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."
Not voting is an irrational option By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Monday, August 07, 2023
Malaysiakini : You are disgusted by rather dumb excuses like “Rome wasn’t built in a
day” when the house of cards is slowly tumbling down. You fear that
your vote would eventually be the path to a theocracy because you
assumed that the party you voted for would be the bulwark against such
an encroachment.
You are worried that Harapan is taking you for
granted. Harapan political operatives will smugly assume that,
especially if you are non-Malay, you do not have a choice.
The third choice
This
is why I advocate voting for PSM or Muda candidates if you have that
option. I have no idea why some Harapan supporters ask Muda and PSM to
go contest in PN areas.
The reason I want a PSM or Muda candidate in my area is that I think Harapan is failing the base that keeps it in power.
The
reason I vote for Harapan adjacent is that Harapan needs to understand
that urban voters have options, much like the rural voters who can
freely switch their vote, knowing that their needs are taken care of.
If
you do not have a PSM or Muda candidate in your area (rural or urban)
and you do not want to vote for PN, then vote for the independent
candidate instead.
Do your research. Spend a little effort on your
vote instead of complaining online or simply not voting. Discover
whether the candidate is a proxy for the dominant parties or is really
independent.
Do not be bothered by what partisans say either in the real world or
on social media about your choice to split the vote. If Harapan loses
your vote it is not because of you but rather because of what it failed
to do.
Vote for possibility of reform
If I
had it my way, the Harapan-supporting demographic would vote for any PSM
or Muda candidate that stood for election even if it meant not
supporting the other unity coalition candidates.
People who are
lucky enough to have this option have it easy. At least, they know that
they are voting for a possibility of reform by voting for the
progressive front in this country.
This
is why Harapan and its hardcore supporters have been ruthless and
successful in ensuring that urban voters do not have options. This, of
course, is one of the reasons this country will eventually go down the
manure hole, but this is a topic for another article.
Also,
remember that there is an objective and quantifiable difference between
the states Harapan and PN run. This too is an important factor.
Beyond
the religious “Green Wave”, PN has demonstrated that it cannot run
states. It cannot run the country, which it demonstrated ably when it
was in power and the only thing that it had going for itself is racial
and religious rhetoric. With this in mind, voting for an Umno/Harapan
candidate is the objectively better option.
If you are a
non-Malay, this is a no-brainer. If you do not have a Harapan-adjacent
candidate then you could do worse by voting for a PN candidate or not
voting at all.
What makes it worse is that in this state election,
you have to vote or hope people vote for Umno, which for decades was
demonised by Harapan.
Because if Umno fails in this election and
Harapan’s strategy is to rejuvenate Umno in the hopes of a more stable
coalition, what we are looking at is more turmoil in the federal
government.
<
figure>
So,
abstaining is not an option. If you do not like what PN is selling, do
not vote for it and instead vote to maintain the status quo or vote for a
Harapan-adjacent candidate to make a point.
Do not think that by
abstaining you are not shaping the direction of this country. Believing
that abstaining sends the message that a certain section of the polity
is dissatisfied is pointless because a lower turnout or less support
merely confirms that a win is a win, which is one of the drawbacks of
democracy.
If you are a progressive voter, it is cold comfort that
at this time your vote carries the most weight. This is why PN is
desperate for you not to show up and Harapan assumes that you are with
them. However you choose to vote, not voting is an irrational choice.
