THE LOSS OF TWO MALAYSIAN NATIONAL HEROES

KARPAL SINGH AND DR ZULKIFLI MUHAMMAD

It is with sadness, witnessed the loss of the late Karpal Singah as well as the loss of Dr Zulkifli Muhammad fifty years ago. Both of them were 'lion' and people's heroes. The only difference is that many people do not know about the struggle of  Zulkifli Muhammad compared to the struggle of the late Karpal Singh due to the time and space that separates the two. For Malaysians who love peace, the passing of two national heroes will surely be mourned. The 'departure' distance between these two figures is 50 years. The late Karpal Singah left us on April 17, 2014 while Allah Yarham Zulkifli Muhammad returned to Rahmatullah on May 6, 1964.

I was 'calledfour  to write about these two figures was because  of the unfortunate 'fate' that befell them which was more or less the same. Due to road accident. The late Karpal was involved in a road accident on the North-South Highway while traveling to the North. It is said that the accident was caused by the negligence of a truck driver who changed direction without giving any signal which caused the disaster.

Dr. Zulkifli Muhammad also died in a road accident while on his way back to Perak from Kelantan, together with his wife, Ustazah Asiah Kamaruddin who was the Deputy Head of the central PAS Muslimat on 6 May 1964.

Malaysians who love peace, transparency, and sincerity of leadership will surely mourn the passing of the late Karpal and Dr. Zulkifli. Young people may not know who Dr. Zulkifli Muhammad really was. His character is always 'hidden' and not even recorded in history books for future children to learn from. His struggle is the struggle of 'the unsung hero' whose services and sacrifices are not widely known. The history of Karpal Singh's struggle should not be drowned in the stream of history. 

The country should give enough space to perpetuate the history of the struggle of these two national heroes, even if their political struggle is different from the mainstream understanding. Not much is known by young people about the struggle of  Dr. Zulkifli Muhammad. In 1956, he was appointed as the Deputy Chairman of PAS when Dr. Burhanuddin Al Helmy was appointed as its Chairman. He was a great orator and was respected by friends and opponents. He created a record of speaking in parliament for 4 hours. In Parliament, he raised a lot of issues related to citizenship, taxation, the establishment of cooperatives, the importance of technical knowledge to the Malays, the development of the Malay language, the need for teacher training centers and most importantly called to stop sending teachers to Kirkby and Brinsford in the United Kingdom. (Wikipedia).

Touching on the greatness of Dr. Zulkifi Muhammad in Parliament, allow me to quote a statement from the Chemekmolek Blog which has written at length about the activities of Dr. Zulkifli.

Among them,

• He urged the Federation of Malaya to withdraw its recognition of Israel.

• He also objected to the Internal Security Act (ISA) and he even criticized this act before it was passed because he was worried that this act would be used for political purposes.

• Among the issues he touched upon in April 1960 was the Malay language as an introduction, the economy of the Malays including RIDA.

• During another conference from August to December 1960, Dr Zulkifli Muhammad raised questions about illegal immigrant, Malays abroad, the Razak Report on education, the need for a Malay Economic Secretariat, 'alibaba', RIDA, taxes, anti-corruption agency, national architecture and the need of cheap houses for low-income government employees.

The passing of these two figures should serve as a reminder to our members of parliament who should be prepared to learn and ensure their presence in parliament is not merely to warm the seat but can provide a very meaningful contribution if utilized. During his time in parliament, the late Karpal Singh was 'kicked out' many times for raising issues that were against the wishes and 'taste' of the government. However, due to his high commitment to the country, he continued to give constructive criticism to government policies that he thought did not benefit the majority of the people.

The two figures above will be remembered forever.

abuhassanadam

16 January 2025