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."
From Malaysiakini : Last
week, when three judges in Putrajaya delivered their shameful verdict
on the ‘Allah’ debacle, they had three objectives: To confuse. To
frighten. To demoralise.
The over-reaction confirms that the
‘Allah’ issue is not about religion but is just a ruse, to control both
Malays and non-Malays. With control, comes power. With power, comes the
ability to do whatever the ones with the power please.
Attempts
to quash the public outrage included a mufti who warned Muslims who
criticised the court ruling that they would be considered infidels; the
Perkasa leader who wanted the Malay-language Bible to be banned; Malay
extremists who told dissatisfied Christians to migrate; and the
attorney-general who warned that critics would be charged with contempt
of court.
Last year, Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria (left) had instructed non-Muslims to convert to Islam, if they wished to continue to use the word ‘Allah’.
When
the rakyat are frightened and demoralised, when Malays are fearful of
their faith being compromised, or Christians are unable to practise
their faith properly, they will be pessimistic about their future and
will become compliant. They will be easier to control.
The three
judges are probably part of a carefully crafted plan involving the
federal government, Umno Baru, Jakim, Malay extremist NGOs and
individual nationalist Malays.
Where is the sincerity in
defending the name ‘Allah’, when issues of corruption, murder, power
abuse, incest, indiscriminate killings, theft of taxpayers’ money and
helping really poor people are swept aside? This charade exposes
the people who want to protect the name ‘Allah’, but are themselves not
true Muslims. Would they be transformed into exemplary Muslims if
Christians stopped using ‘Allah’? Clothing, praying five times a day and
going on an umrah do not produce a good Muslim.
Jakim warned
Muslims that the use of ‘Allah’ in the Bible will confuse Muslims,
because they would mistake the identity of ‘Allah’ and destroy their own
faith.
It
would be better for Jakim to seek the resignation of Education Minister
Muhyiddin Yassin for delivering a useless education system to Malays
and trying to trick the world into believing that Malaysia has one of
the best education systems. If Malays were better educated, they would
not be so easily confused, when they read the word ‘Allah’ in the Bible.
If
Malays are easily confused, should we blame their teachers, their home
environment, the quality of education they receive or the smart pills
they consume? These smart pills are currently being sold in national
schools and raking in millions of ringgit for a government crony.
An
uneducated community is easily manipulated, but young, educated and
worldly-wise Malays are increasingly rejecting Umno Baru’s racist
rhetoric and discriminatory policies.
Dividing Malay opinion
Overseas students many of whom were Malay government scholars, were recently warned to avoid lectures by opposition politicians.
In
the past, this writer has been told that some overseas students were
reminded that they would breach the terms of their education contract
and risked having their scholarship revoked, if they attended these
talks.
Special Branch personnel, who are present at these
events, take videos and photographs of the attendees. In some
universities, it is alleged that Special Branch officers have enrolled
as legitimate mature students to monitor student movements.
Umno
Baru wants the students to know that they are dependent on the
government for their education, university and living fees, and that in
exchange, they must surrender their rights and freedom to choose and
think.
Many people have forgotten that in the 70s, the Iranian
revolution led to an Islamic revival which swept the world, by surprise.
PAS capitalised on the increasing religious trend and attracted Malay
votes, which naturally displeased then premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
In
retaliation, Mahathir Islamicised the country, and claimed that only
Umno Baru is the true defender of Islam, in an attempt to woo back the
Malays who had defected.
The emphasis on Malay voters continues
to this day and every trick is used to entice them. Many are convinced
that PAS has become more appealing, even to non-Muslim voters, whilst
Umno Baru, despite its claim of reform, has become radicalised, because
it is power-crazy.
Umno Baru politicians repeatedly say that
“Malays need protecting”, but cannot say from what the Malays need
protecting. They also accuse opposition parties of being under Chinese
domination and control, or Christian influence.
Last month,
Muhyiddin attended an event at the University Islam Antarabangsa and
gave the university RM100 million a year for research, and to champion
true Islamic values in a “fallen world” caused by the corrupting
influence of western liberal ideas.
Muhyiddin demanded unity
among all Muslims and inadvertently gave a clue to the true reason
behind the ‘Allah’ debacle when he said, “Why can’t Umno Baru and PAS
work together?”
Muhyiddin knows that the only way that Umno-Baru
can maintain power is if the Malays vote them in. For years, many
Malays have been gravitating towards the opposition because scandals
involving Altantuya Shaariibuu, Scorpene and the National Feedlot
Corporation have united them against the corrupt Umno Baru.
In
order to break this hold on the Malays, Umno Baru needed a plan that
would divide Malay opinion, and so, the ‘Allah’ issue was born.
The
debacle did not start in 2007 as many people think, but had its roots
in 1986, when it was believed that two letters were sent by the Home
Ministry to the Council of Churches Malaysia.
The letter
contained a list of 23 prohibited words, not just ‘Allah’. It was
alleged that Mahathir issued this directive as part of his
Islamicisation drive, and to curtail the freedom of religion for
non-Muslims, contrary to the rights which are enshrined in the
constitution.
Today, we are led to believe that only the use of
the word ‘Allah’ is strictly controlled. Who knows if tomorrow, the rest
of Mahathir’s list will be strictly enforced?
One last factor
has been deliberately excluded. The debacle is not just about control
but is also about fear. The authorities are afraid, because they suspect
that many Malays are secretly converting to Christianity. A converted
Malay will never vote for Umno.
One person alleges that a
Special Branch officer who was sent to snoop on a Christian group,
listened to sermons about love, faith, hope and charity, and that after
years of surveillance, ended up believing in the message of Christ. It
may just be another story, but if true, just shows that racist,
inflammatory speeches and violent acts, repel most God-fearing people.
The
‘Allah’ issue will be kept on the back-burner and brought to the boil
whenever convenient, to control the voting patterns of the Malays when
there is an Umno Baru election, or to control the Christians in the
Sabah and Sarawak state elections.
The issue will not go away until Umno Baru falls. MARIAM
MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green
Bean Army and president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO).
Last year, Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria (left) had instructed non-Muslims to convert to Islam, if they wished to continue to use the word ‘Allah’.
It
would be better for Jakim to seek the resignation of Education Minister
Muhyiddin Yassin for delivering a useless education system to Malays
and trying to trick the world into believing that Malaysia has one of
the best education systems. If Malays were better educated, they would
not be so easily confused, when they read the word ‘Allah’ in the Bible.
In
retaliation, Mahathir Islamicised the country, and claimed that only
Umno Baru is the true defender of Islam, in an attempt to woo back the
Malays who had defected.
