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."
Putrajaya, don’t ‘play play’ with Sarawak on English By Francis Paul Siah
Monday, June 27, 2022
Malaysiakini : I don’t know about you but what struck me the moment I read about it
is to ask (in a state of disbelief) whether Zuki’s statement is real or
has been misquoted. If not, what a regressive policy that is. It’s very
sad when we have the top civil servant in the country involved in such a
backward flip.
I’m glad Sarawak minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah did not mince his words when he called the proposal “silly and stupid”.
“English is our second official language and it’s widely used by civil servants and in the state assembly,” he told Free Malaysia Today.
The
Sarawak tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister said
that civil servants should be encouraged to use “good English” instead
of being penalised for it.
“Being proficient in English does not make one less Malaysian or less Malay,” he said.
And
what did we hear last Friday? Another ludicrous statement by the
chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka
(DBP), Awang Sariyan, saying that those who disrespect the national
language can be fined up to RM50,000 or sentenced to imprisonment through amendments to the DBP Act 1959.
Hello, what else will they think of next?
Sarawakians’ right
I
must first ask those in DBP which connotation in English do they mean
by “disrespect” or “disrespectful”? The word “disrespect” is open to a
wide range of interpretations, and it becomes highly subjective whether a
particular action or utterance is disrespectful.
As a Sarawakian,
I wish to add: Malaya can do whatever they want to give prominence to
BM and lower the importance of English, but we, Sarawakians, have the
right to continue with our emphasis on the language as we think fit.
Encouraging
Sarawakians to master English does not mean that we are disrespecting
BM. Some people in DBP can say and formulate stupid and silly policies
as they wish but do not bother us in Sarawak with them.
I also
have this message to our federal leaders, especially Prime Minister
Ismail Sabri Yaakob and his acolytes (which are only a handful, as we
are aware.)
Hear it from a Sarawakian - after the brouhaha over
English and their condescending manner in pushing the Malay language
down our throats, let me say this: Perhaps, non-English speaking
lawmakers should not be appointed ministers. They are a distinct
disgrace to our nation and Malaysians are ashamed of them, especially
when they represent us abroad.
Malaysians could only gripe in
embarrassment every time a non-English speaking Malaysian minister
attempted to use the language in an international setting. What the
heck! Is this the best we have to parade as our representatives abroad?
Gladly,
all our seven prime ministers speak good English. The current PM has a
problem. Probably, because of his own inadequacies with the language, he
is now pushing BM around as if it is the only language for all of
mankind.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob
Seriously,
Ismail Sabri also wanted our representatives abroad to speak BM at
international forums, stating that would help to promote the language to
the world.
I say, good luck, Mr Prime Minister. I think that
brushing up on your English would be the next best thing you have
carried during your temporary sojourn as the prime minister.
In
Sarawak, all our ministers, deputy ministers and state assembly members
and MPs too are all English speakers or at least, they are able to
handle the language.
None of our Sarawak ministers or legislators
has ever been known to embarrass us Sarawakians when they represent us
abroad at international forums. Unlike some of our Malayan federal
ministers.
On the English language, no shame to learn from Sarawak, really!
