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."
What is hate speech in Malaysia? By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Thursday, October 12, 2023
Malaysiakini : The bigger danger in curbing free speech under the guise of combating
āhate speechā is that when it comes to totalitarian-leaning regimes ā
like the ones in Malaysia ā the people who most often suffer are those
who think that āhate speechā laws are a panacea for uncivil behaviour.
They ignore the reality that uncivil behaviour ā hate speech ā is the reflection of political dogma in this country.
Hate speech occurs every day in this country and because of who it is directed at, the state turns a blind eye.
When a woman writes something that people do not agree with, they resort to misogynistic hate speech to vilify her.
When
a person talks about specific laws on racial and religious equality,
the person's race is used as a starting point of the criticism, often in
racist ways, especially if his or her comments go against the
conventional narratives of the state or the people who support the
state.
And what of legitimate criticisms of the Islamic faith by
various NGOs like Sister in Islam, who are always on the receiving end
of police reports for tarnishing or insulting Islam; what about these
types of āinsultsā? Does quoting from religious texts which put religion
in a bad light qualify as an insult to the religion?
Thereās that
but, more importantly, who defines Islam in this country? The state
and, of course, the dialectic between Malay power structures that use
religion to ensure compliance amongst the Muslim polity.
Hence who
determines what is insulting to Islam is the state, in this instance
the Malay/Muslim powerbrokers in this unity government.
Distrust
āThe
lack of trust between different communities, which is the basis of some
of these narratives, needs to be addressed through open and frank
discussions to get to the root cause of the problems. If not, these
issues will only recur in the future,ā said former Singapore MP Mohamed
Irshad.
Ex-Singapore MP Mohamed Irshad
This
is rich, coming from a former Singaporean MP, which has more laws that
curb freedom of speech and expression than Malaysia. In fact, I would
argue there is more freedom of speech in Malaysia than in Singapore.
However,
Mohamed does raise a good point. The problem is that supremacist
narratives that create distrust between communities are the basis of the
social contract. You just have to go back to the words of Prime
Minister Anwar Ibrahim and the young student he was berating.
This
is the reality of hate speech in this country. Mind you, I am against
hate speech laws of any kind and believe there are more than enough
legal instruments, civil and criminal, to curtail the most toxic of
speech.
However, if I had to define hate speech, I would define it
this way - hate speech in this country is defined by what Malay
politicians can say and what non-Malays canāt.
