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."
PAS solely defines Malaysia's Islamic narrative By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Monday, August 21, 2023
Malaysiakini : And if you think that Mujahid was in the hot seat, take heed to the
propaganda faced by DAP’s Syerleena Abdul Rashid, when she was accused
of going against Islam.
It was reported in 2018 that the then Seri Delima assemblyperson was up in arms over malicious Facebook posters “legalising” (menghalalkan) her murder for allegedly betraying Islam and attacking its religious institutions.
Powerful portrayal
Not
only does PAS define the religious narrative in this country, they
understand that it is a narrative which gives them enormous power.
You
want to know what real power is? All those people who voted for
PAS/Perikatan Nasional in Terengganu, Kelantan and Kedah, wiping out
opposition in those states.
After all the cash and favours this
Madani government poured into those states, after all the supplication
of the Madani government to the narratives of PAS, people still chose to
embrace PAS and its religious narrative.
Mind you, those people
who returned to vote understand the prosperity and functionality of
states not run by PAS/PN. They understand the quality of life in terms
of access to healthcare and economic opportunities that came with
stability and inclusivity of those states not run by PAS/PN.
They
witness first-hand how the different ethnic communities live, work and
play together with conviviality for the most part, in states not run by
PAS/PN.
But most importantly they understand the deprivations both economic
and social that comes with religious governance. They understand the
lack of infrastructure and economic opportunities that also come with
it.
They understand the diminishing returns on personal freedoms,
and yet they wholeheartedly embrace what PAS/PN is offering to them.
That is religious power.
To make the argument that PAS does not 100 percent own the Islamic narrative in this country, you must do two things.
First,
you must point to a sustained counter-narrative. Second, you must be
able to demonstrate through policy that your Islamic narrative is
different from that espoused by PAS.
Now, the second point is
tricky. Of course, there is an objective difference between the states
run by PAS/PN and those run by Harapan.
The objective of PAS is to
erode those differences thereby making it easier for PAS/PN to
dismantle the pockets of moderate states here in Malaysia.
This means that every time a bookshop is raided, every time the state sanctions individuals deemed as unIslamic, the work of PAS is done for them.
Spreading the word
How
do they do this? Well since the Islamic narrative is defined by PAS,
this means that the religious bureaucracy and its tributaries do the
work of promulgating this narrative through policy and outreach.
This not only includes the religious bureaucracy but also other institutions, which Umno defined as Malay institutions.
Keep
in mind that a huge majority went to PAS/PN. The fact that this
happened means that PAS/PN is the establishment vote. This demonstrates
that after decades of Islamisation of our security apparatus, they do
not need to be told anymore who to vote for.
And if you think that
this was some sort of protest vote against corruption and shoddy
governance, I have a bridge to sell you someplace up north.
‘True Muslim’meme
I
have often been accused of being anti-Islam and anti-Malay. Nothing is
further from the truth. In fact, I have publicly disagreed with the
“true Muslim” meme propagated by non-Muslim power brokers and their
supporters.
The true Muslim meme is those Muslims who conform to
the secular agenda of the opposition which means they are the gentler
face of Islam and thus, acceptable to mainstream urban politics.
I
have argued that DAP, with all its problems, should be on the front
line in the defence of secularism and should not engage in the dialectic
in Islam with the exception of promoting secularism as a means of
governing.
Furthermore,
if there is to be engagement, secularism should be the
counter-narrative to all religious dogma that are flash points in this
country.
I have written that there should be a plurality of
Islamic voices in this country, even going so far as to state that any
kind of perceived Islamic views should not be silenced but rather open
to rebuttal in the public discourse.
What I have always maintained
is that the state interpretation of Islam should be inclusive but
reject any and all extremist statements or actions that threaten the
stability of the state and the security of citizens.
I am on
record of advocating that the beliefs of people should not be the
concern of the state - however they choose to define it - and the state
should not sanction behaviour deemed unIslamic.
Do not make the
mistake of thinking that the main targets of these religious extremists
are the non-Malay community. No, the real targets of those extremists
are the Malay-Muslim community. What they are attempting to do is
control the narrative of Islam in this country.
