Martin Luther King Jr once said, “A man who has nothing for which to die has nothing for which to live“.
Karpal Singh have dedicated all of his adult life towards his goal of making Malaysia a better country. He mentioned once in an interview with a CNN journalist that he will work until he can no longer physically able to. That’s why despite being wheel-chair bound as a result from a 2005 accident he would still continue to work.
His passing has left a huge void in the hearts of countless Malaysians. While many honoured him for his countless personal and professional sacrifices for his party and his country, I want to also mention that Mr Karpal Singh is an exceptional role model for many fathers and husbands out there.
The fact that all Karpal’s children are such outstanding and decent individuals is the best proof of Mr and Mrs Karpal’s positive impact on their children. I am sure we can learn something invaluable from the life story of Karpal Singh.
My brother had the fortune to meet with Karpal Singh back in 1994. He was working as a personal assistant to a man who sought Karpal’s help on some legal matters. They waited for him while he was in the courtroom arguing a case. Then came Karpal, his two lawyer sons and his driver. Karpal was so unassuming. And spoke as a true gentleman should.
One lasting impression that was left upon my Brother over their lunch with Karpal Singh and his team that day is this – a man with such a BIG reputation is also a man with such humility in his mannerism and behaviour – there was not an air of arrogance about this man.
Great men influence their children both in their presence and in their absence MORE so than in their words or explicit instructions that were most often found in lesser men when ‘lecturing’ their children – paying nothing more than a lip service.
Written by Ken Soong co-author of Migrating to Australia Good Meh??? now selling in all major book stores across Malaysia and Singapore and Making It in Australia: Success Stories from Different Walks of Life – to be published in late 2014.
