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 : Malay
apathy is one of the most depressing features of Malaysian life. It is
widely known that many Malays are work-shy, addicted to drugs and in
long-term unemployment. Despite the early introduction of religious
indoctrination, many Malays are said to be promiscuous and involved in
incestuous relationships.
Some Malays are not afraid to say what
our politicians are fearful of revealing. Perhaps, it is time to debunk
Umno Baruās lies. You may wish to add to the list below.
1. Only Umno Baru can protect the Malays
Umno
Baru only protects the Malays who are beholden to them. The critical
Malay does not win tenders for projects. He may find all manner of
problems with his business licence. His application for government
permits may be delayed or rejected.
A civil servant who dares to
openly criticise may be demoted or sacked, and find his income tax
being scrutinised, as punishment. Meritocracy, intellect and hard-work
count for nothing in the Umno Baru world, only blind allegiance does.
When will the Malays realise that Umno Baru would cease to exist without the Malays?
2. Janji di tepati (Fulfilled promises)
In
the run-up to GE13, Mat Sabu of PAS claimed that despite warning the
rakyat about a petrol hike if BN were to win, the Malays said that
Pakatan leaders were telling lies about BN in order to garner votes.
In
the coming weeks, we will be further burdened with the Goods and
Services Tax (GST), and crippled by increased costs of daily goods,
travel and energy. Things that were abolished before GE13 are returning
in a recycled version - the abolished Internal Security Act (ISA) will
be replaced with the Prevention of Crime Act (PCA). There is no further
news about BR1M, version 2, worth RM1,200.
3. Malays benefit from the NEP
Most
ordinary Malays cannot afford good cars. The cheapest car may be a
Proton, but in the long run, the cost of replacing substandard parts is
high. Homes in good locations are overpriced and people spend hours
commuting or trapped in traffic jams.
When top Malay civil
servants allegedly ask housing developers to make āspecial arrangementsā
so they can purchase luxury homes that are designated solely for
non-Malays, it is a subtle way of disagreeing with the governmentās
social engineering methods in housing.
When middle class Malays
complain about houses being unaffordable, the government proposes the
construction of more low-cost houses. Malays are angered by a government
which thinks Malays are only worthy of cheap housing.
Would-be
entrepreneurs without political connections lose out because only
cronies win tenders for projects. Creative and hardworking people who
want to boost the economy and create jobs, emigrate. Many Malays
contribute significantly to the brain-drain.
4. Types of immigrant
If
not for the millions of immigrants who helped develop the rubber and
tin trade in Malaya, the Umno Baru politicians would not be here today,
dictating policies to undermine the descendants of this first-wave of
immigrants.
We
should be grateful to the āpendatangsā who worked in the mines, estates
and in commerce, to build English companies like Sime Darby, Guthrie
and Harrisons & Crossfields. These corporations have morphed into
government-linked companies (GLCs), now controlled by Umno Baru.
The
recent crop of immigrants from Muslim countries do not share much of
our history and are made welcome only because they help keep Umno Baru
in power.
5. Malays want syariah law
Both
young and old Malays are said to be opposed to syariah law, which is a
bogey that Umno Baru uses to maximum effect to create fear amongst the
Malays to make them vote for Umno Baru, (and not PAS) in elections.
Malays
are averse to other areas of their lives being controlled by syariah
laws, because they have seen that syariah laws concerning child
maintenance and polygamous marriages are not strictly enforced. 6. Malays are stupid and lazy
Policies
which benefit the Malays have created distrust and contempt. Non-Malays
brand the Malay as lazy, stupid, ignorant and selfish. This is wrong
and un-productive. Many decent Malays are disgusted with Umno Baru, but
the people who insult the Malays crush any hope of solidarity. Malay
bashing will not help get rid of a racist party like Umno Baru.
7. Malay quotas
Despite
a lack of formal education, many of our grandparents spoke better
English than most fresh Malaysian graduates and diplomatic staff.
Ordinary
Malaysians are subject to educational quotas but the children of
politicians, cronies and the rich, are allowed to excel and compete with
other races and nationalities in elite and international schools in
Malaysia, or abroad. Select Malays can hone their competitive skills, in
an environment which develops their confidence. Why not other
Malaysians? Meritocracy helps; quotas do not.
8. Handouts are good
Handouts
are a ploy to make people waste their hard earned savings, to enrich
the government and their cronies. The BR1M handout of RM500 may be
accompanied by a smartphone discount. All of the RM500 is spent but more
of the victimās savings will be used to buy the smartphone. With an
initial outlay of RM500, the government and his crony receives more
money from the BR1M recipient.
The same abuse happens with the
government book voucher scheme, where students trade them in to
participating bookshops, for the value of the voucher, minus RM50 for
āadministrativeā purposes. The crony recoups the cost of the voucher
from the government but is richer by RM50. The student may have
received some petty cash but the loser is the taxpayer, who funds these
poorly managed schemes.
9. Umno Baru rewards Malays
Umno
Baru conned the rakyat into giving money to the government, as if it
were doing the rakyat a favour. In exchange, the rakyatās money was used
to fund the lifestyle of the jet-setting ministerial spouses, on their
expensive foreign junkets and fashion shows. The ordinary rakyat have to
make do with a nasi lemak bungkus and stale curry puffs, when they are
ferried in coaches, to attend Umno Baru ceramahs.
10. Urban Malays are pro-opposition
The
urban Malays are made up of middle-class Malays who are content in
their comfort zones, and the very poor, who are desperately trying to
survive. Many urban Malays are mesmerised by the lies perpetuated by
Umno Baru. They enjoy the glamour of rubbing shoulders with Umno Baru
leaders at government functions.
The urban Malays may have
access to the alternative media, but have no time to think about
injustice, human rights, good governance and equality. They are happier
pursuing material goods.
Umno Baru and the selfish agendas of
its leaders, sacrificed the nationās interest and betrayed generations
of Malays. If Malaysia is to progress, we must overcome the two threats
posed by Umno Baru and the complacent Malays.
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 coming weeks, we will be further burdened with the Goods and
Services Tax (GST), and crippled by increased costs of daily goods,
travel and energy. Things that were abolished before GE13 are returning
in a recycled version - the abolished Internal Security Act (ISA) will
be replaced with the Prevention of Crime Act (PCA). There is no further
news about BR1M, version 2, worth RM1,200. 
We
should be grateful to the āpendatangsā who worked in the mines, estates
and in commerce, to build English companies like Sime Darby, Guthrie
and Harrisons & Crossfields. These corporations have morphed into
government-linked companies (GLCs), now controlled by Umno Baru.
