The Malaysian state may now,

If it so chooses,

Be proud of the fact

[And rejoice forever in the ensuing glory]

That its last official act towards this great man

Was to find him guilty

Of upholding the principle -

The uncontroversial and incontrovertible principle -

That the rule of law is the rule of law

And that constitutional supremacy means exactly that;

And on those grounds,

Absurdly and outrageously,

To find him guilty of sedition.

Karpal is now dead.

But Malaysia will long have to live

With the punishing cost to itself

Of this tainted and unattractively pursued victory.

There are worse things in life than death.

Among them is the death of honour -

Personal honour

And, even worse, national honour and reputability.

Karpal is dead.

But in this context -

A context produced by his government’s action against him -

Karpal has won,

And the Malaysian state

Out of its own folly

and its false and brutal, because power-driven, sense of pride,

has lost.

“Oh death, where is thy sting,” etc

May Karpal’s memory long remain

A blessing and inspiration

To all who care for justice -

And a continuing reproach

To those who live by obstructing it

And frustrating its purposes.

CLIVE S KESSLER is Emeritus Professor, Sociology & Anthropology, School of Social Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Australia.