And when Karpal played the cupid

PETALING JAYA: Countless number of people have had Karpal Singh to thank for - from getting them out of jail to voicing out their problems or making their voices heard in Parliament.

But for fellow lawyer Sulaiman Abdullah and wife Mehrun Siraj, they have Karpal to thank for playing cupid.

Their son, Huzir, said his mother reminded him that Karpal was the one responsible for getting both of them together when they were students at Singapore University.

Karpal was in his third year at the university when Sulaiman and Mehrun arrived as first year students, said Huzir in a Facebook posting.    

"Karpal was in Dunearn Rd Hostel with Dad and used to rag him mercilessly. In those days Karpal wore a big starched turban like a helmet that he took off and put next to him when he slept. Whenever Dad annoyed him Karpal would take off his turban and hit Dad on the head with it,” Huzir wrote in his post as related by his mother.

Huzir said that one day Karpal told his dad that he had found a girl by the name of Mehrun Siraj who was right for him and asked him to invite her to the Indian Cultural Society Night.

When Sulaiman said he didn’t know who the girl was, Karpal hit him with his turban and shouted at him to find and invite her to the function.

Sulaiman however couldn't figure out which of the three "possible" girls in the class was Mehrun so he didn't do anything, Huzir said.

Mehrun and a friend however showed up at the function by themselves.

Sulaiman figured out who Mehrun was and they started talking. Later on, Karpal and Sulaiman shared a house after moving out of the hostel.

Huzir quoted his mother as saying “And so I always say it's because of Karpal Singh that we are together…Of course, sometimes when Dad irritates me, I say it's Karpal Singh's fault that we are together."