麻豆社

In this programme he interviews the Malaysian politician and human rights campaigner, Karpal Singh, who was left in a wheelchair after a motor accident in 2005. In 1987 Karpal was detained for fifteen months without trial and declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. Just a year earlier he had represented the British born drug smuggler Kevin Barlow who was eventually executed for drug smuggling in Malaysia. Karpal tells Peter about his long career fighting for justice and the obstacles now in his way as he battles the discriminatory stance towards his disability by fellow MPs.

Known as the Tiger of Jelutong for his astonishing fifth electoral win in the Penang constituency, he is publicly as sharp and formidable as ever although in private he has struggled to regain his health following the accident: "I am fighting an internal battle that people don't see and which I can't express," he says. "Life is so different now. I can't stand to address the court or parliament and I need help to even scratch my forehead. It's a terrible thing when you can't do simple things that were once so normal."

Producer: Susan Mitchell.