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."
Political stability after GE15? Get real, people! By G Vinod
Saturday, October 08, 2022
Malaysiakini : So what if they had decided on Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob as
their poster boy? It doesn’t really matter when it comes to politics.
Since
Merdeka until the fall of BN in 2018, it is the Umno president who sat
on the prime minister’s chair. Hence, speaking from tradition, Zahid has
every right to become the next prime minister if Umno wins GE15.
This
is where the instability will come in. Having tasted power and
adulation, one would be naïve to think Ismail Sabri will take this lying
down.
While he may appear oblivious to things at most times, one
can safely say that Ismail Sabri is no pushover and would not back down
from a fight when it is needed.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaako
Bear in mind, he has taken this one year plus to shore up support,
not only within Umno but also outside of BN. The two will definitely
clash for the top job, and the loser is unlikely to back down and wait
another day to take on the new prime minister.
Zahid vs Ismail Sabri vs Najib
Assuming Zahid manages to “vanquish” Ismail Sabri, he would be facing another problem from Umno as well – the cult of Bossku.
Though
both appear to be on the same page since 2018, former prime minister
Najib Abdul Razak’s supporters would definitely pressure Zahid to get
the Pekan MP pardoned.
With Najib free, he could make another move
for the premiership – and this would anger Zahid and cause another
level of political instability in the country.
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (left) with Najib Abdul Razak
On
the flip side, even if Ismail Sabri is retained as prime minister after
defeating Zahid, the latter will join forces with Najib to undermine
the former out of spite.
And there goes Malaysia’s political stability.
Now,
let’s check out another scenario in which Pakatan Harapan emerges
victorious and PKR president Anwar Ibrahim becomes the prime minister.
Again, as we have seen post-2018, both Umno and PAS would agitate the
crowd using the “the non-Muslims have taken over the country” narrative
again.
They may exploit the race and religion rhetoric to the
hilt like what had happened during former prime minister Dr Mahathir
Mohamad’s second stint as premier. But this time, the agitation may be
louder.
While both Umno and PAS were careful with the nonagenarian
given his past-autocratic tendencies, they may not be that measured
with Anwar given that he has always been painted as a “traitor to the
nation and Malays” since his ouster from Umno in 1998.
Let Umno be the opposition
The
point I’m trying to drive here is – in both scenarios – it would be
Umno-BN which would be causing the instability like what has happened
since the Sheraton Move.
So what can we do to ensure we have a
stable government for some time? In my view, the answer is to send
Umno-BN to the opposition aisle for at least two parliamentary terms.
Yes,
they will join forces with PAS to cause problems for the new government
but this is where the latter must focus on reforms and keep close
communication with the public on what is being done and why it is being
done.
The
new government must then show no mercy to those who play the race and
religion card. I think the public has had enough of such nonsense and
they need leaders who can address pressing matters such as the rising
cost of living, poverty, unemployment, and others.
Besides, the
general public is quite clear by now that much of Umno and PAS’ past
rhetoric was nothing but a political stunt with little regard for the
people’s real struggles.
If my projection is right, Umno will
start reinventing and rejuvenating itself within 10 years, with good
junior leaders finally mustering the courage to get rid of their tainted
superiors.
How can we know whether good leaders have taken over
Umno in the future? For starters, they will start working as an
effective opposition in Parliament.
Simply put, if Umno (as an
opposition) manages to keep the government of the day on their toes over
day-to-day issues, we can positively say that they have “earned the
people’s trust” to take over Putrajaya again.
The sad thing about
Umno is that the party could have reformed itself by now if not for
Bersatu’s treachery towards Harapan, which brought the nationalist party
back to power prematurely.
So, it’s time for the people to give
Umno-BN another shot at redeeming themselves. Who knows, we may have
another Tunku Abdul Rahman or Onn Jaafar helming the party in the near
future.
