by Susan Loone
Malaysiakini
May 25, 2014
Newly-minted Bukit Gelugor parliamentarian Ramkarpal Singh has dedicated his victory to his late father Karpal Singh, the much-revered incumbent who died in a road crash last month.
Thanking his mother Gurmit Kaur, who stood by him today, he also paid gratitude to his siblings Jagdeep, Gobind, Mankarpal and Sangeet for supporting him through life.
“This is my maiden election and it was not an easy ride,” he said.
“If we had a higher voter turn out, our majority would be higher. If we look at the majority despite voter turn out, then it is a huge victory.”
Ramkarpal won with a whopping majority of 37,659 votes – or 89 percent of votes cast – about 4000 votes shy of Karpal’s mammoth majority in 2013.
Voter turnout today was a dismal 56 percent, compared to 86 percent in 2013.
Having campaigned with the slogan ‘I am Karpal Singh’ in remembrance of his outspoken father, it was Karpal’s spirit that bouyed his tight-knit family.
‘A silent tiger’
Gurmit said that it is at moments like this that she misses Karpal the most, but said she knows that he would have been very happy with the outcome of the polls.
“I can only say one thing that Karpal taught me – if one Karpal goes, 100 will rise. He (Ramkarpal) is a silent tiger, wait and see,” she said with a smile.
“If we had higher voter turn out, our majority would be higher, if we look at the majority despite voter turn out, it is a huge victory,” he stressed.
Gurmit (middle in photo) said she missed Karpal at a moment like this but knows that he is very happy with the outcome of the election.
“I can only say one thing that Karpal taught me – if one Karpal goes, 100 will rise. He (Ramkarpal) is a silent tiger, wait and see,” she says with a smile.
Besides his family, Ramkarpal also extended his thanks to DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang whom he said provided him with “fatherly advise”. Lim was Karpal’s close comrade.
“We all had little sleep so I am looking forward to a goodnight’s sleep,” he said, thanking the voters for giving him their votes.
Winning majority
Meanwhile, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said that Ramkarpal’s winning majority is likely to be an issue in the media despite the fact that he won close to 90 percent of votes cast.
“The other three candidates lost their deposits, if they were to add up their votes, they would still lose their deposits,” he said.
“This shows the support the people have for Ramkarpal and Pakatan. He will definitely be a goood MP for not only the 90 percent but for the 100 percent,” he added.
He said that Ramkarpal, who will be sworn in on June 9, will speak for the rakyat against the implementation of the goods and services tax, corruption ang hooliganism in politics.
PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, who was also at the press conference, said it was also a victory for PAS and Pakatan Rakyat.
“We did not get caught in racial politics and stood by our ally, DAP, and (will) continue to fight against corruption,” he added.