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."
Rosmah’s fairy tale didn’t have happy ending By Mariam Mokhtar
Friday, September 02, 2022
Malaysiakini : She was also found guilty of two further bribes of RM1.5 million and
RM5 million from Jepak Holding's former managing director, Saidi Abang
Samsuddin, as a reward for helping Jepak secure the contract.
Rosmah Mansor’s lead counsel Jagjit Singh
Rosmah's “accomplishments”, which were detailed
by Jagjit Singh, her lead defence lawyer, are almost breath-taking. Her
selfless contribution to society. Her exemplary behaviour. Her role in
educating children. The woeful absence of a source of income.
If
only Jagjit would put himself in the shoes of the ordinary rakyat; but
why should he? He has a client to defend and has been engaged to get her
off the hook. He tried to paint Rosmah as an innocent victim but only
succeeded in making a dog's breakfast of her “accomplishments”.
Rosmah,
the latest high-profile convicted felon, would naturally deny all
charges of bribery and corruption. The Umno-Baru politician Noh Omar
once said, "Stealing is not a crime, but only if you get caught."
When
her husband, the convicted felon Najib Abdul Razak was prime minister,
Rosmah invited contempt as the most powerful woman in Malaysia; but
today, she sought to downplay her domineering role as the former FLOM.
High maintenance
After
her conviction, Jagjit told the press that the fine of RM970 million
was the largest imposed in Malaysian legal history and that it would be
impossible for Rosmah, who had no source of income, to pay the fine.
Where was Jagjit in 2018, when the police raided
Najib's house in Jalan Langgak Duta and three apartments in the
Pavilion complex? Around RM114 million in cash and another RM500,000 in
26 foreign currencies were seized at the locations.
Over 350 boxes and bags containing cash, jewellery, watches and
designer handbags were also confiscated. It took three days for 21 bank
officers and 11 counting machines to count the money, and experts were
consulted to value the luxury goods and jewellery.
The confiscated items
are those we know about. What about the items and cash that are stashed
in offshore accounts, or money that had been laundered into a property
and other overseas assets?
Does Jagjit expect us to believe that Najib's ministerial salary supported Rosmah's high maintenance?
Jagjit
said that Rosmah deserved leniency, suggested a prison time of one day,
cited her contributions to society, and said that she was a first-time
offender.
Interfering in the affairs of the state does not
constitute being an exemplary prime ministerial spouse. She positioned
herself beside Malaysian representatives at United Nations meetings. She
flew overseas, held meetings with foreign government officials and
acted like an official Malaysian government representative.
In 2010, she received Julia Gillard,
the former Australian prime minister, when Najib was in the hospital
with chicken pox. That responsibility should have been left to Najib's
then deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin.
The former FLOM loved her shopping,
and government jets were allegedly used to transport her and her
entourage to the shopping capitals of the world. All one had to do was
follow the credit card trail.
Joint legacy
Rosmah
and Najib's joint legacy was to leave Malaysia drowning in debt,
plagued by corruption and caused Umno-Baru to be paralysed by political
infighting. One faction wants to free Najib with a royal pardon,
but the rest realise that he should serve time for his crimes. The
former group fears the domino effect of Najib's incarceration.
Rosmah's
‘Permata’ was run by experts ostensibly for gifted children. It
received several hundred million ringgits when other ministries or
departments were struggling to find funding. Rosmah hoped Permata would
send more students to Oxford.
If Rosmah really cared about
children's education, the money would have helped the Education Ministry
in improving the provision of education for all Malaysian schoolchildren.
More
teachers could have been trained in the techniques that Permata claimed
to have unlocked the potential in children. An improved education would
benefit all schoolchildren, especially the Orang Asli and rural
communities in east and west Malaysia.
Addressing the court
yesterday, Rosmah claimed that she was a victim and had been framed by
various people, including her former aide.
She is no victim. She
bullied her husband, his staff, her aides, civil servants and
businesspersons. She is ruthless, ambitious, avaricious and a bully.
The only thing Rosmah cares about is the bulging purse in her Hermès-Birkin handbag.
