After DAP’s crushing defeat in the Sabah state election, a decade-old video of the late party leader Karpal Singh harshly criticising Anwar Ibrahim has resurfaced – this time shared by his daughter.
Karpal’s daughter Sangeet Kaur yesterday reposted the 2009 press conference clip on social media, adding a brief but pointed caption: “Lest we forget.”
The footage, originally published by Malaysiakini in 2009, was recorded after the collapse of the Pakatan Rakyat government in Perak, when four assemblymen defected to Barisan Nasional.
In the video, then DAP chairman and veteran lawyer Karpal launches a rare direct attack on Anwar, who was opposition leader at the time.
“Anwar Ibrahim has created enough trouble for the country. Anwar Ibrahim has to bertaubat (repent),” he says.
Karpal also lashes out at PKR and DAP for enabling party-hopping, accusing both parties of succumbing to Anwar’s rhetoric on crossovers instead of taking a principled stand.
“PKR and, even DAP, have fallen to the temptation, fallen to the rhetoric of Anwar Ibrahim in supporting crossovers, and some not even saying a word when they ought to have all this while,” he says in the recording.
He goes on to express regret that he failed to secure backing from his own party leaders, naming Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng, and insisting that as DAP chairman he deserved their support unless he was removed.
“I regret that I have not been able to get support even from my own party leaders. Lim Kit Siang and also Lim Guan Eng should support me – not make statements supporting Anwar Ibrahim. I request support. I am the chairman of the DAP, up to now, until I’m displaced.”
At one point, Karpal recalls having suggested that DAP consider leaving Pakatan Rakyat over the hudud issue, only to find “nobody supported me”.
Karpal later died in a car accident in 2014. He had long been known for his firm opposition to defections and his discomfort with DAP leaders who appeared willing to tolerate party-hopping.
After the 2008 general election, Anwar repeatedly claimed to have secured enough defections from government MPs to form a new government and become prime minister, famously saying he had “the numbers”. The much-hyped “September 16” takeover, however, never materialised.
Sangeet did not explain why she chose to repost the video now.
The timing is nonetheless striking, coming just after Pakatan Harapan’s poor showing in Sabah and amid a series of scandals rocking the current administration.
In the recent Sabah election, DAP lost all eight seats it contested, while PKR managed to win only one.
At the same time, Anwar’s former senior political secretary Shamsul Iskandar Akin has resigned following the “support letter” controversy and allegations linked to corruption in Sabah mining licences.
Whistleblower businessman Albert Tei has over recent weeks released videos, documents and WhatsApp screenshots alleging that 14 Sabah politicians received bribes in exchange for help in securing prospecting licences.
On Nov 25, Tei further claimed that Shamsul was also involved in the Sabah mining scandal, alleging that Shamsul had assured him he could recover funds paid to Sabah politicians. Tei said he spent about RM629,000 on Shamsul, including for property renovations, premium cigars and custom-made suits.
A new video has since circulated online, featuring a woman identified as Sofia, who claims that it was Anwar who instructed Shamsul to sign a support letter for a hospital project contractor.
Amid these escalating allegations, Tei and Shamsul have been charged at the Kuala Lumpur court today with four counts under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009.
