Ramkarpal Singh s/o Karpal Singh (Punjabi: ਰਾਮਕਰਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ, romanized: Rāmkarpāl Siṅgh; born 9 April 1976) commonly referred to as Ramkarpal Singh, is a Malaysian politician and lawyer who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukit Gelugor since May 2014. He served as the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Law and Institutional Reforms in the Unity Government administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Minister Azalina Othman Said from December 2022 to his resignation in December 2023 and Chairman of the Consideration of Bills Select Committee from July 2019 to 2020. He is a member of Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the PH coalition. He is the son of Karpal Singh and younger brother of Gobind Singh Deo, the Minister of Digital and the MP for Damansara as well as Jagdeep Singh Deo, the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang II and Member of the Penang State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Datok Keramat.

Ramkarpal Singh
ਰਾਮਕਰਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
(Law and Institutional Reforms)
In office
10 December 2022 – 12 December 2023
MonarchAbdullah
Prime MinisterAnwar Ibrahim
MinisterAzalina Othman Said
Preceded byMas Ermieyati Samsudin
(Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Parliament and Law))
Succeeded byM. Kulasegaran
ConstituencyBukit Gelugor
Member of the Malaysian Parliament
for Bukit Gelugor
Assumed office
25 May 2014
Preceded byKarpal Singh
(PRDAP)
Majority37,659 (2014)
55,951 (2018)
63,112 (2022)
Other roles
2019–2020Chairman of the Consideration of Bills Select Committee
Personal details
Born
Ramkarpal Singh s/o Karpal Singh

(1976-04-09) 9 April 1976 (age 47)
Penang, Malaysia
CitizenshipMalaysian
Political partyDemocratic Action Party (DAP)
Other political
affiliations
Pakatan Rakyat (PR)
(2008–2015)
Pakatan Harapan (PH)
(since 2015)
RelationsJagdeep Singh Deo (brother)
Gobind Singh Deo (brother)
Parent(s)Karpal Singh (father)
Gurmit Kaur (mother)
Alma materUniversity of Bristol
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer

Education edit

Ramkarpal was educated in Penang, first at St. Xavier's Institution and then Seri Inai School (now Tenby International School). He earned his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Bristol in the UK and was called to the bar by Gray's Inn.

Politics edit

After the death of his father Karpal, Ramkarpal was elected as the MP for Bukit Gelugor constituency.[1] He was the only Pakatan Rakyat's candidate for the 2014 Bukit Gelugor by-election.[2] He won the Bukit Gelugor by-election with 37,659 votes majority. He was sworn as MP on 10 July 2014. He retained his Bukit Gelugor seat by an even larger 55,951-vote majority in the 2018 General Elections, when his coalition, Pakatan Harapan (PH), defeated the incumbent Barisan Nasional (BN) to form the government.

On 18 July 2019, Ramkarpal was selected as chair of the Consideration of Bills Select Committee, replacing Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.[3]

Legal career edit

He was admitted to the Malaysian bar in 2000. Currently, he heads his late father's law firm in Green Hall, Penang.

Ramkarpal is also the legal representative for the family of Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu.[4][5] In June 2018, he assisted Altantuya's father, Shaariibuu, in meeting with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.[6]

Death of Karpal Singh edit

Ramkarpal was travelling with his father from his Pudu office to Penang when the accident happened.[7][8] According to Ramkarpal, his father was asleep before the fatal crash took place, claiming the life of Karpal and his personal aide, Michael Cornelius Selvam.[9]

Election results edit

Parliament of Malaysia[10][11][12]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2014 P051 Bukit Gelugor Ramkarpal Singh Karpal Singh (DAP) 41,242 89.95% Huan Cheng Guan (PCM) 3,583 7.81% 46,438 37,659 56.34%
Mohd Nabi Bux Mohd Nabi Abdul Sathar (IND) 799 1.74%
Abu Backer Sidek Mohammad Zan (IND) 225 0.49%
2018 Ramkarpal Singh Karpal Singh (DAP) 65,622 86.68% Low Joo Hiap (MCA) 9,671 12.77% 76,489 55,951 83.51%
Lai Xue Ching (MUP) 412 0.54%
2022 Ramkarpal Singh Karpal Singh (DAP) 71,204 82.73% Thinagaranabhan Padmanabhan (BERSATU) 8,092 9.40% 86,996 63,112 76.90%
Wong Chin Chang (MCA) 6,777 7.87%

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "DAP's Ramkarpal Singh wins". Channel News Asia. 25 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Karpal's cub pledges to fight on in fathers footsteps". The Malaysian Insider. 10 May 2014. Archived from the original on 13 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Ramkarpal replaces Nurul as head of Consideration of Bills Committee". Malaysiakini. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  4. ^ Jr, Joseph Kaos (19 June 2018). "Ramkarpal confident with new evidence, Altantuya's murder case will be reopened". The Star.
  5. ^ Rashid, Hidir Reduan Abdul (16 December 2019). "Use ex-cop's SD to renew probe into Altantuya's murder: Ramkarpal". Malaysiakini.
  6. ^ Buang, Shakira (20 June 2018). "Ramkarpal: Dr M gave nod to reopen Atlantuya case". Malaysiakini.
  7. ^ Karpal Singh maut kemalangan Utusan Online. 17 April 2014.
  8. ^ "The third cub roars, Ramkarpal ready to conquer Tiger of Jelutong's den". The Star Online. 11 May 2014.
  9. ^ "My last moments with Pa: Ramkarpal Singh". MSN News. The Malaysian Insider. 23 April 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014.
  10. ^ "Malaysia General Election". undiinfo Malaysian Election Data. Malaysiakini. Retrieved 4 February 2017. Results only available from the 2004 election.
  11. ^ "SEMAKAN KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM KE - 14" (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 17 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.
  12. ^ "The Star Online GE14". The Star. Retrieved 24 May 2018. Percentage figures based on total turnout.