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."
What followed startled me.
The same night, I received a reply part of which read: “Can I seek your
help to email the questions to this email address at
corporate.communications@mcmc.gov.my so that we can do the necessary
follow-up?”
Does
it imply that action would only be taken if complaints are sent via
email? Or is this a ploy to prevent the public from making complaints?
Was
it incompetency, an indifferent attitude or simply making things easy
for themselves to tap the forward button for someone else to handle?
Nevertheless,
I sent an email the following day, and on Monday, I received a call
from a friendly officer who said a reply had been sent, via email of
course.
It was a lengthy reply that included the following: “The
Commission collaborates closely with the police which is the leading law
enforcement agency on sensitive matters involving race, religion, and
royal institutions.
“We provide technical expertise, including
intelligence and forensics analysis, for the police to expedite
investigations and ensure appropriate action can be taken under relevant
legislation like the Sedition Act 1948 (Act 15) and Penal Code (Act
574).
“The collaboration is also expanded through the
establishment of the ‘Police–MCMC Investigation Task Force of 3R Cases’
in combating online content that threatens national harmony.
“In
addition to requests from other leading law enforcement agencies and
public complaints, MCMC also proactively monitors, takes down,
investigates, and enforces the law against any content violating Section
233 of Act 588, regardless of background, ideology, or political
affiliation.”
No action on complaint
Satisfied that there had been corroboration with the police, I decided to wait for a further response before I put pen to paper.
Imagine the surprise when on April 3 - a good 10 days later - Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain said no reports had been lodged against Akmal over his Facebook post that showed him wielding the sword.
This
means that the MCMC had sat on my complaint and did not refer my
complaint to the police or the Police–MCMC Investigation Task Force for
appropriate action, as claimed.
Do I have reason to believe the complaint was classified as “no further action” and filed in a steel cupboard to gather dust?
Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh
Certainly.
Why else would the IGP say that no report was made? And it leads me to
believe that MCMC is selective in the application of laws and their
enforcement.
The drama continued. On April 4, Akmal confirmed on
his Facebook page that he was arrested in Kota Kinabalu, saying he was
held despite being scheduled to record his statement at the Dang Wangi
police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur the following day.
But who came to the fore to comment after weeks of silence?
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stepped on the plate to say Akmal was not arrested but called up to facilitate an investigation.
Akmal himself confirmed he was arrested but did Anwar know better?
Differentstrokes
On
March 22, Ricky Shane Cagampang, 33, pleaded guilty in the Kota
Kinabalu Sessions Court to making a Facebook post deemed insulting to
Islam concerning the sale of socks bearing the word Allah.
He was
charged under Section 233(1)(a) of the Communications and Multimedia Act
1998 with misusing network facilities on March 17 and sentenced to six
months jail and an RM15,000 fine.
The
case was investigated, the offender was arrested, got the nod from the
Attorney-General’s Chambers, produced in court, convicted and sent to
prison - all in five days.
Surely, it must be a record of sorts
and the police force must be proud of itself. Will it be emulated in
other cases involving the offence of misusing network facilities?
We wait with bated breath but something still lingers in my mind.
Chin
has yet to be investigated for the post. He was not the maker or
publisher of the video and yet MCMC wanted his post removed.
My complaint about a sword-wielding politician was ignored.
Are
lesser mortals Chin and I treated differently from the loud-mouthed
politicians who can do or say anything with total disregard for the law?
Different strokes for different folks or are we headed for a police state?
