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."
Let us revisit Anwar’s “don’t spook the Malays”
statement when he first made it. He said: “It gives a very negative
perception. The Malays are worried, the government has only been formed
so if we demand that they surrender, it is too soon.
“What is
important now, for me, is to instil a strong confidence that we will
defend the rights of all people without sacrificing bumiputera interests
as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.”
Racial supremacy has
been normalised in Malaysia’s political and social domains, and claiming
to be anti-racist and democratic puts you in the crosshairs of the
state security apparatus because you hurt the sensitivities of a certain
community or are going against the Constitution of this country.
Anwar
asked young Malaysians to stand up against religious bigotry. How would
the prime minister defend this country against charges of religious
bigotry by young people when in this country non-Muslims are banned from
using certain words?
In this country, there are cases of non-Muslim children being unilaterally converted and kidnapped. In this country, non-Muslims are warned not to disturb Muslim rights when advocating their democratic rights and social justice.
In this country, non-Muslim economic endeavours are curtailed because of Muslim piety. In this country in some states, non-Muslim places of worship are subject to restrictions on who can enter.
The
prime minister said - “I will be tough on this. They can criticise me
for my policies, but they cannot use (the) race and religious cards”.
Who
exactly is he talking about? When has Madani ever come down hard on
religious provocateurs in this country? Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad
Akmal Saleh continues to stir up racial and religious sentiment claiming
he does this because he defends race and religion.
Umno Youth chief Muhamad Akmal Saleh
Anwar
always makes it a point to denounce secularism and progressive
democratic principles. The PAS-led Perikatan Nasional are carrying out
unconstitutional, or at least could be legally challenged, syariah
activities in the states they control and the federal government remains
silent.
Actually what the federal government has been doing is
giving legitimacy to those possibly unconstitutional activities by
mooting the Federal Territories Mufti bill and cracking down on freedom
of speech.
Indeed, there has never been religious provocation from
within or outside his government that the prime minister has gotten
involved in except to chide someone like Teresa Kok for responding to public comments from his own religious czar.
Touching on the 3R
What
happens if young people in this country dare stand up against religious
bigotry? Think about it. The Constitution guarantees free speech and
freedom of worship but the reality is those freedoms have been chipped
away for decades.
While on the surface we have those rights,
slowly but surely, the supremacy of the religion of the state - not as
some sort of state religion but as a means of control - has sublimated
the intent of the Constitution.
Well, it means that for non-Muslim
young people, standing up for their rights would be going against the
3R. It means that if you object to a policy based on religious grounds,
you are going against the 3Rs. Non-Muslim dissent against religious
extremism or interference has been weaponised.
And as far as
treating undocumented workers and refugees humanely, has Anwar forgotten
the daily scandals involving the inhumane treatment of migrants and
refugees or the horrors of Wang Kelian which have still not been
exposed?
At this point, these kinds of speeches by the prime minister are merely rubbing salt in the wounds of rational Malaysians.
The
reality is that young Malaysians are either leaving this country, or
they are seriously thinking about leaving, or voting for the green wave
which is chickens coming home to roost.
