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."
Will suing Jeyakumar restore trust in Perak GLC? By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Thursday, February 08, 2024
Malaysiakini : But again, if the company was carrying out rakyat-friendly
initiatives then the morale of the employees would not be jeopardised.
Indeed
if you were to do an open source check on PKNP you would find many
press reports of how the company is building strategic partnerships on
an international level and how development money is coming to Perak
through their efforts.
On the face of it, this is a good thing (of
course, seeing as how state-owned corporate entities are run, we should
not be too excited), hence we should not have a Manichean view when it
comes to PKNP or their reputation.
Keep in mind, that I am not
saying any of this gives Jeyakumar and PSM the right to defame anyone or
any company. I am just marvelling at the fact that taxpayers’ money is
being used to sue a political operative and a political organisation
which has a history of standing up for the rights of the
disenfranchised.
Counterproductiveto sue
In this specific case, the issue of food security is an important factor and should be a matter of public concern.
Hence,
suing a political personality and a political party with a history of
putting such issues in the mainstream media seems counterproductive.
Here
is the thing about activists like PSM and Jeyakumar. They want to
engage with the bureaucracy and corporate interests. They want to
negotiate with the state-owned interests or corporate groups.
Why? Because this is the only way they can because they do not have
the leverage or the clout compromised mainstream political parties have.
All
of this is not new. PSM has been doing this for some time now.
Referring to the words of the retired PSM chief Mohd Nasir Hashim - “I
was the chairperson of the Support Committee of Urban Pioneers. At that
time we had more than 50 villagers in our committee. They were mostly
Malays, except for one estate.
“We did not allow the authorities
and developers to label them as squatters, for squatters have no rights
in court. So we called them urban pioneers because for three generations
they developed the land with a promise of permanent housing.
And
what is the game plan here? Let us say that PKNP wins this defamation
case and is awarded a huge settlement. What Jeyakumar and PSM would do
is rely on crowdfunding to help pay for their losses in court and I have
no doubt the public would contribute to whatever fund that helps
alleviate the burden on Jeyakumar and PSM.
How do you think this
would affect the trust the rakyat would have in PKNP? Here we have a
state-owned company suing for defamation and the rakyat are willing to
contribute their money as an act of support against the state-owned
company funded by their tax ringgit?
If you thought employee
morale was low because of what Jeyakumar said, imagine how it would be,
when the rakyat contributes to a fund as a middle finger to your
employer.
How would it look to prospective international partners
that a state-owned agency sues a well-known activist and political
party, and wins but the rebuke to the state-owned company comes in the
form of damages paid by crowdfunding?
And
really, if PSM and Jeyakumar are compelled to apologise, it would be
even worse. Not only would it be a sincere apology emphasising the fact
that their rhetoric was used in service of the plight of the
disenfranchised, but it would also highlight why the farmers are still
at the mercy of the state and the inequalities of legal remedies when it
comes to issues such as these.
No doubt, what would also be
highlighted is the power imbalance between the disenfranchised and
state-owned corporate entities. Jeyakumar and PSM may not get the votes
but they get the trust of the rakyat.
This government and its
tributaries have a knack for ruffling the feathers of rational-minded
people. This is just another opportunity for the powers that be to
demonstrate that even when they win, they lose.
This does not sound like a feasible strategy to restore one’s reputation.
