KARPAL FALLS OUT OF WHEELCHAIR IN COURT COMPLEX
KUANTAN: Karpal Singh fell from his wheelchair when he was about to attend a High Court hearing involving Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob and logging company Seruan Gemilang Makmur Sdn Bhd here Friday.
The Bukit Gelugor member of Parliament who was also an attorney for Seruan Gemilang, was initially carried by several aides up the stairs at the court complex with him remaining in the wheelchair.
But they lost balance and Karpal was tipped onto the five-foot way.
"It's time for us to have a good system with facilities for the disabled.
“Fortunately nothing happened to me. If something had, there'd be another by-election," he told reporters after the court proceedings.
He said this was the first time that he had fallen from the wheelchair.
He said his back hurt and he found difficulty in moving his hands, initially, after the incident, he said. Karpal, 69, became wheelchair-bound after a road accident on the way home from the Bayan Lepas International Airport in Penang on Jan 29, 2005.
Friday's court proceedings wa to hear the mentri besar's application for a stay of execution of a RM63 million judgement in favour of Seruan Gemilang following a suit for a breach of agreement allegedly committed by the Pahang government.
In court, Karpal and co-counsel Rajoo D. Moothy asked Justice Datuk V.T. Singham for more time to reply to an affidavit filed by Adnan who was represented by lawyer Datuk Shafie Abdullah and State Legal Adviser Datuk Mat Zara'Ai Alias on Wednesday.
Following this, the court postponed the hearing to next Thursday. - Bernama
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You can bullshit all you want about Malaysia being a country with first world infrastructure, her own National Car, having one of the toughest education systems in the world (STPM) or being able to send a man into space, but we are still far behind many countries in care-giving and having disabled-friendly transportation systems as well as friendlier access to commercial and government buildings.
For those who don't know him, Karpal Singh is a prominent lawyer who handles high-profile cases, is a member of Parliament and the Opposition party, very outspoken and wheelchair-bound. Plus, as seen on the newsclip on tv just now, after he settled all his matter at the court complex, they had to carry him down the same flights of steps.
It was during my pregnancy that I was made to realize how difficult it is to go up and down flights of staircases, especially when you are in your third trimester. I live on the third floor of an apartment/flat complex. There are no lifts in the building. You can imagine how out of breath I am when I reach the top or the bottom, how many stops I took in between each staircase... and I don't even want to think how I'm going to make it back to the house after I deliver next Tuesday. Sigh...
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