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."
Malaysiakini : To them, it was nothing more than an act of desperation since
Muhyiddin Yassin and PAS refused to entertain Zahid’s demands although
having no reservations about enlisting him and the infamous “court
cluster” in the Sheraton Move and riding on their support to orchestrate
a coup.
At the Umno annual meeting in 1998, Zahid drew the first
blood to remove Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was Umno president and prime
minister (round one).
The then Umno Youth chief delivered a
scathing speech on cronyism and nepotism. He also sidestepped a question
if Mahathir’s Forbes list son Mokhzani, the wing’s treasurer at the
time, supported his stand, stating that the latter should answer that.
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
But Mahathir had been underestimated. In brief, that was Anwar’s last Umno meeting and Zahid repented.
Since the 2018 polls which dethroned Umno, the political scene, to
borrow the words of Lewis Caroll, has become "curiouser and curiouser".
But somehow, Zahid, with his trademark Cheshire cat grin, managed to
capitalise on the turbulence.
Though insisting that the 15th
general election be called during the monsoon season, coming close to
drowning himself in Perak and leading BN to its worst electoral setback
to date, he dodged daggers, to emerge as one of the biggest winners.
In return, Zahid placed Pakatan Harapan in a difficult position.
The
Harapan chairperson, who spearheads a coalition that had rallied voters
with the clarion call of eradicating corruption during four consecutive
elections, has now appointed a deputy prime minister on trial for 47
corruption charges.
Zahid is also implicated in the littoral combat ship (LCS) scandal, which Harapan leaders were up in arms over.
He
is the same person who Lim Kit Siang branded as worse than Najib Abdul
Razak, Rafizi Ramli stressed PKR would rather be in the opposition than
work with and Mohamad Sabu rendered a song, which went “Kalau Zahid Hamidi, kamilah penyamun dalam ini negeri, semua harta, kami curi setiap hari.”
Zahid with former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak
Has Harapan lost moral high ground?
There is also speculation that Zahid would be allowed to walk free for the current government to survive.
Such a scenario would suggest that the executive can alter the
outcome of court cases. But numerous political leaders have made similar
statements or insinuations.
For example, Anwar cried foul over his court cases in the past, Muhyiddin claimed Zahid wanted him to intervene
in his case, Ismail Sabri Yaakob came under fire from some in Umno when
Najib landed in prison under his watch and aspersions were cast when
Lim Guan Eng was acquitted after Harapan formed the government in 2018.
Has Harapan lost the moral high ground after joining hands with those whose hands it denounced as stained?
For
analyst Wong Chin Huat, the first institutional reform that must be
executed is the separation of the Public Prosecution Office from the
Attorney-General’s Chambers.
“Otherwise, beyond losing the moral
high ground, if for what reasons the cases of court clusters are dropped
or won, the public would likely see them as the outcome of political
interference.
“While some hardcore Harapan supporters, especially
non-Muslims and liberals who fear PAS, may try to defend it using all
kinds of excuses, the Malay middle ground would be turned off and
further shift to PN,” he said.
Zahid sharing a stage with PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang
Those
who support Anwar’s administration use the alternative of PN coming to
power as a defence, claiming that moderate forces had combined their
strengths to prevent extremist elements from treading the corridors of
power.
It seems that the rulers themselves are uncomfortable with
PN holding the reins and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s incessant
diatribes along racial and religious lines are convincing large swathes
of the population that the other option is a more frightening prospect
than working with BN.
Corruption when juxtaposed against a Hadi-helmed PAS-led government somehow becomes a tolerable crime.
In
the weeks before and after the polls, Hadi's vitriol conjured the image
of the Looney Tunes Wile E Coyote, which has dedicated its life to
pursuing the roadrunner. So, if for some inexplicable reason DAP was to
disappear from the face of the earth tomorrow, Hadi and PAS might suffer
an existential crisis because there is nothing else to talk about.
Furthermore,
Malaysians are also fatigued with prime ministers competing with one
another for the shortest tenure in office award. The nation is in dire
need of political stability, especially in an uncertain economic
climate. This sentiment is also working in Harapan’s favour.
However,
it remains to be seen if another grand prize winner is lurking in the
shadows. One, who despite his incarceration, had been instrumental in
bringing Harapan and BN together.
Will the "One Way" signpost in Kajang Prison be replaced with another "U-turn" board?
