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."
Why Fadhlina is not fit to be education minister By P Gunasegaram
Wednesday, November 01, 2023
Malaysiakini : In fact, Deputy Higher Education Minister Mohamad Yusof Apdal told Parliament in March that the government has no plans to abolish the UUCA as it remains a relevant law.
Geopolitics for kids?
Curiously,
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek has now decided to take it upon
herself to introduce even primary school kids to controversial
international politics, starting with the intractable Palestinian
problem which is now three-quarters of a century old.
In her
“wisdom”, Fadhlina decided to introduce Palestinian Solidarity Week from
Oct 29 to Nov 3 in schools where the age of students ranges from seven
to 19 years.
There was, however, no such effort at the university
and college level because her authority does not extend to them and
comes, strangely, under a separate ministry - for higher education.
Why this anomaly has not been rectified and education put under one ministry is a mystery but that’s a topic for another day.
We all know what happened - even before the solidarity week started, eager beavers were at work.
Israeli flags were stomped upon by fresh-faced primary school children, young students brandished imitation guns. Someone shot a flaming arrow at an Israeli flag, causing it to burn.
Fadhlina promised an investigation
and said such actions were not sanctioned: “That’s why we organised
Palestine Solidarity Week within a limited period, specifically from Oct
29 to Nov 3, which allows us to control and monitor it. Any school
found violating these guidelines will face appropriate action.”
An event in school featuring an unidentified man holding a toy gun
It was supposed to be controlled - by the state- but it went out of control.
It’s
something she should have anticipated - there was great potential for
things to go wrong and be exploited by extreme sectors for their own
purposes.
But why control such things? To get young students
involved in such serious politics which they are not capable of
understanding, and which the government does not feel that even students
in universities should get involved in, is simply astonishing.
It’s making use of kids for propaganda and puts us on par with some of the most authoritarian regimes.
Schools
should be places for education. Inculcation of good societal values
such as honesty, respect for others, consideration, care and compassion
should not include issues in the domain of adulthood - which young
students are not mature enough to fully understand and make choices
over.
How can an education minister think that highlighting a
serious issue such as the Palestinian problem to immature, developing
students will help in improving the quality of their education?
Fadhlina
should not be concerned with politicising students. Her only concern
should be the quality of education that students are receiving and
improve them so that they become useful members of society and have the
skills to earn a decent living.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
It’s
not her fault though - it's Anwar’s for choosing her. She is totally
out of depth with what educating a nation is all about with absolutely
no background in education.
Fadhlina was a senator in 2021, resigning in November 2022 to contest the Nibong Tebal parliamentary seat in Penang.
Despite
being a first-time MP with no experience as an educator, administrator
or even a politician of note - she was shockingly chosen to be education
minister, the largest ministry in terms of budget and arguably the most
important.
Fadhlina is a total lightweight. Before she became
education minister, she was described as an activist and a lawyer
specialising in Islamic family law and child welfare.
How such a background qualifies a person to be an education minister with huge responsibilities is simply unfathomable.
Anwar’s
critics point to the fact that her father was the late Siddiq Fadzil,
former president of the Islamic Youth Association of Malaysia (Abim)
with which Anwar was very closely associated.
This lends credence
to the belief that her appointment was because Anwar wanted someone whom
he could trust to follow the policies he wanted to implement.
Failing education system
That
Anwar heavily promoted the Palestinian cause, and came in for some
criticism for self-glorification here, further reinforces this thinking.
Our national education is in shambles - declining standards have seen outflows from it by those who can afford it.
Chinese-medium
schools have seen enrolment skyrocket. So much so the entire education
system is terribly polarised. This calls for drastic but reasoned
solutions by competent experts leading teams, not Fadhlina.
There
is the huge problem of declining quality standards, including the
continued sidelining of English which caused major hurdles for those
seeking further studies and employment.
These need urgent,
immediate attention to reverse years of decline. For more things that
need to be done, please refer to my column where I highlighted the badly needed changes in education.
In one year at the helm of the Education Ministry, Fadhlina has done little or nothing in these vital areas.
Her
crass use of impressionable children, so young they can’t understand
the issues involved in championing the Palestinian cause simply shows
how unfit she is to solve the nation’s serious educational issues.
Her
heart and mind are in the wrong place to make the major, gut-wrenching
changes that are needed to put education back on its feet.
Right now, education is like a young child - on its back squalling and kicking - but going nowhere.
We
need someone with far greater depth and understanding of education than
Fadhlina will ever have to put the education system back on its feet
and running again, eventually. Fadhlina is simply not fit for the job -
but it’s not her fault.
