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."
The politics of fear: Tawfik's close call and Astro's racism By Mariam Mokhtar
Friday, November 11, 2022
Malaysiakini : Losing in GE15 is not just about losing a seat, a loss of face, or being denied a chance to represent the constituents.
For
Umno-Baru candidates, losing means not having access to a privileged
lifestyle and the funds that their dear leader can magically provide.
Losing
also means being unable to generate more income from lucrative
contracts, and being denied highly prized commissions from government
projects. Umno-Baru politicians may call these projects "investing in
the future - theirs" but the rakyat calls it, "The curse of the three generations”.
It
is a curse because the duration of the project involved is sufficient
to provide jobs and a steady 'no-questions-asked-income' trickling in
for the politician and selected family members for several years.
Politics in Umno-Baru is not for the faint-hearted. There is everything to lose.
The Umno-Baru politician did not get rich from hard work and intellect. Many will have allegedly purchased their degrees.
Most of them, or at least the generation of politicians from the 1980s
onwards, became eye-watering wealthy from corrupt activities.
When
one is not used to working to earn one's keep, losing the source of
income, despite having millions of ringgits stashed in the bank, will
not be easy.
"Easy come, easy go," as they say.
The townhouse in London, luxury New York penthouse, or riverside Perth mansion may have been bought
with illicit funds, but once he, or she, is no longer a politician, the
maintenance and upkeep would be a struggle for the person who is used
to free handouts.
Frisson of excitement in Bagan Datuk
On
nomination day, Saturday, Nov 5, there was a frisson of excitement in
one of the most hotly contested seats in Malaysia. The town was Bagan Datuk and its incumbent is Umno-Baru president, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who has held the seat since 1995.
One of Zahid's contenders is Tawfik Ismail (above),
the co-founder of Gerak Independent (GI), but what most Malaysians were
not aware of at the time, was that Tawfik almost failed to be
nominated. BN's dirty tricks department was operating in Bagan Datuk
that week.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi during the nomination day on Nov 5
Few, especially the younger generation, even those in their
mid-forties and fifties, will recall Tawfiks' father, Dr Ismail Abdul
Rahman, a former deputy prime minister. Sadly, our history as taught in
schools is cherry-picked by our political masters.
Ismail was both
respected and feared. He refused to grant favours to relatives and
close friends. He had a strong work ethic and was strict, but fair. He
was a stickler for rules and had a non-ethnic approach to issues. He was
concerned about racial polarisation, but sadly, died in office, in his
capacity as acting PM.
On nomination day, Tawfik alleges that
Bagan Datuk was teeming with news that Zahid was running scared of him.
He said that although he and his team arrived early for nomination, 30
minutes before the deadline, his proposer was nowhere to be seen or
found. Their calls to him went unanswered.
With minutes to spare,
the proposer allegedly contacted one of Tawfik's team members and said,
"Game Over!" This is typical BN arrogance and overconfidence.
The
proposer who had allegedly been bought did not realise that 15 minutes
before the deadline closed, a substitute proposer had been found. BN's
alleged sabotage had backfired.
Umno-Baru/BN has been in control
of the media for many decades, apart from a brief 22 months after GE14,
when we had media freedom. All that disappeared with the Sheraton Move.
Irresponsible journalism
Last week, Awesome TV
(Astro channel 123) angered Malaysians, when its newscasters urged
Malays to vote in GE15 and fulfil their responsibility to the nation if
they did not want the other races to seize control of political power.
Why
is a national TV news channel promoting racism and the politics of
hate? This is not responsible journalism. Besides the incumbent Klang
MP, Charles Santiago, voicing his disgust on Twitter on the morning of
Nov 6, where are the other voices of condemnation from the remaining
politicians?
Why is the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia
Commission silent on this incident? Why is the caretaker PM also quiet?
This nationwide racist broadcast has destroyed Ismail Sabri Yaakob's Keluarga Malaysia concept.
There is no Keluarga Malaysia, only Keluarga Melayu.
What
do Malaysians, of a mixed marriage of Malays and non-Malay backgrounds,
tell their children? Will their children believe that the non-Malay
family is out to undermine them?
Poisoning the hearts and minds of
the electorate with fear, loathing, and sabotage is nothing new. Be
aware of BN's dirty tricks, take countermeasures and expose the cowards.
