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."
Hyperbole aside, Suaram is right By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Monday, May 01, 2023
Malaysiakini : Instead of focusing on the hyperbole that Sevan Doraisamy,
unfortunately, chose to engage in and make excuses for this government,
Pakatan Harapan supporters should be supportive of any rejoinders for
reform instead of shooting the messenger.
Anwar Ibrahim shrewdly chose the Icerd
(International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination) debacle as a means to short-circuit Suaram’s rejoinder
to the government, deliberately missing the point that the systemic
reforms Suaram talked about were old talking points for Harapan
political operatives.
Furthermore, nobody wants this government to
rush into anything. What reform-minded individuals want is for the
government to demonstrate that there is the political will to carry out
these reforms and the necessary engagement with stakeholders by the
state.
Take the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma)
for instance. I could dig up quotes by political operatives who claimed
that Sosma was perhaps one of the evillest devices used by the
Umno/BN/PN regime.
Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy
Now of course under this Madani government, it is here to stay as articulated by Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
What
Saifuddin did was not only tell folks that the Reformasi agenda means
bupkis but also enabled the right-wing forces in this country, who
approve of such laws because they understand that such laws do not apply
to them.
What the home minister did was pit the reform-minded
forces in this country against his ministry, hoping that a spooked
Harapan base would go along with anything he said in the service of not
causing any problems for the unity government.
In other words,
people who were originally opposed to such laws would remain silent in
the absence of reform because they did not want to spook PN.
Now
think about this for a moment. What this demonstrates to the average PAS
or Bersatu voter who may or may not change his or her vote, is that
whenever these so-called reformers and their supporters talk about a
government tool or policy that they claim, is “evil”, it is a complete
lie especially if they choose to retain that tool or policy. And if they
could lie about something like this, what else could they lie about?
Religious
extremists absolutely love these repressive tools. Why? Because these
tools fit into their interpretation of religious dogma.
Indeed,
they tell their supporters that these tools are needed to sanction
deviants and other people who disagree with their dogma and vision for
the country. Do you get the big picture now?
Political stability
And let us talk about the economy and corruption. Why do the state
security apparatus, political operatives and well-placed plutocrats
think that these tools that restrict human rights are necessary for the
political stability of the country?
Well, the answer is simple.
The fewer rights a citizen has or more importantly the more the state
can sanction certain behaviour it deems as causing instability, the
greater the opportunity for elements of the state, be it in the state
security apparatus, the political class and their plutocrat enablers, to
facilitate all manner of malfeasances.
What I have argued, and so
have many other legal and security professionals, and academics across
the ideological divide – some of whom were detained under these laws,
and political operatives who were also detained – is that there are
enough legal provisions to maintain safety and security, provided a
professional and impartial state security apparatus does its job without
resorting to such immoral, undemocratic measures.
And yes these
measures, although convenient, have more often than not been abused for
the benefit of the political elites of this country or have been used on
the disenfranchised of this country who do not have access to the legal
system that privilege provides.
And what disenfranchised people
and their families do, when they believe the government does not care
about them, they retreat further into apathy or coalesce around
destructive anti-democratic forces in the belief that their futures can
only be secured by conformity to extreme dogmas.
Harapan
supporters should not be towing the government line by vilifying
activists and organisations like Suaram and asking stupid questions like
what did these people say and do under Umno/BN or PN.
Because
public records would demonstrate that they dissented against the
government of the day which showed little interest in reform and that
they were supported by the very same political operatives who now
disavow the reforms they promised.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
Human
rights are not a lesser priority. Indeed they are the DNA of a
functional democracy. Furthermore, claiming that the economy is the main
issue is making a false argument.
The government can and should
do both. What do you think the function of government is? You can manage
the economy while seeing to the democratic railings that sustain an
economy.
Keep in mind that most politicians by definition are
charlatans and they are funded by our tax ringgit to sustain their
professional lives and benefit from access to power and influence.
What
Anwar should be doing if there was political will, instead of asking
for more time, is clearly articulating through his proxies what exactly
are the reforms his government has chosen to prioritise and why.
He
should have a coordinated response and action committee on reforms that
his coalition promised and he should be making the necessary backroom
deals and horse-trading, to ensure that his vision of the country is
pursued despite having to work with compromised allies.
In other
words, if making deals with political degenerates means that the
necessary promised reforms are pushed through, then this is far better
than having nothing to show for the compromises you have made.
Rational people understand that economic stability and human rights are not mutually exclusive.
