Ketua Pembangkang, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim mengingatkan rakyat Permatang Pauh supaya bangun menjadi benteng amanah dan ketelusan negara dan tidak mudah menggadaikan pronsip kepada Umno dan BN sekiranya beliau dipenjarakan buat kali kedua.
Berucap dalam ceramah Reformasi 2.0 di Seberang Jaya malam tadi, anggota Parlimen Permatang Pauh itu berkata:
“Ini mungkin pidato terakhir saya di sini.”
Beliau antaranya mengingatkan orang ramai terhadap “ketidakadilan” sekitar kesnya.
Menurutnya, jika ditakdirkan semalam adalah pidato terakhir beliau di Permatang Pauh, Anwar mahu jentera Pakatan Rakyat diperkemaskan bagi menghadapi pilihan raya kecil (PRK) kawasan parlimen itu.
Berucap di pentas Reformasi 2.0 di Tapak Ekspo Seberang Jaya, dekat sini, beliau tidak menolak kemungkinan akan dipenjarakan jika rayuannya dalam kes Liwat 2 ditolak Mahkamah Persekutuan.
Beliau mendapat maklumat bahawa BN sudah mempersiapkan jentera untuk berhadapan dengan PRK Permatang Pauh seandai dirinya didapati bersalah serta dipenjarakan.
Pada 7 Mac, Mahkamah Rayuan di Putrajaya mendapati beliau bersalah dan menjatuhkan hukuman lima tahun terhadapnya selepas rayuan terhadap pembebasannya yang dibuat di Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur sebelum itu.
Ketua Umum PKR itu kini mempunyai sepuluh hari untuk memfailkan rayuan terhadap hukuman itu.
Beliau kini harus menjadi peguam baru ekoran kematian peguam yang mewakilinya Karpal Singh dalam kemalangan tragik semalam.
"Andai kata Allah SWT uji kita dengan isu ini, saya mahu anda di Permatang Pauh bangun sebagai benteng mempertahankan amanah daripada penyangak Umno dan BN yang terlalu ghairah mahu merampas sekaligus meranapkan Pakatan Rakyat," tegasnya di hadapan ribuan hadirin.
Jelas Anwar lagi, keseluruhan konpirasi yang dilaluinya pasti terjawab suatu hari dan pasti terdedah satu persatu.
Menurut Anwar, walaupun dikurung di penjara sekali lagi semangat serta jiwaraganya tidak akan lemah longlai.
Anwar juga berharap penyokongnya akan mempertahankan kerusi anggota Parlimen yang disandangkan di situ jika beliau hilang kelayakan ekoran keputusan mahkamah tidak memihak padanya.
"Anwar bukan orang yang cepat lemah semangat malahan akan terus bangkit biarpun dipenjara, " katanya sambil melaungkan slogan "Lawan Tetap Lawan".
Turut berucap Setiausaha Agung PKR, Datuk Saifudin Nasution Ismail, Pengarah Strategik PKR, Rafizi Ramli, Timbalan Yang DiPertua PAS Baling, Brigadier Jeneral (B) Dato' Najmi Ahmad, Pesuruhjaya PAS Pulau Pinang, Mohamd Sabu dan Timbalan Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang, Datuk Abdul Rashid Hasnon.
Anwar juga sempat menziarahi jenazah bekas Pengerusi DAP, Karpal Singh di kediaman keluarga Ahli Parlimen Jelutong itu di Jalan Utama, Georgetown petang semalam.
Karpal meninggal dunia akibat kecederaan parah apabila kenderaan yang dinaikinya terlibat dalam kemalangan di Lebuh Raya Utara-Selatan hala ke utara dekat Gua Tempurung awal pagi semalam.- harakahdaily/mk
Anwar menandatangani buku ucapan takziah di kediaman Karpal Singh.
Anwar: Karpal's death a personal loss to me...
"His death is a personal loss to me, to my wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and to my family," the Permatang Pauh MP said in memory of Karpal at the party's Reformasi 2.0 ceramah in Seberang Jaya last night.
Participants at the event observed a minute's silence for the veteran lawyer after being shown a brief presentation of his contribution to the country.
Karpal, 74, died in a car crash about 1am yesterday, near the Gopeng exit of the North-South Expressway, together with his helper, Michael Cornelius, 39.
The duo were travelling to Penang from Kuala Lumpur with three others, including Karpal's son, Ram Karpal.
Karpal's remains are currently at his family home in Jalan Utama, Penang, until 11 am on Sunday when the body will be taken to Batu Lanchang for cremation.
During his speech, Anwar recounted the last moments he had with the former DAP national chairperson, who has been his lawyer for the past 15 years, after his sacking from his deputy prime minister's post in 1998, sparking the Reformasi movement.
Four missed calls from Karpal
Anwar said that at 6.20pm on Tuesday, while on the way to the airport to catch a flight to Alor Setar, Kedah, he received four missed calls from Karpal.
He learnt later that the calls from to inform him that Karpal had obtained all the documents pertaining to the Sodomy II case from the Court of Appeal, Anwar said.
Karpal
was working on the notice for Anwar's appeal to the Federal Court to
overturn the Court of Appeal decision to jail him, which had to be
submitted in 10 days, Anwar said."This is because there are efforts by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to appeal for a higher sentence against me," Anwar claimed.
"This is really sial. The five years’ jail sentence is already cruel. Karpal told me, ‘you carry on, Anwar. I will do my best, I will fight them in the Federal Court’," Anwar told the 2,000-odd crowd at the rally.
Now that Karpal is gone, Anwar said, he was uncertain who will replace Karpal as his lawyer, adding that a newly-appointed lawyer "has to read everything all over again".
"It is difficult to find lawyers like Karpal. There are Umno lawyers but many want a contract. It seems we can have the best counsel, but it will be pointless if the decision has already been made in our cases," he said.
"The attorney-general wants to counter-appeal for a higher sentence for me. What kind of human being is this?" Anwar asked.
"We are supposed to be good human beings. How do you want the non Muslims to respect us?
"Karpal is not just a lawyer for me, but a friend and a comrade in our political struggle,. When I was in jail for six years before, he visited me at least once or twice a month."
Karpal refused payment for legal service
Another fond memory he had of Karpal was when Karpal refused to receive any payment for his legal services.
At that time, Anwar was serving his six-year sentence for Sodomy I, from 2001 to 2006, at the Sungai Buloh Prison.
Anwar said his family raised the money to pay the legal fees but Karpal had refused to take the money."He chided my brother Rosli, who took the money to him. I didn't know about this," Anwar recalled, until Karpal told me, "Anwar, you better tell your family members not to disturb me."
Anwar said he insisted that Karpal accepts his fees, since he had commitments such as staff salaries and office rental, but Karpal retorted: "You, Anwar, have sacrificed yourself, went to jail, beaten half-dead... how can I take money from you?"
Karpal then told me, Anwar said to loud clapping from the crowd: "You tell your family, since you sacrificed for the nation, I am only contributing a small part of it to defend you."
He then went on to rap some Umno members who disrespected Karpal's death with their tweets, saying even the Prophet had shown respect to the passing cortege of a Jew, supposedly an enemy of Islam.
Principled stand on issues
"Karpal opposed hudud as he is not Muslim, but what about Muslims like former prime minister Dr Mohamed protesting the law?" Anwar asked.
Karpal is well-known for his principled stand on issues and strong objection to hudud, which he argued was in contravention of the the Federal Constitution.
"Why no one said anything when Mahathir supports the anti-hadith movement? These people are munafik (hypocrites)."
Meanwhile,
PAS deputy chief Mohamed Sabu, who also spoke at the event, remembered
Karpal as a good lawyer who defended the voiceless, including a
purdah-wearing woman who was sacked by her employer."Karpal asked me to look for a Muslim scholar who could advised him on women's attire in Islam," Mohamed, who is widely known as Mat Sabu, said.
"Of course, this kind of story will not be told in the press but that is how Karpal was. We were close as we were in Kamunting together, during our Internal Security Act detention during Operasi Lalang from 1987," Mat Sabu said.
Other leaders present with Anwar at the Reformasi 2.0 ceramah included Penang Deputy Chief Minister I Rashid Hasnon, PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and MPs Rafizi Ramli (Pandan), Mansor Othman (Nibong Tebal), Sim Tze Tzin (Bayan Baru) and Johari Abdul (Sungai Petani).
Other than Rashid, the assemblypersons from Penang present included Norlela Ariffin (Penanti), Lee Khai Loon (Machang Bubok) and Ong Chin Wen (Bukit Tengah).- mk
Karpal hanya menentang kerana tak faham hudud...
Bekas Ahli Jawatankuasa Umno bahagian Wangsa Maju, Shahbudin Husin mempertahankan tindakan bekas Pengerusi DAP, mendiang Karpal Singh yang selama ini menentang pelaksanaan hukum hudud dalam negara.
Menurut Shahbudin, Karpal merupakan seorang yang tegar dalam memperjuangkan keadilan dan pemergiannya pastinya akan dirasai oleh mereka yang berpegang teguh kepada perlembagaan negara.
“Hormati beliau sebagai manusia dan perjuangannya terhadap keadilan sepanjang hidupnya. Penentangannya terhadap hukum hudud barangkali boleh dimaafkan kerana beliau bukan beragama Islam yang memahami sepenuhnya perlaksanaan hukum tersebut.
“Tetapi bagaimana dengan adanya orang Islam sendiri yang menentang hudud dengan pelbagai hujah tidak Islamik? Pemmpin Umno sendiri, termasuk yang berpendidikan agama, ramai yang mengeluarkan pendapat memperlekeh hudud dengan antaranya termasuk Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim yang berkata, jika selepas dipotong tangan kanan kerana kesalahan mencuri pertama, kemudian tangan kiri pula kerana kesalahan kedua, selepas itu apa pula yang mahu dipotong.
“Bukankah ia lebih menghina berbanding Karpal yang hanya berkata, “langkah mayat saya dulu” jika mahu melaksanakan hudud,” soal Shahbudin melalui entri blognya semalam yang bertajuk ‘Kematian Karpal Singh Perlu Disimpati, Bukan Dikeji’.
Shahbudin turut membidas penggunaan kata-kata keji yang dilemparkan oleh pengendali laman sosial pro-Umno kepada mendiang yang disifatkannya sebagai tidak beretika.
“Begitu juga dengan tindakan bekas ahli parlimen Kulim-Bandar Baharu, Datuk Zulkifli Nordin yang cuba mempolitikkan kematian Karpal dengan mengatakan kematiannya sengaja ditakdirkan Allah SWT untuk memudahkan perlaksnaan hukum hudud, juga tidak boleh diterima serta melambangkan sarang pemikirannya yang kotor lagi keji.
“Tidakkah beliau sedar yang paling utama menentang hudud ialah (Tun Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad)? Bekas perdana menteri itu bukan saja menulis surat mengenainya, bercakap dalam pelbagai nada, bahkan menggunakan parlimen untuk menghalangnya dengan mengatakan perlaksanaan hudud tidak boleh dilaksanakan kerana bertentangan dengan perlembagaan persekutuan.
“Speaker Dewan Undangan Negeri Terengganu (Mohd Zubir Embong) pula baru-baru ini turut menolak usul hudud yang dibentangkan. Jadi siapa sebenarnya yang lebih menolak hudud?” tegasnya lagi.
Dalam masa yang sama, Shahbudin turut memuji tindakan Menteri Belia dan Sukan Khairy Jamaluddin yang menempelak kenyataan Zulkifli itu di laman Twitter.
“Sebab itu tindakan Khairy Jamaluddin yang menempelak Zulkifli dengan teguran keras “Shut up. Really shut up” amat bertepatan sekali walaupun KJ (Khairy) jarang-jarang memakai kopiah putih di kepalanya seperti penampilan Zulkifli itu,” katanya lagi.- fmt
BN and Pakatan leaders throng Karpal's wake...
BN and Pakatan Rakyat leaders continued to pay their last respects to Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh.
At 10.30am, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri came by, saying she fondly remembered Karpal as a "very professional politician and lawyer".
"Even when he tabled the motion on judges in Parliament, Karpal never mentioned his Sedition case," she told reporters.Some 30 minutes later, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali stopped by with his entourage of state leaders.
Accompanying him were state executive councillors Abdul Malik Kassim and Dr Afif Bahardin, and party women’s chief Zuraida Kamaruddin.
"Karpal defended me when I was asked to leave the Parliament proceedings when the motion on judges the judiciary was tabled, I will always remember that," Azmin said.
That
was the day when Pakatan leaders staged a walkout from the Dewan Rakyat
in support of Azmin, who is also Gombak MP and Bukit Antarabangsa
assemblypersonState Opposition Leader Jahara Hamid also came by at about 11am with several Umno assemblypersons including Shahedan Kassim (Teluk Bahang) and Roslan Saidin (Pinang Tunggal).
"He was never personal, he was beyond that," Jahara said.
Even before 10am, Karpal’s family had opened their gates and the public lined up to pay their last respects to the veteran lawyer.
Party flag draped on coffin
Around noon, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, his father Gelang Patah MP Kit Siang and a host of other DAP leaders arrived and draped a party flag over the coffin.
State DAP chairperson Chow Kon Yeow said Karpal's cortege will leave his home in Jalan Utama at about 8 am on Sunday.His cortege will arrive at the Dewan Sri Pinang an hour later where the public can pay their last respects for two hours. His remains will then be taken to the Batu Gantung cremation centre.
"His cortege will stop at several sites which are of significance to Karpal like the Penang High Court and St Xavier's Institution on Light Street, the state assembly legislative building along Farquhar street and his own legal office on Jalan Greenhall," Chow said.
He added that the St Xavier's Institution band will accompany the cortege.The Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) Penang branch leaders, who were also at the wake, remembered Karpal as a champion of workers' rights.
"His advice, guidance were invaluable to us. He was always a fighter for the downtrodden and the underprivileged," said MTUC secretary K Veeriah.
MTUC state chief S Ravindran said Karpal was "beyond colour".
"He acknowledged everyone, regardless of their race or social standing," he added.
Family overwhelmed with public support
Karpal’s eldest son, Jagdeep, said his father never asked for recognition when he was alive but the family is overwhelmed with the public support shown thus far.
“We thank everyone for the support, my mobile phone broke down last night after receiving thousands of condolences messages from the public, who honoured the memory of my dad,” he added.
He
thanked the state government, which after an emergency state executive
council meeting yesterday, decided to honour Karpal with a
state-honoured funeral.The decision also includes flying all state agencies flags at half mast until Sunday, and for allowing his cortege to be placed at the Dewan Sri Pinang for two hours in the premises so that state dignitaries, the public, family and friends can pay their last respects.
“My dad never asked for any recognition for his contributions during his lifetime but we are thankful for all the honour that has been shown to him so far,” said Jagdeep.
“The public have broken down and cried, we are deeply touched by all the prayers, well-wishes and the kind thoughts,” he added.- mk
Karpal Singh- Tiger of Jelutong
Samy Vellu cries for Karpal, hugs Guan Eng
No comments:
Post a Comment