Karpal: Trio unfit to judge
(The Star) – The spat between DAP national chairman Karpal Singh and Dr P. Ramasamy has worsened, with the veteran DAP leader challenging the disciplinary committee’s decision to clear charges against the Penang Deputy Chief Minister II.
In a hard-hitting press conference, Karpal said the four-member committee headed by its chairman Tan Kok Wai was not fit to probe Dr Ramasamy, who also sits in the committee.
He said the committee members, including Penang state executive councillor Lim Hock Seng and Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran, should have stepped down and allowed new committee members to investigate the matter.
“The proceeding should be void ab initio (from the beginning) and the three should not judge one of their own.
“The seed of destruction was already in the panel, in the form of being able to judge (one of their own).
“In this case, I think all three should have disclosed their interest and stepped down. Let other people hear the case,” he said yesterday.
The spat between Karpal and Dr Ramasamy, who is DAP deputy secretary-general and Batu Kawan MP, started last year when the latter named three individuals as DAP candidates in the next general election.
Karpal, however, disagreed, saying it was not Dr Ramasamy’s place to do so and that the party had no room for warlords.
However, Dr Ramasamy responded that the party could do without godfathers.
During the party state convention in December last year, a group of people demonstrated in support of Dr Ramasamy.
This led to 33 members lodging complaints against him with the disciplinary committee.
Yesterday, Karpal said Seri Delima assemblyman R.S.N. Rayer and Bagan Dalam assemblyman A. Thanasekaran, both lawyers, had already filed an appeal against the committee’s decision to the party’s central executive committee (CEC) on behalf of the other 31 complainants.
Rayer, who was also at yesterday’s press conference, said he and Thanasekaran received the mandate from the other 31 to pursue the matter.
Karpal said the appeal to the CEC was not final, as the matter could be brought up at the party congress.
