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."
How much is Harapan willing to concede to Umno in state polls? - Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Thursday, February 09, 2023
Malaysiakini : The reality is that the “ketuanan system” is more flexible when it
comes to power-sharing only because rewards trump any form of good
governance.
This is not about working as a “team”. There is no
team, there is just Umno and Harapan. The political stability offered by
Harapan-controlled states is even more important now because
PN-controlled states are a miasma of theocratic diktats, coupled with
mismanagement which PN and its supporters seem oblivious to.
It
all boils down to how much Harapan as a power bloc is willing to concede
to Umno to maintain the façade of unity but more importantly, will
folks vote for Umno and by extension BN component parties like MCA and
MIC?
MIC has already made it clear that it thinks it is irrelevant
in BN, with MIC deputy president M Saravanan claiming, “Not only have
there been no meetings, but it also looks as if we (MIC) don’t exist.
“I hope we will have a meeting (among BN components) soon as we are looking at state elections in another four to six months.”
The
Malay polity, like the non-Malay polity, has realised that they do not
need Umno/BN anymore. What PN has demonstrated (admittedly through a
compromised electoral system) is that the worst forms of racialism and
religiosity are politically sustainable and that there is no need for
the fig leaf of inclusivity.
MIC deputy president M Saravanan
Umno, at this point, cannot afford to carry MCA and MIC, because it needs every seat to remain a threat to Harapan and PN.
Already
the whisper network of disgruntled Zahid refuseniks are laying the
groundwork for electoral sabotage and this means not only has Harapan
got to handle its own business it also has to handle Umno’s.
Prime
Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that the electoral committee “…. will deal
with electoral matters of course and seat negotiations as well as focus
their work to ensure we have a solid base in facing the upcoming state
elections”.
In January, Selangor BN was bright-eyed and
bushy-tailed about working with Harapan. However, Selangor DAP deputy
chief Ean Yong Hian Wah said - "We will defend all our seats."
Meanwhile,
MCA said it would not be left out in the cold. Selangor MCA chief Ng
Chok Sin said - "If you (Harapan) want a unity government, yet you
decline to give way (to BN), then we have to go solo and this may shake
the cooperation in the federal government too."
How much it would
shake the cooperation in the federal government remains to be seen
because MCA does not have any leverage but this would provide more
ammunition to the theocratic alliance to use on the Malay polity.
Already PN propagandists are planting the seeds that the MCA is
irrelevant and that the DAP cannot share power. This is not so much for a
non-Malay audience but rather as a reminder to the Malays – especially
young voters – of how much influence the DAP has in Harapan.
Final nail in the coffin for BN?
What the state and federal elections have demonstrated is that there is really no BN. That ship has sailed. Sailed and sunk.
Everyone
knows it but this state election will be the final kick on the dead
horse - which is BN. All that remains is that how Umno will fare and how
much they can extract from Harapan.
How many seats is DAP willing to give MCA and will the DAP be able to convince the base to vote for MCA?
The
prime minister paints a rosy picture but the reality of elections is
getting folks to show up and this means an influential urban party like
DAP is going to have to work the ground for its allies, whoever they
are.
Not to mention, seat allocation would also cause problems
between state divisions and central command. All this of course would be
played out in the press and while this may not shake the support of
voters, it would mean another round of bad press which could put off
fence sitters or even encourage voter apathy.
This unity
government does not have a solid base. The only party which has a solid,
reliable base is DAP and this has been vitally important in maintaining
not only the wobbly democratic guard rails but also the country’s
economy.
Harapan cannot afford a ramshackle alliance to cling on
to power in the states it controls, while the economy goes down the
crapper.
This,
of course, is what PN political operatives are hoping for and from
their text and emails, what they are impatiently waiting for is how a
Harapan win is defined. What would it cost Harapan to hold on to these
states?
If Harapan retains states with a ramshackle coalition, then this would make it easier for PN to plot mischief in Harapan states.
If
Umno fares badly in these state elections, not only would it weaken
Harapan but demonstrate that the unity government does not have the
mandate it needs to push through on its promised reforms, spending all
its time fending off attacks from PN.
Furthermore, can Harapan
supporters trust Umno operatives? Keep in mind, this is the ultimate
backdoor for Umno/BN to get back into controlling or meddling in a crown
jewel like Selangor.
The formula has to be just right or Umno
could end up having more influence in state assemblies, which works in
favour of PN more than it does Harapan.
I have no idea the kind of
due diligence that goes on during seat negotiations but keep in mind
that it is entirely conceivable that PN may get in “sleepers” or
outright proxies into state assemblies.
This, in turn, would cause
the kind of instability that sweeps theocrats into power. Harapan
should not take these elections for granted.
