Karpal Singh memorial service shifted

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP will be shifting the venue of Thursday's Karpal Singh Memorial Service from the SJCK Chung Kwo hall to a smaller venue, the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) - due to orders issued by the Education Ministry, said the party's acting chairman Tan Kok Wai.

"I received a call from the school, and discovered that the Malaysian Education Department's Communication and Registration Unit had informed the headmaster of the school that we can’t hold the event there," said Tan.

Tan said that from his understanding, he had received a call from a member of the school's Board of Governors, who told him the ministry officer told the headmaster that the Memorial Service is a political event and can’t be held in the school premises.

He pointed out that DAP leaders Lim Guan Eng and Lim Kit Siang had used the same school hall for party events in the past.

The Cheras MP, who said that DAP had complied with all necessary procedures to book the school hall for the Memorial Service, having written in to the police and the school on April 21.

"It’s an occasion for people to mourn, recollect and pay tribute to a great Malaysian, a true patriot of the country."

He said the original venue could hold 3,000 people, while the KLSCAH could hold 2,000 people in their main hall.

Tan also said on Wednesday that they had applied to use the Chung Kwo school hall on Monday for the event set to go on at 8pm on Thursday, with former Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Karpal's son, Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo among the speakers.

Other speakers include Tan himself, lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, DAP life advisor Chen Man Hin, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang and Parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

On the Education Ministry refusing to let the Memorial Service take place at the Chung Kwo hall, Tan said; "One of the gravest threat to the citizens of this country is the BN government itself. Ordinary people are sometimes denied their fundamental rights to access and use public property,including schools."

He added that the RM10 mil construction cost for the school hall wasn't funded by the government but by parents and the community, with RM1.5 million coming from fundraising activities organized by DAP Cheras.

When asked as to whether DAP had selected it's candidate for the now-vacant Bukit Gelugor seat, Tan said that there had been no discussions on this matter.

"Let the Election Commission decide on the dates first," said Tan.

Meanwhile, when asked whether DAP adopted Karpal's stance opposing the implementation of hudud law, Rasah MP Anthony Loke said Karpal's stand was always the party's stand on the issue.