Ethnic Indian lawyer cremated with state honours in Malaysia

Top ethnic Indian lawyer and politician Karpal Singh was today cremated with state honours in George town, the capital of Malaysia's Penang state, after a final farewell by thousands of mourners chanting his name.
Family members of 74-year-old Singh spent about 30 minutes performing the final rites according to Sikh religion for him after the hearse reached the Batu Gantong crematorium.
They had to make repeated pleas to the public to move away from the casket.
Earlier, thousands of people lined the streets of George town to witness the funeral procession. A convoy of 100 superbikers led Singh's hearse procession.

Singh's cortege stopped at few places dear to the late lawyer- the Penang High Court, his office in Green Hall, the Penang state assembly building, his alma mater St Xavier's Institution (SXI) and state DAP party headquarters in Rangoon Road - before proceeding to the crematorium.
The voluntary patrol unit members set up by the Penang Government cleared the crowd for the hearse to pass.

Several people waved giant DAP flags at the entrance.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng together with other party leaders lay the Penang flag on the coffin.
A small white DAP flag was placed on the casket.

"The Tiger of Jelutong", as he was affectionately called, and one of his longtime associates were killed on Thursday when the car they were traveling in rammed into a lorry at the expressway in Kampar town in Perak state.
Singh's political career began in 1970 when he joined the DAP. He won a seat in the Kedah State Legislative Assembly in 1974. He was first elected to parliament in 1978 as the representative for Jelutong, Penang, and held the seat for more than 20 years until losing it in 1999.
Singh returned to parliament after he won in the 2008 general election. He was till recently the Chairman of the opposition DAP party.