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 : “At the national level, it’ll also give a clear signal that BN’s
prospects of winning the next general election are very bright.” – Najib Abdul Razak
COMMENT |
Umno is all about the middle ground in Johor. For a legacy race-based
party which for decades (with its partners) enjoyed populist support,
this going back to basics, after a brief sojourn with PAS and the rest
of the Sheraton traitors, ominously heralds a return to the kind of
“political stability” that defined Malaysian politics for decades.
Johor Umno deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed taking his shots at PAS claimed
that the Islamic party is bereft of ideas and all they talk about is
polygamy and promoting ridiculous practices like saying husbands can
beat their wives “lightly”.
Corruption (Rasuah) does not fall under Hudud laws: Hadi Awang
All this sounds like old times. Retired journalists have been sending
me newspaper clippings of decades-old Umno attacks against PAS that use
the same kind of rhetoric.
Indeed PAS causes more problems for
Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the moderation department than the
incompetency of the whole regime.
Nur Jazlan even trained his
sights on the grand poobah of PAS, when he said: “Look at the party’s
leader, Abdul Hadi Awang. He is the prime minister’s special envoy to
the Middle East but he is not allowed to enter some of the countries in
the region because of his adherence to a different school of thought in
Islam.
“Then he goes to Qatar to meet the Taliban leaders although
Malaysia does not have any diplomatic ties with them. On top of that,
he pledges aid for them, which he should not do as it is a government
policy matter.”
Nur Jazlan is like former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak (above).
They are all about wooing middle-ground voters, especially non-Malays –
this means Chinese voters – on the political (do not call it a
comeback, Najib never left ) trail after the victory in Malacca changed
the political fortunes of Umno.
Johor Umno deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed
Johor PN elections director Hamzah Zainudin claimed that BN candidates are supporters
of the court cluster which is threading the needle because the current
prime minister is from Umno and apparently PN is part of the federal
government. So according to PN, Umno/BN is corrupt except when it is
not.
Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong believes that Najib could be a
turn off for middle ground voters. Indeed both Nur Jazlan and Liew hope
that Johor’s mixed seat would be an advantage to their coalitions.
Liew said that Najib is a figure with no middle ground but the reality is that Najib is not on the ballot.
Do
people really think that voters who voted for Umno/BN, especially in
the recent state elections, really did so because it was a vote for
Najib? What about the seats Pakatan Harapan and the DAP lost? Did Najib
secure those votes too?
Support from the Chinese community
Indeed, people seem to think that it is a joke when Najib goes campaigning with Chinese “business people” in a Chinese school.
However,
here is the thing: Najib is not aiming to secure the vote of the entire
Chinese community in Johor. What he is aiming to do is secure enough
support from the Chinese community to get Umno’s candidates over the
line with Malay support.
And if the MCA or MIC candidates manage
to get through, then not only does Umno get bragging rights of how BN is
a moderate coalition – which PN is not – but also reinforces the idea
that BN is the only coalition that brings about political stability.
Beyond
the toll that this pandemic has had on people's lives, what I think
people really want is some form of stability. Any kind of stability.
And
because Harapan with all its factional politics, its inability to
coalesce around a prime minister in waiting and its constant need to
placate ketuanan ideas, thereby jeopardising its base, seems
like just another coalition that is threatening the establishment and
not a government-in-waiting.
PN
after all has no central message beyond calling out the court cluster
while working with them on a federal level, which sends mixed messages.
Anyone
perusing the online and real-world propaganda by Umno would understand
that not only is Umno attempting to plant its flag in the middle ground,
it is also attempting to win over the majority by claiming that PN has
failed the Malay masses with economic hardship through incompetent
leadership (which they blame on Muhyiddin Yassin) and bankrupt Islamic
ideas, which they blame on PAS.
This is the reason why Umno potentates and lackeys have been rather demurring on hot button religious issues.
This
is why Nur Jazlan mocked PAS for its religious rhetoric and claimed
they are bereft of ideas when the reality is that Umno sucked on to PAS
after its fall and murmured Malay/Islamic unity.
Harapan needs to
win decisively in Johor because, even if there is a split government or
some sort of wonky coalition cobbled together, Umno and Najib will
thrive on the political chaos.
It would demonstrate that Harapan will always be a contender and the Harapan base will become even more apathetic.
The
fact is this. Umno does not have to win big in Johor to remain relevant
but Harapan needs to win big because a resurgent Umno will find itself
petitioned by all manner of political frogs, which would ensure its
hegemony.
It really does not matter how many votes Umno/BN won by
and it is extremely naïve to take comfort in the granular data coming
out from past elections.
In politics, perception is everything and
if the majority believes that Umno is in ascension, the perception will
become the reality.
