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."
Hadi will get away with defying Terengganu sultan - Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Thursday, March 09, 2023
Malaysiakini : "Perpaduan Melayu menjadi teras kekuatan Umno selama ini. Sejak
penubuhannya pada 1946, Umno adalah tonggak perpaduan orang Melayu yang
paling utama.
"Umno tidak harus terjun dalam PRU tanpa
menyempurnakan penyatuan Melayu, apa lagi cuba bergerak solo dalam
situasi politik yang sudah banyak berubah."
(The enemy’s strategy
is to see Malay politics become fragmented. It weakens when Malays are
disunited. Malay unity is the bedrock of Umno for all these years. Since
its establishment in 1946, Umno has been the main pillar of Malay
unity. Hence, Umno should not enter the general election without uniting
the Malays first…what more contesting on its own in a political
situation that has changed drastically)
Theocrats around the world
do not share power in the conventional sense. They allow certain legacy
institutions to endure so long as those institutions give credibility
and legitimacy to the religious party in control.
For decades, the
royal institutions acted as a kind of counterbalance – albeit in an
imperfect manner – to the excesses of political power.
Former
prime minister (twice) Dr Mahathir Mohamad curtailed the powers of the
royalty and if you care to remember, used the propaganda instruments of
the state to make his case.
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad
Those were the days before social media, so the narrative was very much controlled by the state.
Hadi
and PAS, by openly defying the sultan of Terengganu’s edict that
religious political operatives should stay out of mosques, are
signalling to the faithful that these are the first few perilous steps
that they need to take, to turn this country into a theocratic paradise.
Keep in mind that religious extremists have always threatened the
traditional institutions of power in various Muslim-majority countries.
During
the campaign stump, Hadi made it very clear that he wanted to hook up
with Umno so, with a strong majority, they could redefine the electoral
boundaries in this country to remain in power forever.
This is why
the old maverick is clutching his pearls fearing that Pakatan Harapan
would actually have the cajones to make the electoral playing field more
equitable - thereby enabling a plurality of voices to be the foundation
of the democratic processes in this country.
By defying the
royalty, who made this unity government possible, Hadi is letting the
faithful know, that just as this unity government does not have to be
followed but also diktats from the royal institution.
By shielding
himself with religion, Hadi is making the overt claim that he and PAS,
and not the royal institutions, are the keepers of the faith in this
country.
Redefining authority
This is an important step in defining the authority of Hadi and PAS when it comes to religion in this country.
Why
do you think that Terengganu’s sultan decided to make this political
play? The answer is simple. The legacy institutions of power in this
country understand that they are vulnerable to the political and
religious malfeasance of religious political parties.
When Hadi says that Islam and politics cannot be separated, he is absolutely right.
The
problem for legacy institutions is that Hadi is also saying that it is
he and PAS who will decide which political institution needs to be
followed and in case you are wondering, the only political institution
that Hadi believes needs to be followed is PAS.
Remember how the
royal institutions were the apogee of Malayness and we were told that
Harapan, especially the DAP, was always attempting to defy this
institution?
Well, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, the
desperado after the last general election, also ignored a royal plea for
a unity government.
What this did was normalise the rejection of
royal advice in the PN base. Muhyiddin was telling the PN base that no
matter what the royal institution advises, the feelings of the base take
precedence.
Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin
This
was the first sign that PN led by PAS were willing to slay Malay sacred
cows to assume power. Mind you, coming from Umno and a one-time acolyte
of the old maverick, thumbing one's nose at the royal institution was
not unheard of.
Openly disagreeing with the Selangor sultan and
calling for state theocratic rebellion against the ruler, when it came
to the Bon Odori festival, was a way of flexing PAS' muscles.
The
fact that there has been no sanction from the royal institution is
indicative of the growing power of this theocratic party. All this did
was embolden PAS because they knew that in this political terrain, they
were untouchable.
And Hadi will get away with this provocation even if it is against the royal institution.
Hadi
uses his religion which is the religion of the state, so, anyone
attempting to charge him is in reality opening up the mainstream
interpretation of Islam for investigation.
And this is the key.
People make the mistake of thinking that Hadi is just pulling this
nonsense out of his posterior. He is not.
Hadi, like most
theocrats in waiting, understands that they need to reshape the
political landscape so it will be malleable to their religious
indoctrination.
No sacred cows
Sacred cows
need to be slayed by religious scholars because this will demonstrate
not only the superiority of religion but also the faith of religious
leaders.
Does anyone really think that Hadi takes Saudara Anwar’s rejoinder not to defy the royalty seriously?
As
far as Hadi is concerned, he is the true keeper of the faith in this
country. He and PAS are the only ones who will be able to lead the
masses safely to the end times.
Hadi believes in one God and one country - provided that God and country believe in him.
