, wrote.

Resurrected claims

He was commenting on a letter of demand served on Utusan Malaysia and Puad, the former deputy education minister, following resurrected claims that Lim had urinated in front of the Selangor menteri besar’s residence on May 13, 1969.

Zainuddin had written in his Sept 3 posting that this was no wonder the DAP protested the screening of Tanda Putera, as he claimed the party’s logo was all over the movie and that Lim had accumulated responsibility for the May 13 race riots because the DAP leaders at that time had been “instigating, aggressive and making provocative” speeches.

The former minister said he did not accuse Lim of urinating on the flagpole but claimed to have witnessed DAP supporters parading in trucks and crying out ‘Melayu balik kampung!’ (Malays go back home) in the Malay-majority areas of Kampung Baru and Kampung Datuk Keramat in Kuala Lumpur.