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."
But despite the brouhaha
stretching into days, no one bothered to check how the socks got past
our customs officers at the port or the airport.
It can be argued
that it would be impossible to check every item in a consignment but
shouldnāt the same leeway be granted to the importer or the retailer?
I wrote last week, that no one in his right mind would want to misuse religion knowing the sensitivities, especially went it comes to Islam.
But some politicians even see an oversight as a deliberate attempt to undermine their beliefs - religious or otherwise.
Even
if unreserved apologies are proffered for such lapses, they are ignored
Like rottweilers, they stand their ground and wait for the next step to
be taken in a dance of ritualised intimidation.
Some view these
as opportunities to further their cause - political or personal. Even
when they discover their folly, they will not retreat and only shut up
when commanded.
Even the odd one will defy the orders as we have
seen in the socks-gate issue - even defying Prime Minister Anwar
Ibrahimās pleas.
He told the public not to be a prosecutor or judge over the issue of as vigilantes started cropping up to champion the matter.
On Wednesday, Yang-di Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar issued a decree of sorts, asking all parties to stop taking advantage of the issue saying it should now be left to the authorities.
But
can we expect the same when pseudo-preachers and self-appointed
defenders of the faith continue to belittle the religious beliefs of
others?
In a commentary
titled āInconsistency begets accusations of double standardsā, I
referred to the case of Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Norās
arrest and prosecution.
I wrote: āLesser mortals are dragged out
of their homes, handcuffed and driven hundreds of kilometres just to
have their statements recorded, but Sanusi intimated he wanted to bypass
the arrest and head to court.ā
āNo one is above the lawā
In
2019, a video clip emerged on social media featuring preacher Muhammad
Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu, who made disparaging comments about Hinduism.
Controversial preacher Muhammad Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu
But the Attorney-Generalās Chambers (AGC) declared that no charges would be pressed against him for allegedly insulting Hinduism.
In dismissing the application, High Court judge Wan Ahmad Farid said that the petitioners had failed to prove mala fide (bad faith) on the part of the AG in his decision not to prosecute the alleged offenders.
The
application was filed after deputy public prosecutor Ainul Amirah had
previously told the Magistrateās Court that the AG had no plans to
prosecute the duo.
Ainul added that the AG was unwilling to prosecute the preachers as police had classified their cases as āno further actionā.
It is happening again and apparently, a new video has emerged.
On
Tuesday, a group of Indian lawmakers, mostly aligned with the coalition
government, urged the Home Ministry to take strict action against
Zamri.
Jelutong MP RSN Rayer said this is due to Zamriās recent remarks that allegedly insulted Hindus in the country.
I
previously wrote: āāNo one is above the lawā may be an overused phrase,
but surely the law must be applied equally and fairly to everyone -
preachers included.ā
In light of the furore over religion, what I
then wrote is still applicable but will the police and AG provide some
answers as to why there has been no prosecution?
