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."
It is not just
ideological differences between the parties on the different sides of
the political divide, it is about betrayals leading to the complete lack
of trust between Harapan and Bersatu.
How can Harapan forget what
happened with the infamous and insidious Sheraton Move? It was the
mother of betrayals that saw the collapse of the Harapan government
within the period of 22 months in power.
Azmin Ali at the Sheraton Hotel in February 2020
Yes,
it is great and magnanimous to talk about politics as being the art of
the possible, but surely there are limits to this lofty thought.
It was the stealth build-up based on racial and religious extremism that caused the collapse of the legitimate government.
The fact that DAP was in power was something that was not accepted by the extreme parties such as Bersatu and more so PAS.
The
extreme application of race and religion was the main reason that laid
the basis for the formation of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.
How can DAP or Harapan forgive and forget a major betrayal that happened not too long ago?
Is
politics so cheap and degrading that the Sheraton Move incident could
be just forgotten overnight to think of a big tent approach whether
wholly or partially?
The extent of a common enemy
For
an oppositional alliance to take shape, the political enemy must be so
bad that necessitates friendship with those who are opposed to the
political enemy.
This means sinking differences to the extent of taking on a common political foe.
Are
there any real differences between Umno, Bersatu and PAS?Why should
Harapan enter into a friendship with Bersatu or PAS to take on Umno/BN?
Arenāt
these parties the real source of the problem for the emergence of an
alternative coalition in the country envisaged by Harapan?
It is
really not about moving in the direction of cooperation or not, but what
is Harapanās and its component partiesā stand in facing the next
general election?
Why is Harapan bent on thinking of alternative
ways of cooperation rather than ensuring ways to strengthen the
coalition in the face of the impending general election?
The
betrayal of Bersatu was something not easily forgotten by Harapan. It
might even override thoughts of cooperation and understanding between
the oppositional forces to take on Umno/BN.
Even if the big tent
approach is not feasible, the exclusion of Bersatu and PAS does not
necessarily render cooperation with other Harapan-friendly parties.
Maybe not a big tent but a small tent might do at least for the moment as events are fast unfolding.
