Rudyard Kipling"
āWhen 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 soldierā
General Douglas MacArthur"
āWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā
āIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā āOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
āThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā
āMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā āThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
āNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
āIt 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."
Who will speak up for the moderate Muslim? By Mariam Mokhtar
Friday, June 30, 2023
Malaysiakini : Our streets are not like war zones, with ongoing battles between different warlords.
Gone are the days, when extremists would drag the head of a cow through the streets of Shah Alam, or the religious state authorities threaten to flog a Muslim woman for drinking beer.
On
the whole, Europeans view Malaysia as a prime tourist destination with
sandy beaches, lush jungles, and a haven of good food; but hidden
underneath the veneer of calm and multi-ethnic integration is a
dangerous mix of rising racial and religious strife.
Only the calm
exterior is exposed to the foreigner. The astute expatriate who lives
and works in downtown Kuala Lumpur or Penang, only becomes aware of the
dangerous undercurrents, if he ventures away from his privileged
existence.
Once
he is aware, he does not want to get involved or say too much about
what he sees, because he does not want to jeopardise his job, his
privileged lifestyle, his bungalow or luxury condominium, and the
childrenās international school.
Harapan supporters still waiting
Prime
Minister Anwar Ibrahim is a great hit with the heads of state of
foreign nations, but he has yet to āscoreā with some of his own people
especially those who supported the original Pakatan Harapan.
Many loyal supporters are forced to bite their tongues about the unity government.
They were carried on the tide of many promises and the dream of
rebuilding a new Malaysia. They are still waiting for the reforms and
have been told to be patient and wait a couple of months for the six
state elections to conclude.
Malaysians are told that we are a moderate Muslim nation but is that about to change?
The
conservative Muslims are riding high on the crest of the green wave.
The non-Muslims have long known that their voice does not count. They
have no choice but to keep their heads down and behave; but what about
the moderate Muslims? Who speaks for them?
Occasionally, we get glimpses of the rising acts of intolerance. The menteri besar of a northern state demolished Hindu temples and ācancelledā one of their important festivals.
A PAS MP felt it was his moral duty to censure nurses for wearing what he called figure-hugging uniforms which he claimed were non-syariah-compliant.
In Kelantan, the municipal council fined a woman
for wearing an oversized shirt over her shorts and so it looked like
she was half-dressed. The charge was that she was indecently clothed.
The fuss about shorts
To
some conservatives, I would be considered indecent despite my
long-sleeved shirts and long skirt. The offending bit is that my hair is
not covered by a tudung.
What sort of madness are we heading for,
when a piece of flimsy material, measuring two feet by three feet is
enough to decide whether I am decent or not?
The average Malaysian
has much to moan about; the cost of living crisis, rising commodity
prices, corruption, the economy, crime, poverty, unemployment, drug
abuse, debt, failed projects, family breakdown, homelessness, and rising
extremism.
They would hardly find the fuss about shorts, or
nursesā uniforms of any real importance; but are these issues a taste of
whatās in store for Malaysians, both Muslim and non-Muslim, in the near
future?
The business owner in shorts was in her own shop when a
spot check conducted by Kota Bharu Municipal Council officers fined her.
Today, business premises are targeted. Will the private residence be
safe tomorrow?
Will
Muslim women be allowed to wear shorts at home? Will they be allowed to
visit male friends? Will moderate Muslims be at the mercy of councils,
or bosses who do not want trouble from the law, so they force the
progressive Muslim woman to conform to syariah-compliant clothes?
In
future, will the authorities raid our homes, our final sanctuary, under
some pretext? This is already done in some areas of the country, where
municipal workers capture dogs that innocently stand at the gates or driveway of their ownersā homes.
In a future āgreenā Malaysia, is nowhere safe for both humans and animals?
