Rudyard Kipling"
āWhen 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 soldierā
General Douglas MacArthur"
āWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā
āIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā āOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
āThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā
āMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā āThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
āNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
āIt 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."
Undermining PM with the stroke of a pen By G Vinod
Sunday, December 18, 2022
Malaysiakini : Iām referring to Zahidās (above, left) decision to reappoint former Machang MP Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub as Felcra chairperson yesterday.
Bear in mind that Jazlanās reappointment came just days after the cabinet decided to axe all political appointees in government-linked firms and bodies.
Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub
Let
me stress a point here. The cabinet collectively decided on it and
being the deputy prime minister, Zahid was definitely privy to the
decision ā unless he was snoozing away during the cabinet meeting.
So, what gives, Mr PM? Is Zahid so powerful that he can ignore a cabinet decision?
To digress, veteran politicians know that Anwar and Zahid share a
close bond since the 1970s, back when the former was leading the Muslim
Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim).
In fact, even when Anwar was
sacked from Umno in 1998, it was said that the duo kept close contact
with one another. In other words, we can safely assume that both of them
are tight friends.
Arrogance kicking in?
So, why did Zahid reappoint Jazlan to Felcra, knowing that the decision would undermine the cabinet and his pal, Anwar?
I
understand that Jazlan is a key ally to Zahid within Umno but wouldnāt
such a move even incur the wrath of his own colleagues within the
nationalist party who are not aligned with him and those trying to
ārehabilitateā their image after the thrashing BN received in the last
general election?
Zahid seems to have forgotten how unpopular he
is within Umno and he must remind himself how close he came to losing
the Bagan Datuk seat.
In fact, he even came close to being ousted
as BN chairperson right after the polls. Perhaps, all those incidents
had failed to instil some humility within the veteran politician.
To
be fair, maybe Jazlan is a good administrator and deserves to be Felcra
chairperson. However, what Zahid should have done is consult the
cabinet and get the latterās agreement to his appointment.
At least, that would show that due process was followed in Jazlanās
reappointment. However, making arbitrary decisions like this would not
help Jazlan, Zahid, or even Anwarās image.
The
onus now falls on Anwar to rectify the situation. What is the Tambun MP
going to do next? Is he going to use his authority to revoke Jazlanās
reappointment (and incur Zahidās ire) or would he just indulge the Umno
president (making a mockery of the cabinet in the process)?
In any
case, Anwar now needs to consider the fact that his political foes may
not come from Perikatan Nasional alone but also within his own
coalition.
And with friends like Zahid, Anwar doesnāt really need enemies.
