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."
Failed again by social welfare, syariah and zakat systems By Mariam Mokhtar
Friday, May 06, 2022
Malaysiakini : A man abandoned his wife and their two children. Soon after, the wife's landlord evicted her. The single mother thought herself lucky to be able to share a "home" in a building which had been specially converted into a swiftlets' house.
In one fishing village near Lumut, a woman
said that ongoing beach reclamation projects, poor yields, and
inclement weather meant that her father's daily catch could not sustain
the family. Their house was often flooded, and there was no money for
medicine.
The soldier was petrified of losing his disability
benefit and ashamed to tell his family of his predicament. The single
mother was given government help of RM250 per month. The fisherman's
family said that various agencies had rejected their requests for aid.
After
their stories went viral, the single mother was contacted by the Perak
religious authority and then was flooded by numerous offers of help from
concerned citizens.
Poor are failed by the lack of leadership
Many
questions remain unanswered. What happened to zakat money, which we are
told will help the poor? How does Jakim spend its billions of ringgits?
Why is it so difficult for these people to get help?
Why do the
religious authorities react only after stories about the poor become
viral? Why is the Welfare Department lacking funds? Why are NGOs doing
the government's work for them?
The single mother cannot survive
on RM250, but will welfare officials try to survive on this pitiful
amount to see if it is adequate? Is the former husband paying any
maintenance? Will the Syariah Court track him down and make him pay up?
Friends who work for NGOs claim that the poor are failed by the lack of leadership in government institutions.
Officials
placed more importance on the department or their own key performance
index (KPI). Instead of helping the poor, these officials did just
enough work to obtain a decent KPI. A good KPI would enable them to
receive better perks, an improved performance bonus, or even a
promotion. Helping the poor is almost considered an afterthought.
The
attitude of the officials who disburse aid needs to be addressed. They
act as if the money intended for the poor is their own. The officials
would rather a sum of money, for example, RM10,000, be shared with
several people, whereby each person only receives just RM100.
The
officials want to be seen as helping several people, and not just a few.
The aid dished out is diluted simply to make the officials look good.
They care only about quantity, not quality.
When a request for aid
is made, a committee is supposed to meet and evaluate the individual's
needs, discuss the merits of each case, and decide who gets aid.
However, poor work practices, or perhaps laziness, usually means that
the decision is left to one official who decides who should receive
assistance.
Not everyone is literate and can articulate their
needs adequately. Many of those who requested help said that government
officials lacked the patience to help them understand what was needed of
them. Many people are not sure how to fill in the various forms
required.
'Overbearing arrogance'
The
system is too rigid. If a family is given basic aid by the religious
authority, it is alleged that the Welfare Department will refuse to
offer additional help. A family with three disabled children will not
receive disability payment from welfare because aid from the religious
authority is deemed to be sufficient.
Those who were refused help
are not told why they were rejected. Fewer still realise that they are
allowed one chance to appeal. Many people are too meek to ask for help,
especially if they fear being barked at by arrogant officials.
Kuan Chee Heng
Government
officials who act with overbearing arrogance deter many Malays/Muslims,
who then seek help from church organisations or from non-Malay NGOs.
They place more faith in individuals, like "Uncle Kentang", the social activist Kuan Chee Heng.
Non-Muslim/non-Malay
organisations take great care not to publicise their offers of help
because bigots in the community have the potential to cause trouble
and turn the aid offered into a racist or religious issue. The missing
pastor, Raymond Koh, helped mainly Malay drug addicts and HIV/Aids
sufferers but faced allegations of proselytising.
The
religious authorities are allegedly fixated on quantity. For some
officials, help is allocated for converts (mualafs) only. The officials'
KPI increases, and offering help, for them, is more about converting.
This is not how aid should be disbursed.
In the end, where is the political will to address poverty?
