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."
An answer to Salleh Said Keruak’s question - By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Malaysiakini : “If they will play fair I will play fair, but if they won't then I
reserve all my rights to do anything I find myself able to do.” ― William Howard Taft
COMMENT | Actually, this is not “an” answer. Hopefully, this is “the” answer. Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak asked,
“How does Pakatan (Harapan) explain and justify this, other than saying
the only important thing is to oust the prime minister and it does not
matter how it is done?"
The most important point I want to make is this - you and anyone from BN do not get to ask this question. 1. You do not get to ask this question because the system is rigged in your favour. 2. You do not get to ask this question because our public institutions are compromised. 3. You do not get to ask this question because our state security apparatus is beholden to a political party. 4. You do not get to ask this question because your propagandists are the mainstream press. 5. You do not get to ask this question because of your gerrymandering of the electoral boundaries. 6. You do not get to ask this question because the opposition has to
fight with one hand tied behind its back when it comes to race and
religion. 7. You do not get to ask this question because as veteran Umno leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (photo) acknowledged – (a) “(Bagaimanapun)
jangan memandang rendah kepada kerajaan kerana mereka ada kuasa, ada
televisyen, radio, duit dan media. Mereka juga ada alat-alat risikan dan
sebagainya. Media dia lebih tahu pada kita. Dia tahu kita belum tahu
lagi. Sama ada dengan kekuasaan itu, parti yang berkuasa akan kalah saya
tidak tahu.”
And (b) “Dalam isu wang, pilihanrayaperlukan (wang). Suka atautidaksuka, itutidakmenjadimasalahcurahduit banyak macam mana. Semua orang nakmenangpilihanraya. Tidak adanakbertandinghendakkalah.”
This last part is even more insidious because you use our money to rub our faces in your “ketuanan” politics. You use our money to fund your rigged game. You use our money to destroy the chance of legitimately having regime change.
For all these reasons, you do not get to ask this question. When you have a flunky making police reports
that the former prime minister wants to overthrow the government, any
rational person would understand this is why the current government has
to go. Many people would like to overthrow the government and I will
wager that if we take away those reasons as to why you cannot ask this
question, the Umno regime would have ended a couple of years ago.
Always remember that when it comes to justice and fair play in this
country, one is only corrupt when they leave Umno. Most Malaysians
understand this. Sometimes, I think the best definition of what it means
to be “Malaysian” is understanding that the game is rigged but going
along with it.
Here is what I mean
- "If the ordinary rakyat have no faith in our democracy or public
institutions, it is because of the manner in which the political elite
use both to hunt down and destroy political dissent by any means
necessary. The cynical use of the state security apparatus to
‘investigate’ political adversaries for alleged crimes carried out
decades ago, while the country is mired in corruption, religious
provocations and crimes that destroy the fabric of our society points to
the reality that the current administration has no interests beyond
sustaining its hegemony."
Democracy is about legitimately carrying out regime change or to put
it in words you understand, overthrowing the government. Democracy is
also about sometimes making bad choices. Democracy is also, more
importantly, about correcting those bad choices. Now I get it. Democracy
is also a dirty game. Nobody plays fair.
However, democracy also has safeguards to ensure that the system
allows for changes – even if superficial – to ensure that governments do
not slide into fascism or religious theocracies. Malaysia does not have
this or it had it but Malaysians gave people like you and definitely
people like the newly designated PM of the opposition, continuing
chances to destroy it.
Those with moral locus standi
Do you know who gets to ask this question? People who support the
opposition or at least have some sort of value system that ultimately is
a detriment to the system that you benefit from and yes, that the
former prime minister, now PM designate of the opposition, has created. Who are these people? There are many of them but for the sake of
clarity (and because they have been highlighted in the media I write
for) the following should suffice -
1. Kua Kia Soong, Suaram adviser. 2. Sangeet Kaur Deo (photo), daughter of late DAP leader Karpal Singh (by the way, shout out to Malaysiakini columnist Fa Abdul for her piece in support of Sangeet).
3. Blogger Ktemoc, whose letterneatly defines DAP's dilemma or it should if you actually are thinking about the party's values instead of party personalities.
4. Opposition supporters who are shouted down on social media because they dare question the Harapan groupthink.
5. Folks who voice their concerns in the comment sections of various Malaysiakini
articles and who demonstrate that they are exceptions to the “so-called
cybertroopers who are shameless cowards who can’t really read or write.
They do not even dare to use their real names when they post such
nonsense. "For sure they will be despatched to the sewage heap of
history” that attack people like Kua.
These people get to ask this question. They have the moral locus
standi (is this even a real thing or did I just make it up?) to ask this
extremely important question. These people have to contend with people
like me who advocate that the opposition commits to this crappy game
because maybe a two-party system is a start to correcting the systemic
dysfunction.
Therefore, when the system is rigged, the opposition has to resort
any means necessary. Does this answer your question? I certainly hope
not. When I say by “any means necessary”, this is not a justification or
an explanation as to why the former prime minister was christened PM
designate but a reminder of that great JFK quote, “Those who make
peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."