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."
Anwar Ibrahim is no angel and some of his recent utterings becomes worrisome for many of us looking forward to a New Malaysia. His previous track record too when he was a BN minister & DPM isn't exactly brilliant and had in fact, contributed to the many disasters we see in our poor education system today.
And apart from this Anwar Ibrahim has always been pro UMNO, so when he becomes PM be assured many UMNO morons will be back in Action..
To me a leopard cannot change its spots. Same with Anwar Ibrahim. I'm apolitical but I do support Mahathir and his government.
When Anwar was the Education Minister in the late 80s it was him that started the pro-islamic movements in Universities that trickled down to schools.
The radicalization of the Malay Muslims was the brain child of Anwar Ibrahim. The removal of the crucifixes in Mission Schools and school badges, the replacing of nuns and brothers in mission schools, the conversation of Christian school to national type ,the acquisition of church lands, was some of his agenda, the starting of pro-islzamic ideology and terrorism in UiTM also started with Anwar Ibrahim.
The removal of Scattered Hindu temples (Kg Rawa in Penang case) and the introduction of headscarf in schools, Government department stopping services during Azan magrib and discrimination to non Muslim public servants were some of his doings...
Now ask yourself this question can a leopard change its spots. Do you think this man will be an honest worthy PM.
East Malaysian have already rejected Anwar when the question was asked, "Why did you give the go- ahead to remove our crucifixes from our Mission Schools and school badges. Anwar could not answer. His fanatic action of yesterday speaks for itself today. Anwar was power crazy then what makes you think he has changed.
Think again people a leopard cannot change its spots.
VERDICT: ANWAR should never become PM of Malaysia. He'll be a disaster to this country. So if you're a non-muslim and voting for him is just like preparing your own funeral..........- Major D Swami (Retired)
Malaysiakini : āIf I want a crown I must go and hunt it for myself.āā Rudyard Kipling, 'The Man Who Would Be King'
COMMENT | With DAP secretary-general and Finance Minister Lim Guan Engās endorsementof the Port Dickson gambit of Anwar and his merry men after the blessings
of the current prime minister, the PKR leader finally gets his chance
to make his move closer to the ultimate prize of sitting on the throne
of Putrajaya.
While I have made many public statements against some of the things
Anwar has said and done, I never understood the vitriol spewed against
him and his claim to the stewardship of this country. If anyone has
earned the right to the highest office of this country, it is Anwar.
Let me be very clear, I have been relentless in my criticisms of his
words and deeds. However, I still remain one of the few people who think
that Anwar should have his time in the hot seat. I should be the last person writing an article like this, but the
events of the past few weeks have muddied the waters when it comes to
politics in this country, and I think Anwar and his crew, especially a
political operative like PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli, have been
given a bad rep.
Of course, I have never had a problem venting against them, but my
main issue with this Port Dickson gambit is why didnāt Pakatan Harapan
come out earlier as an alliance and support this move, instead of having
this drama which served nobody, certainly not the people who voted them
in?
The fact that all this had to play out the way it did should tell
rational people about the kind of moves made against Anwar, and the
narrative that Anwar is a power-hungry political operative who does not
really care about this country, unlike certain political operatives
whose sins were washed away just before May 9 and have been given a free
pass.
The political machinations of the elite who decided to use this
opportunity to play their power games and manoeuvre various people into
possible positions of power is typical 'Malay politics', but
scapegoating Anwar and his faction is mendacious when everyone is
attempting to get theirs.
Is Anwar power hungry? Impatient? Which political operative is not?
Some folks are now dismissing the fact that Anwar was a political
prisoner. The reason why he has to resort to such tactics is because his
rights were flushed down the toilet by the Umno regime and by some of
the people who are now attempting to save Malaysia in the first place.
Say what you like about Anwarās so-called lust for power, but there
have always been political operatives who have stood in his way using
legitimate ā but most often illegitimate ā means to hamper his
democratic right to assume the highest office in the land.
When it comes to Islam, can anyone really trust that the Malay
political elite would not cave in to the extremists? While Anwar says
things that I disagree, as yet he is not in a position to do anything
like the other Malay powerbrokers in Harapan. And look at some of the
statement emanating from them.
Would this change if he is in a position to actually do something
about Islamic extremism in this country? He certainly has said things
which coddle the Islamic elites in this country but so have the majority
Malay powerbrokers in Harapan. This, of course, is my main concern when it comes to Anwar. Truth be
told, it is a concern of mine for most Malay political operatives.
The old maverick has a reputation for coddling but also confronting
Islamic extremism in this country. Can we say the same of Anwar? This is
what concerns me about Anwar assuming the highest office in the land
but since as I said, the other Malay powerbrokers ā with a few
exceptions of course ā are not exactly the egalitarian types, what
difference would it make?
Multiracial party
Fellow columnist James Chai may have laid it on a bit thick,
but I understand the sentiment. Anwar did not inherit a ready-made
opposition, he had to cobble one together to wage war against the Umno
hegemon, which at one time included the current prime minister, Dr
Mahathir Mohamad, who is an extremely influential operative in Harapan
and who has his slavish devotees.
While the various alliances were flawed, what Anwar managed to do was
demonstrate that people working together even if in a compromised
fashion, could wreak havoc on the Umno hegemon. This should not only
count for something, it means that the "hope" people have sprung from
the moves the post-Umno moves he made.
Anwar did not start a Malay-only party because as the current prime
minister says, this is the reality of this country. He started a
multiracial party, cobbled together an alliance with the DAP and PAS,
and in perhaps the best moment of his political career denied BN its
coveted two-thirds majority.
However, why replay the greatest hits of a man some say has no role
to play in this new Malaysia? Because part of it is wonky thinking on
the part of some of Anwar critics. For instance, when Anwar has this āque sera, seraā (whatever will be, will be) attitudewhen it comes to a future working possibility with Umno, it is all part of mainstream Malay politics.
How could anyone take exception to what Anwar says when Bersatu is
openly accepting former Umno powerbrokers and regular Umno members to
shore up its base. Anwar's qualified acceptance of Umno leader Nazri
Abdul Aziz's support should not surprise anyone, especially those who
understand that Nazri always had convivial relationships with many
political operatives in the then opposition.
Anwarās daughter, Nurul Izzah, says she takes charges of nepotism
positively, but really, why should she? The opposition is riddled with
nepotism most often at the highest level in the form of powerbrokers and
political dynasties placing their pawns for future political power.
This is not solely an Anwar problem but the way how some folks talk, it is as if they are blind to what is going on around them. Admittedly, I played a part in this whole PKR is the weakest link in
Harapan narrative, but I also have said, I would take the open fighting
in PKR over the nefarious backrooms deals or fascist diktats of some of
the other parties in Harapan.
While I am not taking sides when it comes to the whole Rafizi versus
Azmin Ali fight, it is far better for voters to understand the power
plays at work and pay attention to what these camps say and do when it
comes to reform principles for this country. Remember folks, when
politicians do not wash their dirty linen in public, we end up
supporting their soiled agendas.
Granted, the way that Port Dickson MP Danyal Balagopal Abdullah gave
up his seat and the murmurs of approval by Anwar made this whole Port
Dickson gambit sleazy, but that is politics.
There are many elected representatives who do not care about the
people who voted for them and probably are using their seats as stepping
stones to profit from the bureaucracy when it comes time to reward
their āsacrificeā.
If the power elite really approved of this succession plan then they
would have made it clear ā that at least one political operative was a
seat warmer for Anwar to re-enter politics or failing which, come up
with a unified statement that they approved of the Port Dickson gambit
before various political operatives waged a media war.
Seeing as how the opposition did not believe that they could win May
9, the former may not have been possible, but after winning, they should
have made it clear that Anwar was in play for the top job instead of
feeding the narrative, relying on the base and the schisms within PKR,
to wage a very public war on the Anwar clan.
Will Anwar be the kind of prime minister that his supporters claim he
would be? Who knows? Like I said, I am not worried about his reform
agenda because apparently, even the old maverick wants reform.
Now the powerbrokers of Harapan are getting on board the Anwar
Express but the fact is that all this was unnecessary. Heroes and
villains have been created when the reality is all this is because some
people cannot stand the idea of Anwar becoming prime minister. Are their concerns legitimate? It would be if reforming the system
was a top priority, but this is about personality politics and those
"not loyal" to Anwar merely means their loyalties lay elsewhere.
When people say they do not trust Anwar, all I can think, is that you
trust other politicians? What I am worried about is Anwarās infatuation
that religion is the lodestar for the Malay community, but this should
not detract from the fact that he is no pretender to the throne.