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."
Muda acting president Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz in a quote that opens
this piece reiterated the party’s political stance specifically defining
“people” as transcending religion, race and skin colour which is
directly in contrast with what PN stands for.
With PN we are
dealing with a coalition unshackled by the requirements of
multiculturalism or power-sharing, which was always a farce anyway, and
purely operating on racial and religious imperatives in which they hope
to impose majoritarian rule.
These
people continue to gaslight the public with terms like democracy and
anti-corruption and are aided by a mainstream establishment which does
not have the political will to stop them because it fears spooking the
Malays.
The fact that Syed Saddiq blindsided his party with this
move demonstrates the kind of person he is and truthfully, he would fit
right in with the rest of the race hustlers and religious hucksters
which is PN.
Indeed on social media Muda has been attempting to
highlight issues which affect Malaysians, especially those from the
lower income brackets.
Together with PSM, Muda has also been
attempting to form an alternate narrative than that from the mainstream
political parties which is defined (rightfully) for non-Malay voters by
fear.
Muda not only has to contend with PN but also the supposedly
democratic and progressive coalition government. More importantly, they
have to contend with the Pakatan Harapan base which claims to want a
better Malaysia but in reality, only wants to replicate Umno/BN era
politics and policies.
Young people, especially from the Malay
community, are disenchanted with mainstream politics. They view PN as a
workable alternative to the power-sharing formula which, after decades
of propagandising, has taught them is to their expense.
Muda secretary-general Amir Hariri Abd Hadi’s remarks that “We want
to firmly remind all parties once again not to arbitrarily issue
statements that go beyond the party’s decisions,” is one way of telling
Syed Saddiq to keep his mouth shut.
For a better Malaysia
Keep
in mind that the person who announced this roadshow was Muhyddin, an
old comrade of Syed Saddiq from his Bersatu days, and good old Syed
Saddiq was not above playing the race and religion card when it came to
culture wars that afflict Malaysians.
The
Muar MP defended his reservations against the International Convention
on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, was busy signing online
petitions to ban Oktoberfest in Selangor and pressuring P Waymoorthy to
resign from his minister post after his objections as to how the
Seafield Temple fiasco was handled and portrayed by the press and the
state security apparatus.
And look at the record of PN when it
comes to people-centric issues. The failure of PN-led governments in
certain states has demonstrated that PN political operatives are more
than willing to lead the Malay community to the slaughterhouse - as long
as PN political operatives can benefit from the gravy train that powers
the ketuanan (supremacy) bureaucracy.
Nobody ever goes
to PN- or PAS-controlled states to look for employment, right? They come
to the “infidelic” states where supposedly the Malays are oppressed. So
much for thinking about “the people”.
Now of course all of this
could be overlooked if Syed Saddiq really had a road to Damascus moment
and decided that he wanted to change the political landscape in this
country for the better.
This, however, is not on the cards. By
doing this, Syed Saddiq has not only compromised his party but also PSM.
As it is, both parties are attempting to do something which could
change Malaysia. My opinion is that it is too late but all we have is
the struggle.
It is a pity that Syed Saddiq does not take a page
from PSM co-founder Mohana Rani Rasiah’s playbook. When PSM suffered a
wipeout as reported in the press Rani said the loss deeply affected her
but “… it also taught her that more needed to be done to expose the
electorate to the values espoused by PSM, and this meant canvassing for
votes in a way she is most comfortable in - providing service.