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."
AG’s report continues to be catalogue of shame By R Nadeswaran
Monday, February 20, 2023
Malaysiakini : Former auditor-general Ambrin Buang said that the punitive measures,
such as fines, transfers and wage cuts, are no longer realistic as
punishment for those who do not respond appropriately to the
recommendations in the report.
The punitive actions, he said, were
not enough to defer offenders as he said the offenders appear oblivious
to them despite all the errors identified.
Former auditor-general Ambrin Buang
The
report for the Year 2021 Series 2 which was released last week
contained several instances of leakage of funds and non-compliance with
financial procedures.
What happens next? For a few days, the
issues will be debated in and outside Parliament, and in a few weeks all
will be forgotten – and the wrong-doers perhaps will be forgiven.
No public outcry
In the Second Report for
2018, the auditor-general reported that subsidies were paid to 5,099
non-existent farmers. If this was not shocking, another 11,712 who got
the money were dead.
Someone reproduced names, addresses and identity card numbers from the electoral rolls and submitted them.
In total, RM57.92 million was paid out as subsidies and incentives to deceased farmers between 2016 and 2018.
Retired
auditor Kanason Pothinker, quoting this case, asks in a message on
social media: “Why was there no public outcry over these ‘ghostly’
mistakes costing the taxpayers RM57 million? I suppose we have to accept
these small errors by our civil servants but the cost is too much.
“If
the auditors could do the simple verification analysis of the
registration of names of farmers against the identity card details with
the National Registration Department, why, why could not the officers in
the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Ministry do a similar
verification exercise during the handouts?”
But the catch is in
the explanatory notes in the AG’s report. These payments to our farmers
were not done by the ministry officials but were contracted to a company
or companies.
The report states that “between 2016-2018, claims
by companies for the paddy fertiliser scheme had exceeded their contract
value by RM178.23 million”.
Identifying the culprits is not rocket science. Who was the officer
assigned to the project? Surely, he would have details of the third
parties and it would be difficult in tracking them and taking
appropriate action.
Ponthinker asks: “Were steps taken to verify
every claim by the third parties? If fraud is involved, the matter
should have been reported to the MACC or the police, who can rely on the
working papers of the Auditor-General's Office which they had relied on
for their report.”
“I see a horror story unfolding if and when
this report gets reported formally to the authorities. And, of course,
members of the Parliamentary Public Accounts will pursue this to the
end,” he notes.
Misconduct and transgressions
Week
in and week out, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been harping about
the need to curb corruption. The AG report can be used as a basis for
investigating misconduct and transgressions.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
As of now, we have a “Super Admin” who has downloaded the details of three million Malaysians.
We
also know that the contractor for Armed Forces Family Housing
Development Project in Segamat Camp in Johor had started work costing
RM3.31 million before the approval was given.
Around 1.1 million
doses of the Covid-19 vaccine which expired in April 2022 were
destroyed, and RM13 million was wasted in the procurement of 93
ventilators that could not be used.
Yes, it is a catalogue of shame and when does that change?
