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."
Finally, Anwar comes out swinging - Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Monday, November 18, 2019
Anwar Ibrahim
Malaysiakini : Anonymous 350791436750385: Anwar, you do not need to go back to the drawing board. Read the comments in Malaysiakini. Most of the answers are here.
If the old man stays on, Harapan will continue to lose every single by-election big time. He was good in winning the battle against BN but horrible in ruling Malaysia because he just cannot get rid of his racial streak.
He is cancer in Harapan and has antagonised lots of people who supported him, especially those whom he called ‘orang asing’. He was born a racist and will die as one. Nothing can change this fact. It is about time you kick him out.
Malaysiakini : “If I feel threatened, others would also fall.” – Anwar Ibrahim
COMMENT | Anwar’s response to the just concluded Tanjung Piai by-election
“punishment” is apparently “shock” - but a seasoned politico like Anwar
had no doubt read the tea leaves. The grand poohbah has said that the
Pakatan Harapan manifesto is meaningless. Anwar should get the message
that, for a significant number of the Harapan base, it is not.
When I said that a victory in Tanjung Piai is a victory for either
Papagomo or the Perak MB, this translates to politics as usual which
Anwar, unfortunately, does not fare well in. BN will rightly spin this
as a victory for the kind of Malaysia they want and Harapan supporters
should not dismiss this as just an aberration, a one-off punishment for
Harapan.
The
old maverick will certainly not see this as a referendum of his
stewardship, and it will be interesting to see how those Malay
operatives in Harapan aligned with Mahathir play the race and religion
card in this defeat.
Some political pundits will claim that
Harapan’s defeat was teaching the old maverick a lesson. So we shot
ourselves in the foot when we voted Dr Mahathir Mohamad in and we will
continue shooting ourselves on the other foot if he remains. Is this the
strategy? Apropos everything, how is withholding aid from Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TAR UC) working out for you, Mr Finance Minister?
Anwar
has to demonstrate that he is not merely waiting docilely in the corner
for a chance to test, if the faith of his supporters is misplaced by
his ascendancy to the highest office in the land.
Recent public comments by the prime minister-in-waiting are a welcome change from the unerklärter Krieg
(undeclared war) that is currently raging in PKR. As someone who has
made it clear, he hopes Anwar will be the next prime minister of this
country. I am also someone who has meticulously chronicled every Anwar
misstep since the historic Harapan win.
The great crime that the
current prime minister visited upon Anwar and his family was to destroy
Anwar’s political career using the instruments of race and religion,
thereby making it extremely difficult for Anwar to navigate the
oftentimes hypocritical terrain of race and religion in this country.
Is
it any wonder, that Anwar is wary of not spooking the Malays? The irony
of all of this is that Anwar has always been the most dangerous to the
far-right when he was on a multi-racial populist platform.
He was always the most dangerous to the establishment when he surrounded himself with young firebrands who understood that “ketuanan”
and religiosity had taken Malay power as far it could go – and with a
rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, a new vision of “Malay”
leadership was needed.
Unacceptable behaviour
Anwar’s recent pugilistic comments regarding the "cartel"
should be the start, not the end of his agenda of establishing a new
order in Harapan. Also important is Anwar’s warning of the consequences
if he felt “threatened”.
Folks within PKR who have
animosity towards Anwar – but who have not openly acknowledged to me
that they do not want Anwar to be the next prime minister – have called
and texted me, saying that this is unacceptable behaviour.
My
answer to this is that it is perfectly acceptable and I welcome
political consequences for anyone colluding with elements from the
far-right who want to derail the process of Anwar becoming the next
prime minister. Let me be very clear. I have very little interest in the
internal squabbles of a political party.
However, once someone
conspires with the far-right and other political parties to delegitimise
or derail the succession plan, then, in my view, it is open season on
these traitors. Anwar is finally demonstrating that he has the cajones
to take on political operatives not only from his party but also from
outsiders who only have mala fide intent when it comes to PKR's leadership.
What
I find despicable about this whole fiasco, is that, clearly, PKR and
the DAP are a threat to the system by virtue of being multi-racial
parties. Political operatives in Harapan who are siding with the
far-right and other political parties are weakening the foundation of
what could be a new Malaysia.
I
know many DAP and PKR reps who are struggling because their efforts are
being hampered by the political plays of power brokers jockeying for
power and positions. They have to be wary because they never know when
they are going to have the rug pulled out from under them. They do not
have the backing of Malay political operatives who should be working
with them in creating a new Malaysia.
It all starts with Malay
leadership that wants change. It starts with Malay leadership that would
back up the plays of non-Malay political operatives in Harapan – the
most important non-Malay leadership which is not part of the cult of old
Malaysian politics. When Anwar says something like this – "Our
party does not talk about poverty according to race. If you wish to
remain in PKR, you cannot deviate from this. We champion all (races),"
all this is anathema to race-based parties. They fear that a majority of
voters may actually realise that their self-interests would be better
served if they think collectively and not communally.
He has to
clearly articulate a vision of Malaysia, which is the opposite vision of
what Mahathir and the far-right have for this country. For
instance, don’t engage in identity politics by blaming the “urban
elite”. Instead, carry out rural development programmes that are not
bound by the economic imperatives of plutocrats.
Don’t use the
religious bureaucracy as a means of cultural indoctrination, instead use
it to disburse aid for all races, thereby inculcating the idea that the
state-sanctioned religion takes care of all Malaysians.
Revamp
the education system so that it creates a polity that is not dependent
on the government and is competitive in this fast-changing geopolitical
landscape. If Anwar does not do this, then he will suffer the same
fate as most leaders in this country. He will be overwhelmed by the far
right.
In the end, nobody gives you power, you have to take it.