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."
Umno’s dirty tricks return to haunt Zahid By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Monday, May 15, 2023
Malaysiakini : Umno, which for decades stamped its imprimatur on any organisation or
personality which demonised the DAP and opposition using racial and
religious politics, is now attempting a reversal of its electoral
fortunes by appealing to the centre of Malaysian politics.
All the
toxic racial politics that PAS led PN are shovelling back at Umno and
this unity government, are from the Umno’s playbook which served Zahid's
party well for decades.
I would argue that there is nothing original in what PAS and PN are doing.
There
is no innovative strategy beyond reaping the rewards of Umno’s decades
of racial and religious corruption of every institution in this country.
Worried that “youths” are influenced by politics of hate perpetrated
by the opposition? What do you think the religious industrial complex
has been doing for years under the watchful gaze of Umno and then the
timid reaction of Pakatan Harapan-controlled states and briefly the
federal government?
People are miffed over PAS president Abdul
Hadi Awang’s latest statement that ignorant Malays are being used by the
DAP, especially when it comes to fielding candidates but this is not
new.
Hadi just presents his toxic rants in religious drag but Umno played these kinds of dirty tricks for years.
In
2011, Zahid, who was then-defence minister, claimed that Umno had
sniffed out a plan for the DAP to field Malay candidates in Perak
because if they won, DAP could rule Perak by proxy through a Malay
candidate.
He said: “This
is because the Perak constitution forbids non-Malay from becoming
menteri besar. For this reason, the DAP is planning to name a Malay
candidate to contest a state seat so that eventually, a DAP menteri
besar could be sworn in."
He also claimed that this nefarious plan was done without the knowledge of PAS and Amanah, adding - “I'd like to remind PAS and PKR not to become a mere tool of the DAP.”
So
while Hadi, who frets that ignorant Malays would fall for the DAP’s
ploy and encouraged them to have nothing to do with the DAP, back in the
day Zahid was warning Malays of the same thing.
"We shouldn't
remain complacent in the face of DAP's actions. I'd like to urge Malays
not to associate themselves with the DAP, whether by becoming their
candidates or partners under Pakatan Rakyat.”
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang
Hadi has always been spooked – maybe because of Umno’s propaganda – that Malay DAP candidates are being used.
In
claiming that Malay DAP political operatives are being used by the DAP,
what Hadi is saying is that the only people who can use the Malays are
other Malays.
Specifically, Malays who are part of the ketuanan
system or ketuanan adjacent. Hadi’s atavistic version of Islam is
predicated on the belief that non-Muslims can only be “pak turut”
(followers).
And really all this horse manure about Malays losing
power or the Chinese talking over the economy and this country, was all
developed by Umno.
You only have to remember what Pejuang head Muhkriz Mahathir said when he was a big wig in Bersatu, when everyone wanted to overthrow Bossku (Najib Abdul Razak).
"Looking
at Umno, when there were big issues which we could not address, we
would talk about DAP, Chinese chauvinism and how Lim Kit Siang becoming
prime minister would destroy Malaysia, that the Malays would disappear,
and the mosques can no longer air the azan.
"I admit that
I too have said such things, in front of a 100 percent Malay audience.
Thinking back, I feel guilty and a sense of regret."
Pejuang president Muhkriz Mahathir
So
when Dr Mahathir Mohamad goes on about the “Malay People Declaration”
or whatever drivel he is peddling now, it is because there are issues he
cannot deal with.
So what do all these Malay uber alles parties
or coalitions stand for? If you ask the average PN supporter, he would
mimic exactly what an average Umno supporter would say.
If you ask
establishment types, you would get a different, nuanced answer which
involves correcting the systemic imbalances when it comes to corruption,
and homages to old alliance politics, which ironically Umno had a hand
in destroying.
In times of political uncertainty in the Malay
political establishment, we can rely on two dominant modes of propaganda
and repression.
The first is to scapegoat the DAP for everything
wrong with the country and the second, promote “Islamic” policies which
would act as connective tissue between supremacist ideas and victimhood
narratives.
The Umno people I speak to have only disdain for PAS.
Back in the day, they had a modicum of fear and respect for the revered
PAS leader, the late Nik Aziz Nik Mat, only because he reflected the
kind of Islam that was foreign to Umno. At least publicly.
As
someone who had “issues” with Nik Aziz and had publicly expressed them,
it is important to keep in mind that PAS supporters and the leadership
under him were steadfast in their narratives about a kleptocratic
government, the high cost of living and the values of Islam in a
Malaysia which was compromised.
Now, of course, under Hadi, all this has changed.
Hadi,
after keeping his head down while in power with opposition in urban
states and with PN briefly in the federal government, has come into his
own.
Using Umno’s playbook but minus the fig leaf of
non-Malay/Muslim participation, PAS believes it can reshape Malaysia
into an Islamic state in the heart of Southeast Asia.
I sincerely
hope that Zahid and Harapan have some new dirty tricks in dealing with
PN because the latter has demonstrated that they use the former's dirty
tricks better.
