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."
KJ conundrum - reinvented messiah or opportunist? By Martin Vengadesan
Saturday, May 27, 2023
Malaysiakini : So starved are we for talent, it seems, that his ability to speak
fluent English is already half the battle won. But the thing is that he
never stood up firmly enough against the divisive racial politics that
have dogged this country for much of its existence.
That’s why I
was not surprised to hear that he is considering an offer to join the
right-wing Malay-first Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition of PAS and
Bersatu.
Indeed, former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin said that Khairy would be offered a Bersatu supreme council post if he decides to join the party.
The HotFM DJ has said that he will answer soon but, in the meantime, his next destination is anyone’s guess.
He has even joked about forming a party with former Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming and publicly posed the question to ChatGPT.
But
why is a forward-looking politician even considering such a backward
step? Surely, it must occur to him that the right-wing PN coalition is
going to send our country spiralling in the wrong direction?
Former Bangi MP Ong Kian Ming
What
we really need now is someone who will rise above the fray and drag our
country kicking and screaming into a competitive and progressive
future.
PN and PAS, in particular, are not the answer, Khairy.
When
he first appeared on the scene in Umno Youth, he did seem like an
urbane intellectual but when there were indications of unpopularity with
the right-wing grassroots, he changed his tune and played to the
gallery.
Indeed, he flirted with the hateful narratives and
gestures of previous Umno Youth reprobates like Harun Idris, Najib Abdul
Razak, and Hishammuddin Hussein before him.
Also, it wasn’t too long ago that he refused to take questions from Malaysiakini and his team asked our reporter to leave - in two separate incidents in 2017.
So
why then am I still hopeful that Khairy wakes up and does the right
thing? To help steer Malaysia back? To make the difficult choice
because, in the long run, it’s what the country needs?
I guess it’s because we are still at a long-drawn-out crossroads as
we transition from a single-party dominance to a vibrant democracy.
We need leaders to wake up to a new reality and help draw the masses towards it.
In
short, we need all the help we can get. Khairy is one of those leaders
who can be a barometer of change and I would be fascinated to see a
reinvented progressive Khairy carving out a new direction.