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."
Ketuanan Melayu, a tool of the oppressors - By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Malaysiakini : “The most powerful weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.” ― Steve Biko
BOOK REVIEW | AB Sulaiman’s book,
‘Ketuanan Melayu: A Story of the Thinking Norm of the Malay Political
Elite’, cogently defines the agendas of the establishment hegemon and
also the pervasive group-think that defines mainstream Malay politics.
AB Sulaiman makes the distinction between “race” and “culture” and
examines the “Malay” construct through the racial and religious politics
of the day, paying attention to history and lamenting that dissenting
voices in the community have always been marginalised.
What is interesting about this book is that AB Sulaiman passionately
(as opposed to clinically) disables narratives around what it means to
be “Malay”, viewing the Malay culture through an ethnolinguistic lens,
among various other social and political philosophies and theories. Do
not let this dampen your enthusiasm for the book because AB Sulaiman
writes in an easy-going friendly manner, even when offering up political
and philosophical “sensitive” issues, to which he devotes a whole
chapter.
The most important takeaway from this book is that AB Sulaiman does
not make the same mistake that some writers make when discussing
Ketuanan Melayu. The writer understands that this is not a tool to unify
the Malay polity. Ketuanan Melayu is a tool to divide the Malay polity.
The writer makes it clear that the latter purpose is the defining
characteristic of this social-political, but most importantly,
religious-political construct.
What does this mean in AB Sulaiman’s weltanschauung? This concept is a
political tool used to not only marginalise dissenting voices in the
Malay community but to monopolise narratives to ensure that the
political hegemony of dominant Malay power structures becomes the
mainstream narrative of what it means to be “Malay”. This, according to
the writer, is why dissenting Malay voices are vilified as “traitors” to
the Malay “race” and unIslamic.
Now, some would argue that the beginning chapters of the book that
define certain concepts of different modes of thinking, linguistic
theories and concepts such as nation and statehood are superfluous, but I
presume that the author needs those chapters to set the scene, so to
speak, to explore the complex dynamics, historical, philosophical and
otherwise, of Malay society.
AB Sulaiman correctly points to the political elite who use this
hegemonic tool – Ketuanan Melayu – as a means to not only divide the
Malay community but also constrain the rights, responsibilities and
aspirations of the non-Malay/Muslim communities. The writer argues that
the sacred cows of the Malay community have, in effect, destroyed
individualism and created a community that is constantly questioning its
relevancy in a changing world, as opposed to adapting to a changing
world.
What I like about this book is the fact that the author points to the
diversity in Islam as beneficial to religious societies. He makes it
clear that the monolithic idea of Islam, as propagated by the state,
creates friction between those Malays who want to explore their religion
and those who believe that their dogma entitles them to some sort of
religious, and in the Malaysian context, racial superiority.
This is important because it reflects why the opposition in this
country, for instance, is bound by certain narratives of what it means
to be “Malay” instead of encouraging diverse narratives that would mean
that the concept of what it means to be “Malay” is not defined by the
state.
‘Paradise Lost’
There is a whole chapter in the beginning on the constitutional
definition of “Malay”. This chapter is interesting not only because it
slays sacred cows but because the author makes no bones of his scepticism of this definition, using scientific and historical
counter-arguments to make his case, which is the antithesis of what the
political elites do or encourage.
My favourite chapter in the book is ‘Paradise Lost’, a comparison
between Malaysia and South Korea in which the author states his
intentions clearly – “In this chapter, I want to cite one more result of
Ketuanan Melayu leadership showing the link between thinking and
patterns of behaviour. “This time I take two countries, Malaysia and South Korea and compare
their relative social, economic and political record of performance
from the early 1960s to date. My purpose is simple, how does the
Malaysian political entity run on the basis of religion, race and
nationalism, compared over time with the South Korean based on democracy
and secularism.”
The author makes it clear, though, that he believes that the
establishment has deliberately strayed from not only the spirit of the
constitution but also engineered a manufactured Islamic revival which is
detrimental to the country, but more importantly, detrimental to the
progress of the Malay community. He makes it clear that the corruption
of the political elites is buried beneath an agenda of Islamic dogma and
racial supremacy.
In the author’s words - “Such policies are contrary to the basic
principles and tenets of the constitution. For one, the founding fathers
like Tunku Abdul Rahman have put on record that Malaysia should be a
secular country run on the model of the Westminster form of
constitutional monarchy; present policies adopted are running away from
these ideals. “Secondly, such policies are also running away from the ideals of
democracy and human rights. So why is Ketunan Melayu running away from
historically sound premises of democracy and human rights in leading the
nation?”
Why indeed? The answer, of course, is in AB Sulaiman’s book.