Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
Thanks to the dog trainer, a statement is made by Stephen Ng
Thursday, August 01, 2013
From Malaysiakini To be more precise, this is Umno Baru politics. It is all mixed up - a
bit of religion, race and even sex - depending on what’s expedient for
the day. A big “hoo-hah”, and after a while, it all died down. Compared
to someone like Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat, to some extent, it shows the
shallowness of Islam as practised by some of our politicians who turn a
molehill into a mountain. Not even the deputy prime minister is
spared. The moment a video clip of an unknown person caring for a few
pet dogs, Muhyiddin Yassin had immediately jumped the gun by hitting out
at non-Muslims. I quote: “This shows that there is no deep
understanding within society. Muslims do not insult the religion of
non-Muslims such as Christianity and Hinduism. But non-Muslims are
insulting our religion.”
In a way, this is also seditious, as it
creates further tension between the Muslims and the non-Muslims.
Thankfully, in Malaysia, the Muslims are generally more tolerant,
compared to the examples set by people in the likes of Ibrahim Ali,
Zulkifli Noordin and even Muhyiddin himself. Fair enough that he should
ask for stern action to be taken against the culprits for tarnishing the
image and sanctity of Islam.
Shallow understanding of religion
However,
Muhyiddin should realise that he is a deputy prime minister of the
country. He is not speaking as the deputy president of Umno Baru. He is
correct to point out that there is basically shallowness in the way how
people practice their religion. I have always felt touched when I
first learnt from a fellow Chinese gentleman about the humility of this
man, Tok Guru Nik Aziz. When he wanted to travel to Kuala Lumpur for
his party meeting, he asked to get a ride from two lawyers who were on
their way back to Kuala Lumpur. His reason for not using his official
vehicle: “This is a party meeting. The official vehicle is for official
use only.”
Later, when reaching the toll gate, Nik Aziz asked the
two lawyers. “Which way are you going? You can drop me here, if you are
going in another direction.” When the lawyers expressed their concern
for his safety, Nik Aziz said, “Allah will look after me. Surely someone
going in my direction will recognise me and give me a lift!” Such
was the humility of Nik Aziz. I have not even heard him make any
derogatory remarks against Christianity or Hinduism, but probably
Muhyiddin is right if he had referred to Nik Aziz or he has been
sleeping on his job as deputy prime minister when one after another
incident unfolded.
History has recorded many of these ‘ugly’
incidents where Muslims have insulted the Christians and Hindus - and I
need not repeat myself here - that religious and racial sentiments have
been played up countless of times by Umno Baru leaders, raising the ire
of the larger Malaysian population. I thank Maznah Mohd Yusof
for making a statement through her video clip. I believe all Malaysians
should stand up for her courage to speak up against the bureaucracy of
religion. For that, she risks herself being labelled as anti-Islam.
I
quote her once again: “I love my religion. I think these people should
learn about their religion first, and not misinterpret my video.” How
can someone like Maznah insult her own religion when she is a practicing
Muslim? Between her and someone like Ibrahim Ali, I would say that
Maznah is more likely to be a genuine Muslim girl than the Perkasa
president.
She has not even uttered a derogatory word against her
religion, in the way that Zulkifli Noordin and Ibrahim Ali had done to
both the Hindu and Christian community. If it had been the
slightest tinge of insult, as in the case of the non-Muslim blogger
couple, Maznah would have been arrested for insulting Islam. The whole
roof would collapse, when NGOs linked to Umno like Jati and Perkasa take
it to the streets.
Religious phobia
It’s
time for Umno politicians to realise that the nation is getting
agitated with their behaviours. They have not only staged out sex scenes
and used them against Anwar Ibrahim, or attempt to discredit him using
sodomy, but they have become religiously phobic about everything. Over
a small issue like the invitation to buka puasa with ‘bah kut teh’ -
considering that there are so many versions of the favourite Chinese
cuisine - our leaders and media have hyped up the entire thing, calling
that an insult to Islam. This is despite the fact that the couple had
apologised if they had offended any parties.
Umno Baru leaders
should realise that in modern days, Malaysians do not play up to their
games any more. The more that they create an issue out of a molehill,
the more agitated people become with their style of leadership. Pushing
to the extreme just for illustration sake, if things are allowed to
carry on the way it is, before long you cannot even print the word, ‘Al
Quran’ in the newspapers. The reason is because people use newspapers
for all sorts of activities around the house.
