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."
Row with France - why is Mahathir so full of hate? By Mariam Mokhtar
Friday, October 30, 2020
Mamakthir's Hate
Malaysiakini : COMMENT | What
will many of our elite Malaysians do in the wake of the call to boycott
French products because of the warning against radical Muslims by French
President Emmanuel Macron?
Will a former self-styled "First Lady
of Malaysia" (Flom) ditch her prized collection of multi million-ringgit
Hermès Birkin bags? Will our 'tai-tais' (ladies who lunch) stop using French perfumes and cosmetics?
When
travel restrictions are lifted and the jet set can indulge in a bit of
retail therapy in the shopping capitals of the world, will they refuse
to travel if the aeroplane is an Airbus A380? Will some Malays stop
their debauched partying on the Riviera?
If the French successfully develop a vaccine for Covid-19, will the Muslims reject the treatment?
Religious extremists only want to spread hatred, and violence is a means to an
end, but who would have thought that former PM, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, a
nonagenarian, and a family man, would actually tweet words that
encourage more violence?
Some
Malaysians view Mahathir as a statesman, but he is no statesman. He is
only another ego-centric politician, whose dreams of becoming a
prime-minister-for-life have come to nought. He only thinks about the
next election, but not about creating a Malaysia that is united and
rejects extremism in all forms.
Muslims who resort to violent
tactics do not know their religion. If they did, they would have known
Surah Al-Qasas, 28:551 which says: "And
when they hear ill speech, they turn away from it and say, ‘For us are
our deeds, and for you are your deeds. Peace will be upon you; we seek
not the ignorant.’"
Drawings or writings which are controversial do not give others the right to murder. Killing in the name of any God is wrong.
The
people who think that Muslims who use religion as an excuse to kill because of a cartoon or piece of writing, should realise that today, it
is a teacher, a church official, or a church-goer. How long before these
deranged people attack other Muslims who may be too liberal for their
liking, such as LGBTs or those who do not dress conservatively?
Security forces guard the area after a knife attack at Notre Dame church in Nice, France.
Isn't
it strange that many Muslims flee their oppressive homelands, risk
rough seas, cut-throat human traffickers and travel thousands of miles
to reach Christian shores? Once they are given asylum in western
countries like France, a number then try to impose their conservative
values on a nation which encourages secularism, equality, freedom of
expression and tolerates people of other faiths. Why did they even
bother to leave their homeland?
A nation in crisis
Mahathir's
supporters glorify him for his developments, like the Twin Towers or
that a capital city was created in a former marshland and oil palm
estate. The skyscrapers and manufacturing industries are monuments to
Mahathir's desire to make Malaysia a developed nation. Sadly, he did not
nurture our human capital.
The Malays and Muslims eye the
non-Malays and non-Muslims with suspicion. We appear to have lost our
humanity and our social and moral values. Instead, we chase money and
material goods.
Mahathir cannot get along with his deputies, has
great difficulty in grooming a successor, and tries his best to mould
Malaysia into his vision of a nation. He has failed in all of these, and
his Vision 2020 lies dead in the gutter. He can't give a talk at
universities, like Oxford or Cambridge, without causing controversy with
his racist remarks.
His pet project, Proton, has been taken over
by the People's Republic of China (PRC). For decades we told him, and
his successors, to stop the political meddling in Malaysia Airlines
(MAS). Ironically, the Covid pandemic finally grounded MAS, where we had
failed.
Malaysia is a nation in crisis, mainly because of the
division started and perpetuated by Mahathir. Successive leaders are no
better. They merely perfected his methods and did nothing to unite the
nation. Their oft-repeated mantra was that only their party, be it Umno
Baru or PAS, can "unite the Malays, and defend Islam." Some of us
wrongly believed that Mahathir would right his wrongs after GE14.
Candles
are lit at a makeshift memorial for Samuel Paty, the French teacher who
was beheaded on the streets of the Paris suburb of
Conflans-Sainte-Honorine.
Mahathir's
contentious tweet, which he made yesterday, was preceded by another
which said: "Irrespective of the religion professed, angry people kill.
The French in the course of their history has killed millions of people.
Many were Muslims."
So, to which period in history is Mahathir
referring? Is he urging the modern world to take revenge for what
happened centuries ago?
Why does Mahathir want to
pick a fight with others? Surely it is time for his children to tell him
to retire gracefully, or risk more harm to his already disgraced
legacy.
