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."
Who in Harapan dares impose a retirement date on Mahathir? - Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Monday, January 13, 2020
Malaysiakini : āIn politics, there is a large difference between losing and being defeated.ā - Chris Matthews
COMMENT |
PKR vice-president Rafizi Ramli was reported to have said that if the
old maverick does commit to a timeline for a transition of power then a retirement date will be imposed on him. The question is who is going to do that? The presidential council which has done bupkus (nothing) since Pakatan Harapan won their mandate?
You
cannot really blame the old maverick for not wanting to relinquish
power. After all, there was no fixed transition date, hence Dr Mahathir
Mohamad is well within his "rights" to drag this on. How there could be
no fixed date or even a timeline is beyond me, but it is a constant
reminder that some people are willing to believe anything if it means
getting rid of a despised public figure, like Najib Abdul Razak.
Always
remember, Mahathir is not solely to blame. The folks who were supposed
to keep him in check are also to blame. The same people who were
screaming that Mahathir was a despot or tyrant, and yes, kleptocrat, are
now silent when he rides roughshod over election promises and
progressive reforms.
As for a vote of no confidence, Rafizi said
support for the coalition would ācollapseā if there were an effort from
within it to forcefully remove Mahathir in such a manner. However,
Rafizi said this was unlikely.
Mahathir, of
course, dared anyone in Harapan to sack him - "Well, it is up to the
party. They (Harapan presidential council) can sack me if they want to,"
was his sarcastic reply when told that Anwar said there would be no
no-confidence vote or attempt to remove him after the Tanjung Piai
fiasco - "Thank you."
So let me get this straight, Rafizi (above)
claims that if Mahathir does not commit to a transition timeline, a
retirement date would be imposed upon him - but he admits that the
coalition would collapse if Mahathir was forcibly removed from office.
In
other words, removing Mahathir if he does not want to go would mean the
collapse of Harapan. I have no idea why Rafizi would say that a date
would be imposed on the prime minister when clearly he believes that
Harapan would collapse if the old maverick were forcibly removed.
Maybe
ā since I publicly harassed Harapan to endorse Mahathir as prime
minister ā we were all wrong about needing the old maverick. Outlier
political pundits are still debating if Mahathir was even needed to put
the coup de grĆ¢ce on the Najib regime. There was a significant
portion of the Malay electorate who just had enough of the excesses of
the Najib regime and would swing to Harapan, even without the old
maverick.
Rafizi also said that if Anwar were prime minister, his
success in the next election would be determined by his choice of
economic advisers and his enactment of radical economic policies which
would be met by resistance from within his party and coalition. Very
interesting, but a subject for Anwar Ibrahim, it he becomes prime
minister.
Rafizi says the rakyat have lost patience with
this whole transition issue. Well, that part of the rakyat who voted for
Harapan. A minority, I would like to remind everyone. For folks who
support Umno/PAS, they are happy to see the infighting continue and
throw their support as long as Mahathir is in line with their policy
agendas.
As for the Harapan presidential council deciding
on a retirement date for Mahathir, does anyone really believe that they
will do anything? On the one hand, we have Tian Chua claiming that
overt support of Anwar becoming the next prime minister pits Anwar
against the old maverick is mendacious. What this overt support is, is a
reaction against the moves by provocateurs who would derail the
succession plan and those who encourage the perception that Anwar will
not be the next in line.
So, while Raifizi may be correct in claiming that Anwar (above)
āhad the support of a vast majority of his own party as well as the
DAPā, it only takes a few rabble-rousers working in concert with the
opposition to reverse the fortunes of the old maverick. This
has always been my issue with those who do not want Anwar to become
prime minister. If they have a better candidate, then put him or her up.
Why work with the opposition or with the old guard to destabilise
Harapan?
No Malay political operative in the coalition would even
consider such a play because to do so would invite the wrath of the
Malay political establishment. Any challenge to Mahathir in the past
always came from the Malay establishment and the most notable, because
of its political terrain shifting, was PKR leader Anwar.
And when
the prime minister has the backing of the opposition, Harapan partisans
should understand how screwed they are when it comes to ministerial
accountability and transparency. Not to mention policymaking.
We
have to be very clear on this issue. This is not about Mahathir
resigning or being forced to resign. Keep in mind there was never any
transition date, to begin with. The cold truth is that Mahathir is under
no obligation to make the transition easier or relinquish power when
there are elements from within PKR and the opposition enabling his
tenure and frustrating the transition process.
All this is a
distraction. What has always been the case is that the so-called
āreformistsā within Harapan are not standing up to the executive. They
are as dismissive of campaign promises as the old maverick is. Their
supine nature is conducive to the kind of excesses that brought down the
Najib regime.
Better Harapan collapses because there were people
standing up to the old maverick than the coalition collapsing because of
internal feuds or charlatans who promised a new Malaysia but were
intent on creating a Neo Malaysia.