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."
Harapan should not ignore religious extremism - By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Malaysiakini : āThis is the start of something positive and I hope that it can be picked up by other NGOs.ā ā Provocateur in Kampong Manjoi incident
What would have happened if a non-Muslim customer was about to buy a
can or two of his or her favourite alcoholic beverage just at the time
when the religious thugs were creating āsomethingā positiveā in the
Kampung Manjoi convenience store?
Supposing a fight broke out, which could happen when someone is
denied oneās right to purchase legally sold goods. Messages would be
passed on social media and soon, a group of religious thugs would have
got exactly what they wanted, a clash of values in a small kampung which
would have blown up because they know when it comes to Islam, nobody in
authority wants to stand up to religious thuggery less they are painted
as being soft on Islamic values.
What should be troubling for people who voted for āubahā is that this
the same script (as Umno) is used by the Pakatan Harapan federal
government when it comes to these kinds of religious issues. Where is
the condemnation by Harapan political operatives? Where are the
reassurances by Harapan top guns that the rule of law trumps supposed
Muslim sensitivities? Where are the numerous posts on social media by trigger-happy Harapan
politicians about how this kind of thuggish behaviour in the name of
religion is not acceptable in this great diverse country of ours? Where
are the moderate Islamic politicians who always seem to go silent when
it comes to incidents which put them on the opposite side ā or at least
it should ā of the religious extremists in this country?
Instead, people blame the alleged outsourced Umno thugs instead of
putting the blame not only the Perak menteri besar, but most importantly
Harapan top guns, who claimed that under them, issues like these would
be solved in a fair and just manner. Oh, I am sure people would throw up hundreds of excuses or justifications for silence. Now that the Perak police have opened
an āinvestigationā, some people would like to go back to the bigger
issues facing this country. How sickening. Opening an investigation?
That video clip
is evidence of a crime being committed. The perpetrators should be in a
police lock-up and awaiting charges instead of basking in their fame.
What other evidence do you need?
Okay, say you have video footage of someone breaking into your house,
would the police need to open an investigation before apprehending the
culprits? What exactly needs to be investigated? What exactly needs to
be discovered? More importantly, why has the federal Harapan government
not made any official overtures to the Perak state warning them that
this kind of inaction would not stand. This, after all, is a question of
national security.
The most shocking aspect of this incident is the words of Perak Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu (photo)
when āhe also advised other shop operators operating in other Malay
villages to be more sensitive to the feeling of locals." And this does
not merit an official response from the Harapan federal government?
āKetuanan Melayuā
When reviewing
AB Sulaimanās book about āKetuanan Melayuā, I wrote that unlike many
other writers tackling this subject, AB Sulaiman gets it - "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.ā
Do not make the mistake of thinking that the main targets of these
religious extremists were the non-Malay community. No, the real targets
of those extremists are the Malay-Muslim community. What they are
attempting to do is control the narrative of Islam in this country. They
are aided and abetted by the political apparatus as demonstrated by the
soft warning of the Perak MB and the silence of the federal government,
including the normally boisterous non-Muslim politicians.
This comes at an especially dangerous time. Because the Umno hegemon
which has been the defender of ābangsaā and āagamaā for decades and
because an organisation like Bersatu which has claimed it can do a
better job has somewhat replaced it, this is a test case for the
religious extremists in this country as to how far they can go. How far
is this talk of moderation and inclusion by the Harapan regime is
genuine or just more political horse manure?
While the Perak MB is an easy target, the real power to halt such
forms of religious extremism is the federal government. When Umno was in
charge this was exactly the line of attack used by the then opposition
whenever incidents of religious extremism flared up. There was a
political motive behind this incident but it is simplistically to merely
blame it on the machinations of Umno.
What we are dealing with is the control of the Islamic narrative in
this country. So-called moderate Muslim political operatives are
unmasked as the toothless tigers that they are if they do not resist
such attempts by the Islamists to control the Islamic narrative in this
country. Where is the counter-narrative from the federal government? Where is
the narrative that reinforces the idea that just because you disguise
your extremism in religious piety it does not mean you are above the
law? Where is the narrative from the federal government, making it very
clear that actions of religious NGOs which goes against the law and is a
threat to citizens will not only suffer repercussions from the state
but would also suffer the sanctions from the federal government?
This would have been an ideal opportunity to discuss regulations on
these so-called Islamic NGOs and a revamp of state and federal religious
bodies so they do not encourage an atmosphere where religious
extremists harass legally-run business and expect no sanction because
they claim to be religious people.
This is not like the kind of intimidation by the red shirts. This has
been happening in this country even in some opposition-controlled
states. This is about who controls the mainstream Islamic narrative in
this country. This incident will not only test the sincerity of Harapan
in tacking an issue which is the existential threat to this country but
also its commitment to a Malaysia free from religious extremism and
bigotry.
Or maybe āTiang Seriā is the new Ketuanan Melayu in this BN Redux.