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 - Selangor exco's low-price ploy is a costly political interruption by R Nadeswaran
Sunday, June 28, 2026
Malaysiakini : Restaurants serving warm or iced water use 25 cubic centimetre
containers, dropping the cost per serving to a microscopic 0.000735 sen.
Yet, consumers are routinely charged 60 sen (in some places RM1 or more) for plain water or iced water.
Where is the justification? There is no justification - only the reality that consumers are charged simply because the market allows it.
Who
decides the percentage of profits a trader can make? Experience has
shown that this is impossible for various reasons. The mathematics of
overheads further dismantles the argument for price caps.
Standardising
profit margins has proven, time and again, to be an unworkable policy.
There is no law - written or otherwise - that compels the uniform
pricing of goods or services.
Successive governments have wisely refrained from interfering in the free market, allowing supply and demand to dictate prices.
Except
for a handful of essential goods (sugar, cooking oil, flour, etc),
prices remain unregulated. (During festive seasons, a dozen other items
go on the list.) Teh tarik and black tea have never made that list.
The
principle is simple - the consumer decides. If you want to drink your
tea in a conducive environment where you want to be noticed by the
Joneses, or pretend to be in the class of ānouveau richeā (those who became rich recently), be prepared to pay the price.
But if price is a factor, by all means pull up a stool and sit under the withering sun at the stall.
Selangor govtās pledge
According to a report by The Star
two days ago, the Selangor government said that local councils will be
tasked with ensuring food court traders maintain reasonable prices,
justified by the financial support already given to them.
āLocal
authorities will be directed to monitor food court operators and traders
renting premises under council management, with a focus on pricing
practices and compliance with existing regulations,ā state Local
Government and Tourism exco Ng Suee Lim said at a press conference on
the sidelines of the Selangor state assembly sitting in Shah Alam last
week.
Yes, anyone can monitor prices, but what action can be taken against those who increase prices?
Ng Suee Lim
The
trader can charge what he likes if he complies with the requirement
that the consumer knows the price he must pay. Hence, a price tag or a
list of prices (including restaurant menus) will suffice.
So, Ngās charade of āstop the price increasesā must stop. It is best left to the adage ācaveat emptorā - let the buyer beware.
Ng
said the stateās order was not intended to impose price controls but
rather to encourage ethical business practices and prevent excessive
profiteering, particularly in premises that benefit from public support
and subsidised facilities.
āIf operating costs are reduced through
government assistance, they should keep prices under control and, where
possible, offer more affordable prices to attract customers,ā Ng said
when winding up the debate at the assembly.
Then again, who and what defines āexcessive profiteeringā?
Does state govt have the power?
While
councils can issue summonses for littering or hygiene breaches, only
gazetted officers from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry
have the statutory power to investigate and prosecute price-related
offences. Council staff are legally toothless on this issue.
But
then again, who can forget Ngās role on the issue involving the
privatisation of street parking in four districts in Selangor? Didnāt he
utter a series of fibs to defend the unpopular decision before the
truth emerged?
If
Ng believes this announcement will placate Selangorians, he is gravely
mistaken. The rakyat have not forgotten the past debacles.
This
sudden concern over prices feels less like economic policy and more like
a desperate attempt at damage control to distract from a sinking
credibility scorecard.
When demands for the four DAP exco members
to explain their roles in approving such draconian regulations are met
with resounding silence, grandstanding about food prices rings hollow.
Grandstanding not working
Ultimately,
the stateās grandstanding on the so-called āexcessive profiteeringā is
not a genuine consumer protection strategy; it is a populist distraction
that undermines market confidence and insults the intelligence of the
people.
In a free market, price tags and menus arenāt just labels -
they are built-in safeguards. They empower consumers with the
transparency they need, making regulation redundant.
By posturing
over a 60 sen glass of water while remaining muted on substantive
governance failures, Ng is not defending the poor; he is merely doing it
for the headlines.
Selangorians are knowledgeable. They
understand that a government that cannot manage parking, forestry, or
religious harmony has no business dictating what a stall should charge
for rice and curry.
If the exco truly wants to prevent "excessive"
behaviour, it should start by curbing its own excessive appetite for
populist distractions.
Because when silence falls on real issues,
and noise rises on non-issues, the ballot box has a sharp way of
restoring balance - and that is one price the politicians know that they
cannot afford to ignore.
