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."
Former Klang MP Charles Santiago related
another case where a man died while in police custody, and for nine
months, the police did not do anything, claiming roadblocks had been
placed to prevent attempts to get the truth.
Lorry driver M
Manisegaran was alive and heading home at 8.20pm. Within a span of a few
hours, he was detained, transported by ambulance, and declared dead on
arrival.
M Manisegaran
His wife, S Rajeswari, saw visible injuries: broken teeth, chest marks, and blood in her husbandās eyes.
When
she demanded answers, she was fed a carousel of contradictory
explanations ranging from a heart attack, fungal infection, drug use, to
fluid in the lungs.
āAnd at every stage, the police withheld information from his wife. This is not confusion; it is obstruction,ā said Charles.
In an immediate response,
the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) instructed the Bukit Aman
Criminal Investigation Unit on Deaths in Custody to expedite its
investigation into the death of Manisegaran.
In a statement, the
AGC said the directive was issued to ensure the case can be promptly
brought before the Coroner's Court to determine the cause and manner of
Manisegaran's death.
But why wait for directives? Shouldnāt a death in custody warrant an immediate inquiry?
Caught in a storm
MACC is engulfed in its own storm. Day after day, its methods and operations fall under suspicion.
Police reports lodged by businessperson Albert Tei and his wife allege that MACC officers pointed guns at them during a raid ā claims now under police investigation.
MACC officers hauling businessperson Albert Tei away after a raid at his residence
The
truth, however, lies in the CCTV recordings seized from Teiās home,
which remain in MACCās possession. The agency has denied the gunpointing
allegations, but its silence on the CCTV footage speaks louder than any
press statement.
Why the reluctance? The recording will portray
what happened during the raid and will exonerate the MACC, which has it
has consistently denied.
In what can be described as an audacious
move, the MACC summoned Mahajoth Singh, a lawyer representing Tei for
questioning, an action that a legal activist group slammed as an
intimidation tactic.
Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) director Zaid Malek
described it as an āextraordinary and unlawfulā action that raises
serious questions about investigative propriety and respect for the rule
of law.
The MACCās defence: Mahajoth possessed
evidence relevant to their investigation against his client, but isnāt
it aware that solicitor-client communications are confidential?
Section 126 of the Evidence Act 1950 and Section 46 of the MACC Act 2009 protect communications between lawyer and client.
With
the claims, counterclaims, and statements with the truth not surfacing,
shouldnāt the same principles of transparency that the prime minister
advocated in the case of the police shootings be applied in this case?
Transparency
is not a slogan; it is a system. It requires independent oversight,
immediate disclosure, and accountability that does not depend on
directives from above. When agencies investigate themselves, the public
sees not transparency but theatre.
Malaysia
cannot afford enforcement bodies that operate in shadows, shielded by
silence and contradictions. If the police and MACC wish to restore their
credibility, they must embrace scrutiny, not evade it.
Otherwise,
every denial, every delay, and every missing piece of evidence will
only confirm what the public already suspects: that justice here is not
blind, but blinkered.
