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."
Malaysiakini : COMMENT | When Timothy Leissner, a former Goldman Sachs executive, testified against Roger Ng, he gave us an interesting insight into the shallow lives of some of Malaysia's elite.
Ng is another Goldman banker who is facing corruption charges in the 1MDB scandal. Last
week's court proceedings in New York should have reminded you of the
similarities with the long-forgotten Scorpene deal. If there's money
involved, there's bound to be sex, sleaze and the seductress (3Ss).
In
the Scorpene deal, the convicted felon, Najib Abdul Razak's aide, Razak
Baginda, handled the purchase of the submarines from the French
contractor, DCN. Baginda's translator was Mongolian model Altantuya
Shaariibuu. Once the Scorpene deal was successfully negotiated, the two
reportedly toured Europe in a Ferrari sports car.
In the Scorpene scandal,
Najib was defence minister. In the 1MDB scandal, Najib was prime
minister. And while the troubled sovereign fund was Jho Low's
brainchild, Najib was his enabler. Both Leissner and Ng, with Jho Low's
help, were involved in a scam that had Najib's fingerprints all over it.
Both
jobs - 1MDB and Scorpene - involved huge sums of money and lots of sex,
sleaze and scandals. If case you have not yet connected the dots, the
common link is Najib.
At, or around, the same time as Razak
Baginda's European tryst, Leissner's sexual liaison was being conducted
in Malaysia. His lover was Rohana Rozhan, the Measat Broadcast executive
and former CEO of Astro Malaysia Holdings.
In 2013, when Leissner
wanted to end their affair, he claimed Rohana threatened to inform the
authorities about his role in the 1MDB scandal unless he bought her a
US$10 million house in central London.
In the Scorpene deal, Altantuya allegedly demanded US$500,000 payment for her 'translation' services.
Poor role models
For years, Rohana gave interviews about empowering women, about women in corporate roles and how women should strive harder to achieve their ambitions.
The allegation that she knew about Leissner and Ng's crime and her refusal to report it, says a lot about her personality.
There
were two other women who were mentioned in Leissner's testimony. Both
were politically connected. So, what pillow talk was exchanged that
would have benefited Goldman? Are some Malay women extremely naïve, or
very easy to please?
Why did Najib's daughter confirm that she was merely the PowerPoint girl? Why draw attention to herself?
Allegedly
sleeping one's way to the top and acquiring property through blackmail
gives the wrong message to young girls. These women may hold high
office, or have family in high places, but their actions show their
level of moral degradation.
Leissner claimed that his relationship
with Rohana was an open secret. If truth be told, there are many such
relationships among KL's high society. Leggy and well-endowed European
blondes and local Malaysian men, and local Malaysian women have
longstanding relationships with western males, who hold powerful
corporate roles.
Leissner's liaison is not the first, nor last, well-known 'open secret'.
One
wonders why the ‘khalwat’ squad is over-active when it comes to
breaking down doors in seedy hotel rooms to shame B40 lovers when they
catch them in flagrante delicto?
Why is the khalwat squad reluctant to humiliate high society lovers?
Conflict of interest
Leissner claimed that his boss knew about his relationships with local women, two of whom were politically connected.
It
does not say much about the company if its employee continues the
romance, and continues to be employed, despite the conflict of interest.
But why are we surprised? Goldman is more interested in generating profits rather than observing a moral code.
In
the past, relationships between non-Malay men and Muslim women have
resulted in the male being forced to convert to marry the Muslim woman.
Perhaps, the couples were caught in flagrante delicto and there were four witnesses. These couples were mostly from the lower-income bracket.
So, are westerners and elite Muslim locals more careful? Or is there another reason why the moral police avoid them?
Once,
when a friend's son was caught in a raid on a nightclub, they were not
given ample warning to escape via the back door. The detained, including
the children of Malay elites, were bundled into the back of a Black
Maria. The following morning, the police officers were given an earful
for detaining various ministers' children.
Clearly, it is a case of one law for the peasants and another for the elite.
Malaysians
who live and work in London are aware that some areas are the haunt of
Malaysian politicians and the privileged. It is alleged that many of the
homes are bought with the proceeds of money laundering.
After Leissner's testimony, add blackmail to the list of how some Malaysians acquired their property.
His revelations have shown that Malaysian high society is despicable and that they lost their moral compass a long time ago.