DAP chairperson and Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh has defended the decision of the new Perak and Penang governments to waive summonses for hawking and parking offences.

dap karpal singh Karpal said this should be viewed as a form of amnesty, taking into consideration the “exceptional” general election performance of the opposition parties which have formed the government in the two states.

“Amnesty even for a prisoner who have been convicted and imprisoned is usually granted for significant occasions,” he said in a statement.

“On the 25th Merdeka, several prisoners were released at the behest of the government. This is often done in other countries also on occasions that warrant it.”

lim guan eng perak cm mb mohamad nizar jamaluddin Soon after taking office, both the Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (left) and Perak Menteri Besar Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin (right) waived payment for previous summonses, as a token of appreciation to the electorate.

Their actions were however criticised in various quarters, which claimed that the waiver contravenes the rule of law.

Karpal said both Lim and Nizar should not be unduly criticised as processing of the compound notices had not reached the stage of prosecution.

“There fore, the amnesty granted cannot be said to impinge on the powers of the public prosecutor who has the sole discretion to prosecute or not,” he said.

Kapral, a senior lawyer, also questioned detractors, particularly lawyers, for criticising Lim and Nizar unfairly.

“Various quarters, including lawyers, have criticised the move without appreciating the actual position. These personalities have been unduly trigger-happy. I am surprised the lawyers concerned do not have within their grasp elementary principles of law,” he added.