The regret I have over choosing the court for my attachment withered away as I saw Karpal Singh LIVE in his full physical form at court this afternoon.
Best (legal) day EVER!!
I know it's lame since he's not exactly a celebrity - indeed, he's just an old man, albeit an important one - but I was LITERALLY starstruck. Dumbfounded, even.
Not that I cared much on seeing big-shot political heavyweights but Karpal Singh is a huge thing for a dreamless law student like me. Everyones knows him in the faculty - not as a DAP Member of Parliament or the Tiger of Jelutong but more as the arguably greatest Malaysian lawyer alive. Heck, we never really got to see him in trial but our lecturers' sayings have proven to be more than enough in carving his larger-than-life persona into our heads.
He's like a myth. You rarely see him but you often talk of him. Even the most ignorant of law students would know at least one lawyer amongst thousands in Malaysia. One name would surely pop up - Karpal Singh.
Or perhaps, Shafee Abdullah. I mean, whichever one you prefer...
So after being mentally fed with his GIGANTIC reputation over the years, seeing him in person was much more nerve-wrecking. I mean, who would have thought! You see, he seems older in person. Can't really blame him for being seventy and wheelchair bound with seemingly weak constitution. Still, he generates a vast amount of interest wherever he goes.
Me and my fellow attachment mates first saw him at the cafeteria amidst hundreds of lawyers and court officers during lunch hour.Even with similar penguin-like black and white clothes [yes, lawyers love to dress alike], he attracted eyes from all corners, ten or twenty metres away.
My first reaction upon seeing him from afar - "oh my f*cking GOD!" with a huge gawk. My friends laughed at me but I was really really shocked. And amazed. For no apparent reason. I mean, he was only eating lunch - a fairly common act to do in a dining hall - but him being Karpal Singh, seeing him right in front of me almost trigger a network of nerves inside my system . As if he was there to scout young talents into his super famous firm [DUH! As if I would get accepted... but still... a girl can dream, can't she?]
Don't misunderstand me, though. I don't think senior lawyers do their scouting in a cafeteria.
He was sitting on his significantly not-that-small of a wheelchair, so the attention was truly inevitable. The lawyers, the polices and even the magistrates rolled their eyes to his direction with the look that impliedly gave the meaning of - "oh shit, that's Karpal Singh!" again and again. So people were awed. His aura is great. His persona exudes Karpalism, if there's such a word.
We met again in the afternoon [haha, MET! As if we knew or actually talked to each other] when I was waiting for a case hearing outside the court. He was about five or six metres away from me, with his assistant, staring outside the window with that I'm-thinking-of-something-REALLY-serious look. He called someone, did some reading with his assistant holding the book for him and talked of something legal which I couldn't understand at all.
So I was abiding my time to muster enough courage to at least talk to him or say hi. Before I knew it, my legs were shaking. As in SHAKING. My hands began to sweat and could barely move. And I kept giving him this crazily curious stares. I think he noticed it. It was too obvious. But I think he didn't mind. He's Karpal Singh. Having that kind of publicity is a common thing, I would assume. Then he went past me. I kept staring at him with this creepy excited grin. He smiled back, almost cynically behind his thick white beard. He must have had lots of students staring at him like that. I can tell it by his I'm-used-to-this-attention look.
Great, Ruby, for showing your totally honest foolish pathetically nervous self to one of the most distinguished lawyer in the country! What a great impression you must have made! Yes, good to know...
After waiting for an hour to see him in action, I was informed that the trial which had yet to be conducted was postponed to another date. So the hearing which was supposed to bring me and the experience of seeing Karpal in action closer was cancelled. I cursed. Abudantly. And silently, of course. Can't really be rude in a public courthouse, can't I?
Shit. Demmit. F*ck. Three hundred times over.
Shame. Cause I was really looking forward to see whether he's as great as the rumours describe him to be. Whether he does argue like the greatest Malaysian lawyer alive and whether the opposing counsel does sweat once he began opening his mouth.
So many myths yet to be proven true or false. I was waiting to be taken aback by his supposed legendary skills.
However, there's always another day. So long as he lives and I'm still in the legal field, the chance to see him in action remains a possible never-too-far opportunity.
As for today, the greatest regret had to be me being too starstruck to even say hi.
So I prepared a list of questions I would like to ask him should I finally muster enough courage to face the Tiger, which would take at least five years. But planning ahead of time is always good, I believe.
So, the questions...
1 - does your firm accept chambering students from UiTM?? [haha, I know, I know.]
2 - why do you keep going to court even though you don't seem to be of good physical health?
3 - are you planning to retire, EVER?
4 - did you have any ambitions when you were 20? or were you as confused and purposeless as me and my mates?
5 - what's the best thing about being a lawyer? [I know, LAME! but I would love to know...]
6 - I heard your office is quite small. Why not change to a bigger one since you seem to earn lots of bling-bling?
7 - don't you ever get tired being a lawyer, an MP, chairman of a political party, government's vocal critic etc etc? How do you manage your time amidst all that? And worse, you're seventy... I'm twenty yet attachment work from 9 to 5 tires me to death...
8 - what is your favourite Bollywood movie?
9 - what is your favourite Bollywood song?
10 - do you even dig movies?
That would be enough. Too many questions would be a nuisance. Unless I get the chance to interview him, personally, of course. Then I'll make my questions as random and as UN-LEGAL as possible. Hehehe.
Karpal Singh. The myth. The legend. The man.
Ruby Jusoh ponders over her possible life in the future. Still wandering over field of hopes and dreams - all of which offer chained freedoms. But as Kikuyu said, "everyone has something they don't like about their jobs." True, so she needs to think differently now. Better yet, she doesn't have to think. She's twenty, for God's sake. Why can't her conscience just let her be a spoiled brat until age forcefully drags her out of immaturity?
Peace out! Yeah, yeah, yeah!
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