On Karpal's 78th birthday, wife says 'he is somewhere serving the rakyat'

Four years have passed since Karpal Singh died in a car accident. The DAP leader, who was known as a fearless politician, would have celebrated his 78th birthday today.

Speaking to reporters, his wife Gurmit Kaur shared a dream she had two weeks before the May 9 general election.

In the dream, she said Karpal "came home as normal, he was walking, without a wheelchair, smiled at her and disappeared".

"After the elections, I told my children about my dream, that he had a hand in it. Times flies but I never felt he was not with me.

"Half the time, he was not at home, he was serving the rakyat, so I take it that he is somewhere serving the rakyat even now," she told reporters at the Little Sisters of the Poor charity home in Penang.

The family tradition for the past 25 years is to celebrate Karpal's birthday, which falls on the same day as his youngest son Mankarpal Singh's, by providing a meal for the home's occupants.

Two months after his passing, Gurmit believes that her late husband visited their home in Penang.

"I heard the door open, I heard his wheelchair, I went down and saw him going towards his room, we have a special room for him in our house so he could move freely.

"I felt him and saw him and when I came down, he was already in his room, like normal when he comes back from work with his assistant Michael Cornelius (who was also killed in the accident) with him," she said.

Gurmit (photo) said when she saw Karpal, she raced into the room, but he was no longer there, and she saw him entering the lift together with Cornelius.

"I ran upstairs, he was also not there but I saw him going to the first room which is Ramkarpal's.

"I went there (Ramkarpal's room) but he (Karpal) was not there. But I was very sure that he came back to see how we are doing," she said.

Ramkarpal, who is one of Karpal's sons, is now the MP for Bukit Gelugor. The seat belonged to his father.

Meanwhile, another son Jagdeep said it is veterans like his father who paved the way for a “new Malaysia” after the May 9 general election.

"They are the icons, and older breed of politicians, including Lim Kit Siang and Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who were then not the best of friends, but had a certain working style which led us to where we are now.

"We are sad he (Karpal) is not here to see the change which he struggled hard for but we believe he is smiling from heaven," added the Datuk Keramat assemblyperson.

"However, we are glad he was fortunate to see the change in Penang and participated in the two terms victory since 2008," Jagdeep said. - Mkini