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."
COMMENT - Is the PM powerless after 2018? By Mariam Mokhtar
Saturday, May 02, 2026
Malaysiakini : Malaysian prime ministers have never governed in a vacuum. Since
independence, leadership has always required managing coalitions,
balancing regional interests, and dealing with internal party dynamics.
First prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman
Even
during the long dominance of the BN framework, executive authority
depended on keeping coalition partners aligned, managing competing
demands, and maintaining internal discipline through long-standing
power-sharing arrangements involving parties such as MCA and MIC.
Constraint has always been there. It was just less visible.
What
has changed after 2018 is not the constraint itself, but its structure.
Political alliances are more fragmented, support is less predictable,
and coalition partners are more assertive. What has changed is not power
itself, but how it is used.
This is clear when we look at how
coalition politics actually works. Before 2018, stability depended on
alignment with parties such as MCA and MIC, where coalition discipline
was maintained through established seat and cabinet arrangements.
Today,
similar dynamics exist within coalitions such as Pakatan Harapan,
involving parties such as DAP and others. The actors have changed. The
logic has not.
This is not evidence of a weaker PM. It is evidence
of a more fragmented political environment that requires constant
balancing of competing interests.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at a Unity Government National Convention in 2023
Relying on East Malaysian support
The
role of East Malaysian parties shows this clearly. Sabah and Sarawak
have long held strategic importance in federal politics, often described
as crucial to maintaining parliamentary majorities.
This was
evident in earlier coalition arrangements as well as more recent
government formations, where East Malaysian support has often been
decisive in maintaining stability.
Their influence did not emerge
after 2018; it has long been part of coalition politics. The phrase
āfixed depositā is not new. What has changed is visibility and
negotiating flexibility.
Clearly,
coalition complexity did not begin after 2018. Constraint has always
been part of the system. What has changed is how fragmented and unstable
it has become.
What looks like instability should not be mistaken for loss of authority.
The
idea that leadership today is only about survival is overstated.
Negotiation has always been part of Malaysian governance. The PM still
appoints and dismisses ministers, sets priorities, and leads the
executive branch, as seen in periodic cabinet reshuffles across
different administrations.
These powers have not been reduced. What has changed is the political cost of using them.
Flags of Sabah and Sarawak
The
idea of a leader who simply ācommandsā also assumes earlier prime
ministers operated with near-absolute control. That was never the case.
Even
in the strongest period of BN dominance, prime ministers had to manage
coalition partners such as MCA and MIC, balance Sabah and Sarawak
interests, and navigate internal factional pressures within Umno itself.
Even
at the height of Dr Mahathir Mohamadās authority, the internal Team A
and Team B split could not simply be commanded away. Leadership has
always depended on maintaining support, not overriding it. In that
sense, ācommand versus survivalā is a false binary.
The power to award positions
Restraint
should not be mistaken for incapacity. A leader who does not act
quickly is not necessarily unable to act. In a more fragmented
environment, decisions require more careful balancing. This does not
remove authority; it changes how it is used.
The PM still has the
authority to appoint, dismiss, and restructure the cabinet, but every
use of that power comes with consequences that must be weighed
carefully.
Removing a senior figure in a governing party, for
example, is not a simple administrative step. It can trigger internal
divisions, strain coalition relationships, and weaken broader policy
goals. In such situations, restraint reflects calculation, not weakness.
Cabinet meeting in 2024
At the same time, complexity cannot become an excuse for inaction.
Reform
does not sit only with the executive. It must pass through Parliament,
where debate, procedure, and politics decide whether policy becomes law.
Leadership is not just about making decisions, but about ensuring they
survive the process needed to implement them.
These pressures are
made worse by economic conditions. Rising living costs, subsidy burdens,
and global uncertainty leave little space for hesitation. Leadership
must balance caution with direction, and negotiation with delivery.
See
how accountability works. There is a recurring pattern where
investigations begin under strong public pressure, but over time, lose
visibility. Updates become less frequent, conclusions remain unclear,
and outcomes are not always clearly communicated.
Cases such as
MACC chief Azam Bakiās share ownership controversy illustrate how
initial urgency can fade, leaving the public uncertain about the final
resolution.
Institutions such as the MACC show how prolonged
uncertainty can affect trust. When processes are delayed or outcomes
unclear, the issue goes beyond individual cases and becomes a question
of consistency and transparency.
Malaysia has not entered an era
of powerless leadership. What it has entered is an era where power is
more visible, more contested, and more demanding to exercise.
The system has not become less powerful; it has become harder to ignore.
The
PM has not lost power; we have mistaken complexity for weakness, and
the greater danger is a public too ready to believe that he has.
