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."
Tiong’s in-your-face 'non-Muslim-ness' By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Monday, January 08, 2024
Malaysiakini : Again, to be clear, Tiong has made it very clear he wants tourists
from all over the globe but this means catering to everyone and not
simply a certain section of the tourism market. And he has also made it
clear he is willing to work with everyone.
From reportage, he said
some MPs did not attend meetings conducted by his ministry, despite the
invitations extended to them in response to their suggestions on
developing tourism in their constituencies.
“The suggestions were good, but we need to cooperate. When the ministry invited them for a meeting, some did not attend.”
And
for a minister who has been demonised by the extremist forces in this
country as a drunken buffoon, he is extremely articulate in his
criticism against what he sees as unclear policies and the role of how
his ministry can assist all states.
Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor
Take his spat with the Kedah menteri besar when it comes to Langkawi, for instance.
Tiong said, “Tourism Malaysia has been actively promoting Langkawi. It has not stopped putting in efforts to do so.”
“But
if the state government’s policy remains uncertain and consistently
associates religion with the tourism industry, then people may be
discouraged from visiting Langkawi.”
Forces of extremism
The problem with this country is that everything is associated with
religion. And if everything is associated with religion, someone who
does not kowtow to this groupthink becomes a source of agitation for
people who think non-Muslims should be pak turuts (yes men).
In
the era of Madani where the forces of extremism are smug in their
belief that non-Muslim political operatives will scamper away because
they are afraid of spooking the Malays, this Sarawakian political
operative is flying the non-Malay/Muslim flag high and proud.
To
be clear, Tiong is not making his race or religion an issue. It is the
forces of extremism in this country who are making his race and religion
an issue. Or, rather, they are making their race and religion an issue,
in the sense that their sensitivities trump everything else in this
country.
The latest allegations
against Tiong are the most sinister because they play into certain
narratives that the forces of extremism in this country feed to the
majority.
The allegation that Tiong as a non-Muslim makes Muslim
cleaners clean up after “haram” items points to the narratives that the
Malays will become servants in their homeland. That they will be forced
to clean up the messes of non-Muslims.
The old BTN courses, for
example, made it clear that if Umno/BN fell, the Malays would be
enslaved in their homeland. This is potent propaganda for people who are
exploited by the political class but are gaslighted into believing that
pendatangs (migrants) would enslave them.
Racist narratives
We live in a time when petty minions of the state attempt to enforce dress codes in government buildings.
We live in a time when political operatives like PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang declared that non-Muslims should dress decently to be respected. Why do you think this is?
Dress code
Embedded in all these racist narratives is that Malay ownership of this country is being surrendered to the non-Malays.
This was the whole point of the Malay Proclamation.
This was the whole point of the formation of Perikatan Nasional but,
most importantly, this is the foundational principle of mainstream Malay
politics, or at least post-1969 politics.
Tiong’s response to
this allegation was rational and effective but the fact remains that
there is nothing wrong with a non-Muslim political operative to be
consuming pork while at work or even consuming alcohol unless there is
some rule that non-Muslims cannot have a drink during lunch that I am
unaware of.
And if you think politicians do not drink during lunch
even though they are on the clock, you really are naïve or at least
hypocritical.
And if you think Muslim cleaners should not be
cleaning up “haram items”, I am assuming the workers who pick up the
garbage every single day all over Malaysia, in apartments, housing
estates, office blocks, malls, and every other place where people live,
are all non-Muslims?
Tiong is doing his job reminding people what a
great destination Malaysia is because of its diversity, while the
forces against him believe it should only be a destination for a certain
kind of tourist.
This is why politics in this country is a self-inflicted wound.
