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."
This fractured state does not care who walks for justice - Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Thursday, May 05, 2022
Malaysiakini : I understand that this may be politically incorrect to write
but the Judiciary has, for decades, been mired in the political
machinations of the Executive and at one time or another, prominent
opposition political operatives, former Bar Council presidents and
activists have shone a spotlight on this inconvenient truth.
These
attacks – if you want to call them such – are part of a larger
narrative of political malfeasances which have plagued this country for
decades. Considering the history of the judiciary, and the machinations
of a former prime minister (twice), does anyone really think that we
have independent institutions in this country?
Granted
that Pakatan Harapan, when it was in power, was supposed to begin the
long hard work of draining the swamp – but then they became part of the
swamp.
Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer
Keep in mind what Court of Appeal judge Hamid Sultan Abu Backer
said when Harapan came into power: "The talk among the judicial members
was that they were appointed because of the influence of an ex-minister
whom they served earlier. I will reserve my right to say further to a
royal commission of inquiry (RCI). They all knew it was business as
usual and all the fear of tribunalisation had disappeared overnight and
now they are looking forward to top positions upon vacancy. To me, I see
it as one movement from a kleptocracy regime to another and nothing
more."
Here is the truth. Very few people have faith in the integrity of the public institutions of this country. When the EAIC found no evidence
in the accusation of a former IGP Hamid Bador on the existence of a
cartel and there were no investigations into his allegations against
Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin, you should understand that we are in a
tin pot territory.
Blunt denials that fool nobody
And
this is the point. The state has already given up on providing a fig
leaf. Now it is just the blunt denials that fool nobody but the state
does not care. The fact that this particular judge is being investigated
by the MACC, which has lost credibility, demonstrates that whoever
these plotters are, they really do not give a damn about optics.
It
has come to the point where this fractured state understands that some
people have lost faith in the system and they are banking on the fact
that they can still hoodwink the majority using racial or religious
propaganda. What we are dealing with here is not the independence of the
Judiciary, but rather the unconstrained power of political operatives
and their proxies in the state apparatus to act with impunity.
Does
anyone really think that a walk by the Bar Council is going to move the
needle? The fact that the Bar Council has to hold an EGM to discuss
this matter is why this country is going in slow motion into failed
statehood.
When you are in a situation like this, all
bets are off. Rational Malaysians understand that nothing will come of
all these protests by disparate groups. In fact, I have no doubt that
this walk, if it ever materialises, will somehow be spun into a racial
issue.
In this climate, nobody really knows who is in
charge and political power brokers, their lackeys, proxies in the media
and the lickspittles in the bureaucracy are manoeuvring themselves to
ensure political survival, in case someone emerges as top dog.
Why do you think the MACC suddenly decides to flex its muscles on the allegations of a blogger?
Why is the state security apparatus, which normally has no problem
issuing statements and opening up investigations with the slightest
provocation, suddenly as quiet as a church mouse?
The
court cluster is now spinning a narrative that the fix is in and when
we have two former prime ministers accusing each other of political
abuse of power and corruption and a sitting prime minister beholden to
both, you can bet your last ringgit that everything in Putrajaya
revolves around this power struggle.
The only thing that scares these people is a political coalition that has the political will to reform the system.
Unfortunately for Malaysians who desire reform, this merely means that they have nothing to fear.