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."
Is Najib’s petition to UN body an exercise in futility? By R NADESWARAN
Friday, January 06, 2023
Malaysiakini : Najib is seeking the UN body’s panel of five experts on international
justice to rule that the Malaysian apex court’s dismissal of his appeal
was “unjust, flawed and violated his basic human rights and the Federal
Constitution”.
To describe the High Court, the Court of Appeal
and the Federal court - which found Najib guilty - as such is an affront
to our judiciary.
To describe the decision to jail Najib as
“unjust, flawed and violated his basic human rights and the Federal
Constitution” adds insult to injury.
Shafee’s claim that Najib had
been sent to jail without the opportunity to defend himself is far from
the truth. The numerous media reports on the procedures and events in
the Federal Court leading him to be incarcerated in prison are in the
public domain.
It is a fallacy that Najib was not given a fair trial and neither was
he arbitrarily detained. He was found guilty of grand larceny by three
different courts at different levels and the petition itself is a
non-starter.
Shafee claimed that the Federal Court did not give
Najib’s lawyers sufficient time to prepare for the appeal by allowing an
adjournment of the appeal hearing.
But this is only half the story. But didn’t Najib bring it on himself? Was it not Najib who dropped Shafee and brought in a new set of lawyers at the last minute?
Lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah
Singing the same old song
Enough
has been said and written about lawyers’ duties to their clients and
their etiquette in accepting briefs and when appearing before our
judges.
Why then is Najib singing the same old song about his lawyers not being given time?
Said Shafee: “In essence, Najib had been sent to jail without the opportunity to defend himself at the Federal Court.”
Was it the fault of the Federal Court that Najib’s new set of lawyers appeared and sought a last-minute postponement?
Shafee said they filed the petition to get UNWGAD to ask Malaysia for a release or retrial of Najib in the SRC case.
As
the title suggests, UNWGAD is mandated to receive and verify
information from a variety of sources, in order to investigate cases of
detention imposed arbitrarily.
Its work is in tandem with
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 9(1)
states, “Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No
one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be
deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with
such procedure as are established by law.”
But this is certainly
not a case of arbitrary detention and Najib was jailed in accordance
with procedures. It won’t be wrong that the petition will be binned. If
so, why all the trouble?
It must be noted that UNWGAD is not an
appellate court where it can hear cases. Besides, any finding made is
not enforceable. So, why this hullabaloo?
Is it because Najib
wants to remain in the news? Or is it a pre-emptive move before his
application to review the judicial verdict which is set to come up for
hearing before a new quorum of the Federal Court in Putrajaya on Jan 19?
Like
all Malaysians who want to see justice done, we can only speculate and
perhaps, expect a different turn of events in two weeks’ time.
