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."
Mahathir’s son Mukhriz has also admitted
that, in the past, when Umno could not deal with issues, they blamed
the DAP and the Chinese community. This is a matter of public record and
it was pure strategy.
This is the evil of the ketuanan system. They knowingly scapegoat an entire community just to galvanise public sentiment to deflect from their failings.
We
also need to understand that the supposedly non-race-based and
supposedly multicultural parties of Malaysia also play the system in
order to gain political power.
This includes aligning with
race-based parties, the way Harapan did when it aligned with Mahathir
and when it was known as Pakatan Rakyat, it aligned with PAS under the
late Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat as some sort of fig leaf of moderation.
While the ketuanan system is identity politics rooted in
policy, something like the Bangsa Malaysia Kool-Aid is rooted in
reactionary politics that deflects from any real change. Notice how
nobody in Harapan mentions Bangsa Malaysia now.
Do you know what defines the non-Malay vote? Progressive levels of fear. With each election, this level of fear goes up.
People
like Mahathir at one time had the backing of the non-Malay polity. Then
he not only dismantled our public spaces but also (again with the
backing of the non-Malay polity) created an Islamic bureaucracy (with
the help of the current prime minister).
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
So thank you Anwar for further empowering
the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim), whose sole
function is to sustain the aspirations of religious charlatans for a
theocratic state.
This is why non-Malays vote even though they
understand their vote means very little. They vote because they do not
want to see this country turn into another failed theocratic state. To
push back just a little bit even if the people they vote for are
compromised.
What I want to know is how do the non-Malays not
spook the Malays. Does stating clearly that the opposition is secular
and egalitarian make the situation better or worse?
Or is it better to pour more government funds into religious departments? This is our dilemma.
Mahathir’s Malay dream
What do Mathathir and his Malay Proclamation
have to offer the Malays, anyway? Nurses with syariah-compliant
uniforms? States where gambling and alcohol are illegal? Airports which
do not function during prayer times?
Remember that, although
Mahathir is now courting parties in Perikatan Nasional to unite to save
the Malays, he previously claimed that the country was heading into
failed state status when PN was in power.
In 2021, he reportedly
said, “Anyone can be a minister. But choosing a candidate who only wants
a high salary will not result in the best services being provided.”
“Those
who are appointed as ministers or managing directors are chosen because
they support certain parties. And this support is given because they
want to get a high salary. Those who want to serve the nation and
country are dropped to give place to supporters.”
And remember also how he vilified PN and its callous response to the floods which shocked the nation:
“Such
is the irresponsible attitude of members of the administration that
some of them (even) went on holiday abroad and those in the state did
not come down immediately to help the people.
“Those who did go to the ground preferred to be photographed and highlighted in the media.”
And these are the cretins who Mahathir now thinks will save the Malays?
And
you know why a certain percentage of Malays do not vote? Well, the
answer is simple. They know they are taken care of by whoever is in
power.
Name one Malay political operative who would jeopardise the
so-called rights of the Malays. Name one Malay political operative who
would point out the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of the religion of
the state as espoused by PN. No Malay leader would do that.
Here
is the god-honest truth. The only people who need representation in
government are the Malay community because the rest of us know that our
voices really mean nothing when it comes to the politics of ketuanan-ism.
Ultimately,
this is a numbers game and it’s a game non-Malays are destined to lose.
This is why it does not matter if Mahathir’s math is wrong.
