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."
People on the receiving end are angry but afraid. This is a potent form of political control.
It
does not matter how much you apologise. It does not matter that the
mistake was genuine without malice. It does not matter how much you
prostrate yourself when making an apology it is not enough. Why? Because
this is not about faith but power.
If Starbucks could be brought to its knees (this remains to be seen)
what more a convenience store run by non-Muslims, who cater to the
majority Malay community?
Kudos to Anthony Loke and the DAP for asking the question
that needed to be asked because this is an important question. Would
people with real power react the same way if a Muslim had made this
mistake and the sensitivities of non-Muslims were hurt?
In the quote from an interview
that opens this piece, Mukhriz said - "Looking at Umno, when there were
big issues which we could not address, we would talk about DAP, Chinese
chauvinism and how Lim Kit Siang becoming prime minister would destroy
Malaysia, that the Malays would disappear, and the mosques can no longer
air the azan.
"I admit that I too have said such things, in front
of a 100 percent Malay audience. Thinking back, I feel guilty and a
sense of regret.
Mukhriz Mahathir
So,
we know why this has become an issue. Obviously, Umno cannot address
certain issues and its Pakatan Harapan partners are struggling to
connect with an uninterested majority community. So, people like Dr
Muhamad Akmal Saleh reverted to the old playbook.
This was a
perfect opportunity to weaponise a mistake for political mileage but
more importantly, as a distraction from issues nobody wants to deal with
or at least have trouble dealing with.
This country has got
boycott fever and hence, this is the perfect time to gin up support for a
cause which is close to the hearts of theocratic states all over the
world, that of insulting the religion of the state.
What kind of
stricter action needs to be taken by the authorities? Already people
have been doxed, threats made and the state security apparatus is
carrying out investigations with every reveal, making it clear that this
was a mistake and an aberration and not routine.
Penang PKR state leadership council member Fahmi Zainol said
this - āIf Nga understands the need to respect the sanctity of each
religion, he should not have interfered in this matter and made things
worse.ā
However, the more important question is can Fahmi point to
an instance when the sensitivities of non-Muslims which have been
bruised been met with the same responses by the people with power in
this country?
Akmal said "I don't need DAP's approval to defend my
religion from being insultedā which illustrates what this is really
about. Akmal believes that an apology is not enough. An admission of
ownership for an honest mistake is not enough.
Demonstrations of
contriteness are not enough. This is about the defence of his religion
and not about maintaining social and religious cohesion.
Akmal
gets away with this because he understands that nobody with any real
power either racial or religious, will stand in his way.
In fact,
he understands that his narrative would be enabled by various disparate
interests in this country. He understands that he has shown the way,
that by weaponising an honest mistake - religious, political and social
control could be applied without the burden of the instruments of the
state or rule of law.
