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."
Don’t blame non-Malays for Sg Bakap defeat By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Malaysiakini : Meanwhile, the opposition has cried political persecution whenever
their leaders are targeted by the state security apparatus and have used
social media influencers to highlight not only the hypocrisy of the
Madani state but also the policies that have disenfranchised a young
voting bloc through “surprise” economic policies that still favour the elites.
The
national narrative as defined by the Penang chief minister,“…. the
subsidy, perceived inflation, cost of living, and the burden the people
have to face with all this…” is the local narrative and you can either
believe that these issues do not matter to the non-Malays or that
something more is at play.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow
The
fact of the matter is, that DAP has been hamstrung in this coalition
government. The DAP is supposed to be a moderating force but all it has
done is attempt to carry water for the “don’t spook the Malay crowd”
while the Madani government panders to the PN base secure in the belief
that the non-Malays have no choice but to vote for them.
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, for instance, said the Harapan coalition had locked down the non-Malay vote.
He
comes off in the press these days sounding like one of those “arrogant
and haughty leaders” Hamzah talked about when Rafizi said that for
Sungai Bakap, PN was a lost cause.
Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli
Rafizi said
on the campaign stump, “It’s very evident that PN has lost direction in
this by-election campaign, as they are not focusing on issues that are
more important to the residents of Sungai Bakap.
“These
are local issues. It is also a testament to the ability and capability
of each candidate to provide the best service to voters here..”
Now,
of course, Rafizi after dissing PN, laments the low turnout of the
non-Malay voters which just goes to show how out of touch the best and
the brightest in PKR really are.
Harapan alienated its supporters
Harapan
has been doing everything in its power to alienate its non-Malay base
and screw over the progressive Malay element in Harapan. Non-Malay
operatives have been bending over backwards attempting to project a
benign face of Chinese influence in Harapan.
Admittedly, Anwar
played the liberal, reformist and progressive Muslim when he was on the
campaign stump and this elevated him to cult-like status amongst the
non-Muslims.
However,
after coming into power, either as a handmaiden to the old maverick or
into his own, his obsession with securing the Malay vote has driven him
and Harapan further right, which has been accepted by the non-Malay
Harapan base but met with indifference by a majority of Malays.
To
be fair to Anwar and his team, beyond the obvious pandering, the prime
minister has been attempting some sort of class dialectic within the
Malay community.
But the problem, as expressed
by some PKR political operatives privately to me and more recently
publicly by the United for the Rights of Malaysians Party (Urimai) pro
tem chairperson P Ramasamy, is the mistake “... of reducing identity
politics to material growth in the form of increased foreign investments
and job creation”.
Of course, the Malay vote is important and
Anwar and Harapan should be chasing it like they would any other vote,
but the fact that the rural Malay vote is unequal makes Anwar’s
pandering to the Malays and their rejection of him even more tragic or
comical, depending on your point of view.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
He has done everything from overseeing a religious conversion to lecturing a young Indian girl
on the social contract to milking ethnic sacred cows but the majority
community still does not buy what the Madani state is selling.
While
all politics is local, what the federal government should be doing is
ensuring the Harapan base that voted for them (even when they were
losing, but managed to break Umno's two-thirds majority in one of their
defeats) is satisfied with their performance.
Instead, what the
federal government is doing is attempting to replicate BN-style politics
for a base which has no use for it. A base which believed that the
reign of Harapan would move them away from the race-based and
religion-influenced politics of Umno-BN.
Demonisation of DAP
Non-Malay
politicians tell me they have to walk on eggshells when it comes to
certain issues. They tell me the demonisation of DAP seems to be
working. Well, here’s the thing - if people are going to hate DAP, they
are going to do it regardless of whether Malay uber alles coalition is
in power or not.
The narrative that the majority of Malays hate
the DAP has always been around, but the DAP has survived and even
thrived. Instead, what the coalition government does is bend over
backwards attacking the very demographic which could change the
narrative and encourage a new paradigm of mainstream Malaysian politics.
Honestly,
if Anwar carried out the reforms he promised and carried out these
drastic subsidy cuts, voters regardless of ethnicity would be inclined
to give this government a chance.
But the problem is, that Anwar attempts to have a crusade against corruption but has Umno in his pocket.
And
he attempts these drastic subsidy cuts but leakages abound in
organisations under the government’s control and of course, plays the
race and religion card while attempting to court the non-Malay vote.
People who vote for PN know exactly what they are getting and they are
fine with that.
What this government has to understand is which side their bread is buttered.