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."
Religious preacher and Muslim convert Ridhuan Tee Abdualh has previously claimed that the “ultra kiasu” Chinese use Hitler-like propaganda against the Islamic establishment in this country.
“(The) ultra kiasu
are not just using these strategies to go to war with Putrajaya (Umno)
but also with PAS. These are the same tactics used by Tsun Tzu [sic] and
Hitler.
“Last time, they were angry that I quoted Hitler’s words
but now they are using his strategy. Capture their minds and their
hearts and souls will follow. This is the strategy used by the ultra kiasu to get power,” he said.
Ridhuan Tee Abdualh
Ridhuan, if you recall, wanted hudud to be imposed on Muslims as a means of demonstrating its benevolence because non-Muslims would never be receptive to religious law.
Hence, any kind of due process or consultation would not move non-Muslims from their position.
Various
political, academic, and even students over the years have used Hitler
and the tragedy of the Shoah as a means to defend and justify the
violence brought upon by the Nakba.
Of
course, here in Malaysia, the most vocal of anti-Zionists (which, let’s
face it, here it’s code and an avenue to express some good,
old-fashioned anti-Semitism) have more in common thematically with the
ideology (Zionism) than they would have you believe.
Meanwhile,
former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad justified allowing the Israeli
cricket team to play in Malaysia in 1997 because he wanted to show
everyone that we were not terrorists.
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad
As reported
in the press, Dr Mahathir said: “We are normal people, we talk to
people. We behave well. We don’t do anything wrong to them but children
who throw stones at them, they shoot bullets.”
David Roet, who led
the Israeli delegation to a United Nations event in Kuala Lumpur - the
first in 50-something-odd years - had this to say
about Malaysia: “I have great hopes for good relations between our two
countries in the future”, adding that he had found “many similarities
between Israelis and Malaysians, (as it is a country with) multifaceted
society of people from different backgrounds working together for a
better future.”
Also from the article was this rejoinder: “While
the countries have no formal ties and Israelis are not normally allowed
to enter Malaysia, official data published in 2014 by the Israeli
Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) told of a booming, but very discreet,
trade relationship totalling some US$1.5 billion (RM7.03 billion) per
year.”
Even though Malaysia was a “tough nut to crack”, I give
credit to the Najib Abdul Razak administration for sensibly following
international norms - not to mention, UN obligations - by allowing
Israel to participate in this forum even though the Foreign Ministry, in
a cowardly manner, attempted to deflect from this obligation when
confronted with the predictable bigoted rhetoric from Amanah and PKR.
It’s not mutually exclusive
This
idea that spreading hate for the “Jews” makes good capital is what
every Islamic entity in this country does. Except, of course, when the
real world intrudes and Islamists are made to understand that you cannot
expect to be part of the international community and think you are
exempt from certain rules.
This
would have been a perfect opportunity for so-called moderate Islamic
parties to change the discourse even a little by highlighting the fact
that Islam from the Middle East, or at least that which was perverted by
petrodollars, is changing.
Of course, the non-Muslim components
of Pakatan Harapan will keep their mouths shut because by opposing
anti-Semitism, they suddenly become anti-Muslim.
This is the
problem with pro-Palestinian narratives in this country. You can be
pro-Palestinian and still believe that Israel has a right to exist. You
can be pro-Palestinian but not wallow in crude anti-Semitism.
The
narratives promulgated by Asri and his ilk further divide this country
along racial and religious lines. Is it any wonder that rational people
would rather remain silent about the Nakba instead of even giving the
appearance of supporting the narratives of people like Asri?
It also exposes the canard of the propaganda of a peaceful religion.
The problem with the pro-Palestinian narratives in this country is that it makes everyone complicit in anti-Semitic narratives.
