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."
Rashid's strategy is so wrong, but it is all right - Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Wednesday, January 09, 2019
Malaysiakini : “You have the army of mediocrities followed by the multitude of
fools. As the mediocrities and the fools always form the immense
majority, it is impossible for them to elect an intelligent government.”
– Guy de Maupassant
COMMENT
| Many people have been emailing me asking me what I thought of
Bersatu's vice-president and former Election Commission chief Abdul
Rashid Abdul Rahman’s “by hook or by crook” election strategy. Apparently,
this kind of thinking is verboten (forbidden by the authority) in this
New Malaysia. Maybe I’m wrong, but maybe Rashid knows more about Malay
politics, the Umno base, and how to win in dodgy elections than his
critics give him credit for. I read everything Nathaniel Tan writes, but arguing
that Umno did not fail because of a few bad apples, but instead from a
culture that corrupted every level of the party’s leadership is
misguided. The reality is that Umno did not fail because of some
systemic meltdown; it failed because Najib Abdul Razak did not play nice
with current Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. Furthermore,
the leadership was in denial of how unpopular Najib was among the base.
If the Umno leaders had paid attention to the grassroots, they would
have understood that a certain segment would be more than happy to shift
to Mahathir because they viewed the autocracy of Najib and his family
detrimental to the ‘Malay’ community. If Umno had rejected Najib instead
of propping him up, I doubt we would be having this discussion. Speaking the truth Rashid
was just saying what most Bersatu political operatives are thinking. He
was not saying anything controversial. He was merely speaking for the
leadership and the base, even though the narrative is that he was just
speaking in his personal capacity. You
really think that someone like Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed
Abdul Rahman has a finger on the pulse of the agitated Malay electorate,
or the guts to acknowledge the Umno system without resorting to the
kind of euphemisms that people like Rashid have no time for or, to be
honest, understand?
In questioning Rashid’s appointment as a vice-president, lifetime Bersatu member Zaeinal Abidin Omar asked:
“Some of us members have gone through the forest and bushes in our
struggle for religion, race and country, is Rashid prepared to do that?”
Think
about that line for a moment. What the hell does "struggle for
religion, race and country" mean, anyway? Well, it means perpetuating a
system of privilege and discrimination to maintain hegemonic racial,
political, social and economic power. There has never been a struggle of
emancipation from government handouts and religious orthodoxy. In fact,
the struggle has been to ensure that both are sustained – even if it
means a change of government, just not ‘Malay’ politics. Umno
did not fail the Malays. It never intended for them to succeed. This is
why when Malay power structures talk about reform, they never consider
egalitarian ideas that could generate a level of sophistication and
independence among the base, but rather fall back on protectionist
strategies that perpetuate the theme that the community can only be
saved by political parties formed to address their specific needs. This is why lawyer Siti Zabedah Kasim (photo, below), for instance, points out – rightly – the “Nazi” aspects of these religion- or race-based parties, because both are in direct opposition to democratic principles. Rashid
is an insider who knows how to win over the base in a political
environment that was created and nurtured by the Young Turks of Umno, of
which the Najib regime was the logical outcome. Read the propaganda
coming out of Pakatan Harapan and it is all ahistorical, concentrating
on Najib, but never addressing the basis of the corruption of the
political elite.
Look, Umno members are jumping ship. Special Affairs Department (Jasa) members are welcomed into Bersatu. The appointments of Bersatu members to key positions in GLCs. The polemics
of Bersatu Youth in wanting the resignation of a coalition minister.
All these are vintage moves known and supported by the Umno base. Winning strategy Bersatu
political operatives and propagandists have been sending me materials
that demonstrate how well-received Rashid’s “by hook or by crook”
strategy is within the corridors of Malay power coalescing around
Bersatu. One political operative reminded me that Bersatu
has enemies everywhere. “Look, Commander, not only do have we to deal
with Umno and PAS, but we also have to worry about the situation in
Sabah and Sarawak. We do not have the luxury of time. We need to
establish Bersatu as the face of Malay power or Harapan could be in
serious trouble.” And here’s the thing. Nearly every
Bersatu political operative who speaks to me sincerely seems to have the
best interests of Harapan at heart. Sure, they may cause trouble with
the other Malay power structures, backtrack on election promises, and
engage in the very behaviour and tactics that defined Umno, but all this
is in the service of ensuring that Harapan does not fail. Similarly,
the people I have spoken to view what Rashid said as a viable strategy –
perhaps the only strategy – to ensure the success of not just Bersatu,
but also Harapan. A Bersatu grassroots activist, who I
usually call on because she gives it to me straight, told me that it is
easy for the other Harapan components to criticise Rashid. It gets them
good press and makes them seem like heroes, like young Syed Saddiq. But,
the “beloved” (and she means it when she says this) prime minister not
only has to ensure that Bersatu is a viable party, but also that
“Harapan does not mampus (die)”. She continues: “What
Rashid said was not about corruption. What he meant was that unlike
Umno, Bersatu would ensure that whatever funds are used will be used
properly and not just stolen by the divisions' heads. This also is a
kind of reform, right? “Please lah, see how all the ministers are going to
Cameron Highlands now, making all sorts of promises. This is what he
(Rashid) is talking about when he said using government resources.” Okay,
I said, if your rural heartland base needs to be better informed, then
why not begin the process of dismantling the system – political tactics
included – which separates them from the urban Malay voter? “You want us
to win or you want PAS or Umno to win?” she replied. Think
of it this way. When a young leader like Syed Saddiq talks about
helping out the poor Malays, what does anyone really think this means?
Does it mean that the government wants to help these so-called poor
Malays become independent from the system? Are they going to see that
these so-called disenfranchised Malays from the Umno system are informed
and make decisions which have nothing to do with race and religion, but
instead think of themselves as part of a greater cultural whole? I do
not think so.
As long as the government does not change
direction when it comes to the systemic dysfunction of race and
religion, winning “by hook or by crook” will be the strategy of choice
for Malay power structures and their non-Malay enablers.