GEORGE TOWN: When politics is your “family business”, it can be hard for next of kin not to get involved.
The late Karpal Singh, for instance, has five children, four of whom are very much into politics
The eldest, Jagdeep Singh Deo, is Penang DAP deputy chairman and a state executive councillor-cum-incumbent Datuk Keramat assemblyman.
Gobind Singh Deo is the Puchong MP and party deputy chairman while Ramkarpal represents the Bukit Gelugor seat.
Karpal’s daughter Sangeet Kaur, 38, is the Wanita DAP international secretary and Selangor Wanita DAP deputy chairman.
Talk is swirling that the daughter will also be dipping her toe in this general election.
Sangeet, when asked about this yesterday, was non-committal.
She merely said she was still unsure which constituency she would stand in if the party decided to field her.
But she gave a glimpse of being the daughter of Karpal.
Politics, said the lawyer, was very much “alive” in the family and that her father had always welcomed opposing views during their conversations.
“There was never a separation of his personal life from politics,” Sangeet said.
“Following his footsteps into politics was a natural process, with my eldest brother Jagdeep taking the mantle followed by Gobind, Ramkarpal and I,” she said.
Former Works Department officer K. Anbalagan, a keen observer of politics in the state for the past 40 years, said:“It is interesting to see Karpal’s children in politics although they have a big shoe to fill.
“Politics then was different now where Karpal will take on anyone without fear,” said the 65-year-old.
As for DAP’s Lim family in Penang, there is talk that state DAP secretary Lim Hui Ying, the daughter of Lim Kit Siang, would also follow in her father’s footsteps.
However, her name was not on the candidates’ list announced by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng yesterday.
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