Rudyard Kipling"
āWhen 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 soldierā
General Douglas MacArthur"
āWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā
āIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā āOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
āThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā
āMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā āThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
āNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
āIt 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 : Tomorrow is the 28th anniversary of one of the worst massacres in
modern Malaysian history, when government forces opened fire on harmless
farmers in a small village in Kedah.
In
the early hours of Nov 19, 1985, several Police Field Force units
surrounded Memali, before launching an attack on a small group of
villagers holed up in one house. By noon, 14 men had been murdered in
cold blood. Four police personnel also died under friendly fire.
The
object was to detain one man, the charismatic and influential ustaz
(religious leader) - also a successful radio and TV commentator -
popularly known as Ibrahim Libya (right).
The victims
were cut down in a hail of bullets from M16 assault rifles. Young and
middle- aged men had been shot in the head or back. One of them,
Wan Piah Yunus, received multiple bullet wounds, but miraculously
survived, only to be detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) once
his treatment at the Sungei Petani hospital ended.
One
wonders. Why did the police, having blocked all roads into the area and
surrounded the house, did not simply sit it out and wait?
āTiga hari saja
(three days only),ā said one eyewitness who was 11 at the time. He
explained that 100 core defenders could easily have been starved out,
because they only had food and water for three days.
Despite the
passage of 28 years, the shock of the massacre and the bloodbath has
not worn off. Questions remain unanswered. Many facts surrounding the
events do not add up. Many official statements lack conviction. Was
there evidence of foul play?
On the evening of Nov 18, 1985,
around 3,000 police personnel were mobilised, ostensibly to prepare for
an attack on a communist camp near Baling. Why were they allegedly told
this lie?
Concerned
Muslim police personnel voiced unease about attacking while early
morning prayers were under way. At dawn, with the cover of darkness
gone, volleys of tear gas were lobbed into the perimeter of the house.
An
armoured car forced the gates open. When the villagers refused to
surrender, the order to open fire was issued and the house sprayed with
bullets. Why the use of excessive force?
The detailed mopping-up
and forensic evidence, if it has been made public, would have been
interesting. As this was not a wartime incident, how many bullets were
discharged to ensure success? Official reports contradict
eyewitness accounts with villagers claiming there were between
3,000-4,000 police persoonel, but the authorities set the number at 200.
Still no answers
Today,
not many people are aware of the massacre. Malaysians rarely question
their leaders and many believe the misleading accounts printed in the
newspapers in 1985.
Today, the spectre of Memali is used as a
campaign strategy before a general election, to frighten the masses and
warn them of the dangers of deviant Muslim sects. Like the magician who
pulls the rabbit out of his hat, Umno Baruās rabbits are the Memali
incident, the communists and the Chinese.
The Memali massacre
has never been fully explained and confusion reigns to this day. The
prime minister at the time was Dr Mahathir Mohamad. With our present
knowledge of Mahathirās methods, does anyone really have faith in the
official White Paper? How ironical that the White Paper is simply
whitewash.
All
fingers pointed to Musa Hitam, the acting home minister, for pulling
the metaphorical trigger. At the time, it was reported that Mahathir was
in China on an official visit; but was he?
According to various
reports, the official visit to China started on Nov 20. Beijing is just
six hours away. Normally, when Mahathir leaves on an official visit,
his departure is a state occasion. Most of the cabinet will parade to
bid him farewell and the event will be well publicised.
On this
occasion Mahathir slithered out of the country without a single mention
in the newspapers. Was he really out of the country on Nov 19? Did Musa
give the order to kill on sight or was he shielding his boss?
Why
was it critical to apprehend Ibrahim Libya? He did not have a criminal
record, and neither did his followers. Anecdotal evidence points to the
Umno Baling branch being envious of PAS, and Ibrahimās influence on the
Malays in the area. Umno Baling plied pressure on the Umno leadership to
curb Ibrahimās influence.
The authorities decided to detain
Ibrahim under the ISA in September, but his followers commanded a strong
defence of their leader. Ibrahim
agreed to cooperate, but only if he were given a fair hearing and not
subjected to detention without trial under the ISA.
Ibrahimās
continued resistance to the ISA sealed his own fate. Memali does seem
like a political conspiracy, to silence a political rival, and many
facts suggest this theory.
Members of the Al-Arqam sect had been
rehabilitated. If Ibrahim and his followers were accused of being
deviants, why did the authorities fail to rehabilitate them? Why did the
National Fatwa council not issue a fatwa against Ibrahim?
Ibrahim was supposed to be shielding communist subversives. Where were they hiding?
Ibrahim was reported to have amassed an arsenal of dangerous weapons. That alleged stockpile remains hidden, to this day.
Ibrahim
was accused of building a fortress, the base for his revolutionary
movement which he would use to topple the federal government. No
fortress has been found.
The
remaining survivors and several villagers were incarcerated under the
ISA. Why were they released, without charge four months before the 1986
general election?
The widows received a derisory amount of
compensation. Why would a payout have been made, unless the victims had
been wrongfully attacked?
If Ibrahim was a penderhaka
(traitor), why did the Kedah sultan (currently the Agong) visit his
grave at Kampung Parit Panjang to pay respects? The act of praying and
pouring air mawar on a grave is a highly significant act, in the eyes of the rakyat.
It is alleged that the sultan did not do the same for the four police personnel who died in the incident.
Political assasination
The
Umno Baru government would like to hide the Memali massacre, but is
failing in its effort. The only act of terrorism that has been committed
was the one perpetrated by the Umno government.
Memali is a
most graphic illustration of Umno Baruās true political agenda. It also
serves as a warning to all political parties, that all forms of
nationalist and religious extremism are harmful. Blind political
allegiance is just as wrong as blind religious fidelity.
Truth
and transparency are vital in any democracy and the more Umno Baru wants
to hide Memali, the more we will view them with suspicion. Umno Baru
fears the rakyat, because of what they might uncover when searching for
the truth.
The
slaughter and betrayal of the people of Memali, is a story that Umno
Baru wants to forget. A royal commission of inquiry may provide some
answers and useful lessons for the future, but it wonāt bring back the
dead.
We need to know who ordered the massacre and the events
that led to the bloodbath. Then, the perpetrators should be sent for
trial.
The massacre was shocking but worse is that, despite the
brutality and carnage, it is alleged that no senior cabinet member,
neither Mahathir nor Musa, paid a visit to Memali to offer their
condolences, their respects or to apologise for what transpired.
Significantly,
it was claimed that Anwar Ibrahim was the only one to visit Memali, but
that he had to wait until he left Umno Baru before he did so.
Umno
Baru wants to assert control over the villagers and to exploit them for
political expediency. Ibrahim Libya died a martyr. He was also the
victim of a political assassination. So, who pulled the trigger on
Memali? MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the
admiral-general of the Green Bean Army and president of the Perak
Liberation Organisation (PLO).
In
the early hours of Nov 19, 1985, several Police Field Force units
surrounded Memali, before launching an attack on a small group of
villagers holed up in one house. By noon, 14 men had been murdered in
cold blood. Four police personnel also died under friendly fire.
One
wonders. Why did the police, having blocked all roads into the area and
surrounded the house, did not simply sit it out and wait?
Concerned
Muslim police personnel voiced unease about attacking while early
morning prayers were under way. At dawn, with the cover of darkness
gone, volleys of tear gas were lobbed into the perimeter of the house. 
All
fingers pointed to Musa Hitam, the acting home minister, for pulling
the metaphorical trigger. At the time, it was reported that Mahathir was
in China on an official visit; but was he?
Ibrahim
agreed to cooperate, but only if he were given a fair hearing and not
subjected to detention without trial under the ISA.
The
remaining survivors and several villagers were incarcerated under the
ISA. Why were they released, without charge four months before the 1986
general election?
The
slaughter and betrayal of the people of Memali, is a story that Umno
Baru wants to forget. A royal commission of inquiry may provide some
answers and useful lessons for the future, but it wonāt bring back the
dead. 
