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."
Harapan has a lousy partner in Umno By P Gunasegaram
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
Malaysiakini : “All information, documents and secret agenda must be uncovered.
Azalina, this is your responsibility. If you fail, Umno will fail. If
you succeed, the party rewards you,” Zahid said.
Despite Azalina
saying that the RCI was broader in nature than an investigation of
Thomas’ book, it is now obvious that Umno had pushed for it to make
political capital for some of its leaders, including Zahid, as I
explained in greater detail in an article last week questioning the need for an RCI specifically on the book.
Zahid had also in the assembly called on the judiciary
to give former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak "fair justice" in his
criminal trials, adding that Najib was a victim of political
persecution.
By extension, that implies that Zahid, who faces 47
charges for corruption, was himself a victim of political persecution,
as well as a number of other Umno personalities who faced criminal
charges. Some of these charges have now been dropped. This is the Umno
narrative that Harapan has helped perpetuate by agreeing to the RCI.
The question is, did Harapan expect this? Was it a willing accomplice
to this misrepresentation of information to the public? And how will
the general public react to such a stance and stunt by both Umno and
Harapan? Surely this cannot be great for the public image of both
parties, despite the cheers of delegates.
Blocking challenge to Umno leadership
And
then there was the matter of yet again postponing the Umno party
election. Umno Baru became a party highly controlled by its leaders when
deliberate changes to the party constitution made it very difficult to
launch a challenge to the party leadership.
First,
Dr Mahathir Mohamad (who initiated this when he formed Umno Baru after
Umno was declared illegal in 1987), then Najib and Zahid himself, have
used these lop-sided rules to maintain power with the help of the
Societies Act 1966, which puts immense power in the hands of the
Registrar of Societies (ROS) who has substantial discretion over
interpretation of rules.
Also, past amendments to this Act have
put decisions squarely on political parties when it comes to disputes.
This is obvious from Section 18C of the Societies Act on the decision of
a political party to be final and conclusive.
Section 18C reads:
“The decision of a political party or any person authorised by it or by
its constitution or rules or regulations made thereunder on the
interpretation of its constitution, rules or regulations or on any
matter relating to the affairs of the party shall be final and
conclusive and such decision shall not be challenged, appealed against,
reviewed, quashed or called in question in any court on any ground, and
no court shall have jurisdiction to entertain or determine any suit,
application, question or proceeding on any ground regarding the validity
of such decision.”
Thus, any challenge to this provision will
have to be based on a violation of the Federal Constitution and will
involve too much time, be too lengthy and need much effort in the
courts. Thus the check and balance will have to fall on the ROS but
under the circumstances, it looks like nothing will happen.
Former PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob opined
that the decision to leave the party’s top two positions uncontested
can also be determined by the ROS and that any member can make a
representation accordingly but added that he would not do it.
Ex-PM Ismail Sabri Yaakob
The Societies Act is long overdue for a change. It needs to clearly
set out members' interests, especially for political parties, and to
unambiguously specify that all political parties must have elections of
key office bearers every three years without fail.
If the party’s
constitution says otherwise, then it must be changed. This measure would
also wipe out money politics for it will be impossible to bribe over
three million members. It’s possible to sway a few thousand delegates
with a few million ringgit. Also, it will force all political parties to
show a valid membership list.
In fact, a leadership aspirant at the Umno general assembly, former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, charged that phantom delegates were pushed in to ensure that the delegates’ votes for no contests for the top two positions would be passed.
Without
such a change in the law, Zahid will continue as president and Tok Mat
as deputy from 2018 and for a further three-year term from this year,
taking their term to 2026 - an unbroken term of eight years on one
election with no polls in between!
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
That
is clearly a blatant abuse of due process to thwart democracy and free
and fair elections in political parties and needs to be immediately
halted by an appropriate ruling by the ROS and then a corresponding
amendment to the Societies Act.
Will such a move come by? Going by
Harapan’s bending over backwards to accommodate Umno and its current
apparently cosy co-existence with Umno to stay in power, neither the
first nor the second move looks like it will happen, to the ultimate
detriment of the rakyat and the two parties.
What this means is
that Harapan, where party members elect major office bearers
periodically, will be unfairly tied up with Umno which does not. It also
means that Harapan and Umno will be different in their beliefs,
aspirations and objectives as well as how they will achieve them.
Over
time, those differences will prove to be too much. In the meantime,
Harapan may well be advised to scout around to see which Malay-based
party will be suitable for it or to go for it on their own.
Whichever path it chooses, it will be fraught with many obstacles, tangles and snags.
