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."
Instead of banning 'A' word, bar politicians from talking about it By Mariam Mokhtar
Saturday, May 20, 2023
Malaysiakini : We have so many pressing issues to discuss, but we keep returning to
the “A” word. If its use is limited to only the Christians of East Malaysia,
what about the thousands of Sarawakians and Sabahans who live and work
in the peninsula? Are they not allowed to use Allah in their Sunday service?
There
are more important topics to argue about, such as the cost of living
crisis, the consequences of artificial intelligence on the working
population and affordable health care for senior citizens or cheaper
child care for working mothers. Instead, we go around in circles with
the “Allah” debate.
Only the naïve will think that the “Allah” debacle is about religion. It is not!
The issue has three objectives: To confuse, frighten and demoralise.
Using religion as a cover, the “A” word is just a ruse, to control
both Malays and non-Malays. With control, comes power. With power, comes
the ability to do whatever they please, easy access to wealth and an
enviable position in society and politics.
Earlier attempts to
quash the public outrage which followed the “Allah” ruling included the
ulamas warning Muslims who criticised the court verdict, that they would
be considered infidels.
Malay extremists warned Christians who wanted to use the “A“ word that they should convert to Islam, or worse still, emigrate.
Those
who claim to defend the name are insincere. Many failed to speak out on
issues of corruption, mysterious disappearances, abuse of power,
incest, indiscriminate killings and domestic abuse.
Instead, we
have a frightened and demoralised rakyat, with many Malays being fearful
of their faith being compromised, and Christians being unable to practise their faith properly.
Years ago, Jakim
warned Muslims that the use of “Allah” in the Christian Bible will
confuse Muslims because they would mistake the identity of “Allah” and
destroy their own faith.
Jakim has a tendency to insult the Malays by portraying them as spineless and stupid.
It
is also said that the debacle is not just about control but also about
fear. The authorities are afraid, because they suspect, but they will
not tell us if it is true, that many Malays are secretly converting to
Christianity.
A converted Malay will never vote for Umno, PAS, or Bersatu. Moreover, Article 11 of the Federal Constitution does not apply to the Malays.
Who to blame?
If Malays are that easily confused, should we blame our teachers, our home environment and the quality of education we received?
Let
us blame the Education Ministry. Perhaps, if Malays were better
educated, they would not be so easily confused, when they read the word
“Allah” in the Bible.
Actually, there is no confusion. The word
has been used for hundreds of years in the Golden Chersonese or the
Malay peninsula without any problems.
The word “Allah”, from the
Aramaic language, has been used in the Middle East, by both Muslims and
Christians for thousands of years. In Peninsular Malaysia, only fools
want to copyright the “A” word.
The consequences of this debacle
will mean that most of us will be pessimistic about our future. That is
what the politicians want of us because we will be easier to control.
The debacle did not start in 2007 as many people think, but had its roots in 1986, when it was alleged that two letters were sent by the Home Ministry to the Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM).
The
letter contained a list of 23 prohibited words, not just “Allah”. Then
prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad issued this directive as part of his
Islamisation drive, and to curtail the freedom of religion for
non-Muslims, contrary to the rights which are enshrined in the Federal
Constitution.
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad
It was also a time when the Malays were gravitating away from Umno towards the then-opposition.
In
order to break this hold on the Malays, Umno needed a plan that would
divide Malay opinion, and so, the “Allah” issue was born. Most Malays
were fine about the use of the word until politicians intervened.
Instead
of banning the word, we should take up the suggestion of a journalist
friend from Penang who said that politicians should be banned from
talking about it.
Whilst we are at it, let’s also ban race-and-religious-based political parties, as well as religious NGOs.
When
the word is removed from their vocabulary, perhaps, politicians will
finally do some real work and focus on policies to improve our lives.
