Link graphic for a KJB version Bible Verse that will be automatically updated when we update it from time to time
">


Articles, Opinions & Views: Harapan in 2020: Go big or home - Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy

Photobucket
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
 
Fighting Seventh
The Fighting Rangers
On War, Politics
and Burning Issues
Profile
Miscellaneous

American Thinker
American
Newspapers Online

Arab News
Asia News
Asia Times
Assyrian News
BBC News
Breitbart News
British and
International
Newspapers Online

CAMERA
CBS News
City Journal
CNN
Christian Solidarity
International

Daily Caller
Daily Mail
DAP Malaysia
Dawn
Drudge Report
Dutch News
Faith Freedom
Ali Sina

Foreign Affairs
Forward
Fox News
Google News
Guardian
Haaretz
Harakah Daily
English

Herald Malaysia
Hurriyet Turkey
History of Jihad
Independent
Indian Newspapers
Online

Inspire Magazine
IPOH Echo
International
Herald Tribune

Jerusalem Newswire
Jihad Watch
Local-
French News
In English)

London Times
Malaysiakini

Malaysian Insider
Malaysia
Centre for Policy
Initiatives

Free Malaysia Today
Malaysia Chronicle
Malaysia
-Sarawak Report

MEMRI TV
Middle East
Forum

Mission Network
News

MSNBC News
National Review
NEWSMAX
New York Post
New York Times
Nut Graph
Opinion Journal
Right Wing News
Spiegel
Star Online
Straits Times
Sun Malaysia
Sydney
Morning Herald

Telegraph
The Malay Mail
The Rebel Media
The Sun (UK)
Time
Times of India
Town Hall
US News
World Report

USA Today
VBS TV
Washington Post
Washington Times
World Net Daily
World
Watch Monitor

Yahoo News
Ynet News



No Atheists
In A Foxhole

Rudyard Kipling

" ā€œWhen 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

" ā€œWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā€

ā€œIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā€
ā€œOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
ā€œThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace,
for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā€
ā€œMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā€
ā€œThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.

ā€œNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
ā€œIt 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."

Proud To Have
Served With Warriors

Glorious
Malaysian Food
Foreign Bloggers
&
Other Stuff
Gaming

Major D Swami
WITH Lt Col Ivan Lee
Click Here

Lt Col Ivan Lee
you want him with
you in a firefight!!!!

Dying Warrior
xxxxxx
Condors-Infantry
Fighting Vehicles
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Camp
Bujang Senang
Click Here
xxxxxxxx
The A Team
Click Here
xxxxxxxx
Major General
Toh Choon Siang
Click here
Lieutenant General
Stephen Mundaw
Click Here
With His
Dying Breath
Killed in Battle
In Death
Last Thoughts
Before Battle
Whilst There Is
Life, There Is Fight

Not Done In Yet!!

Iban Trackers
XXXXXXXX
Facts On RoP
Hutang Negara
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Harapan in 2020: Go big or home - Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Malaysiakini : ā€œOnce a country is habituated to liars, it takes generations to get the truth back.ā€ - Gore Vidal
COMMENT | DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang says that 2020 is the make or break year for Pakatan Harapan. Kit Siang is correct because the vagaries of a political milieu have always been defined by time. However, so far, Harapanā€™s messaging has been absolutely abysmal. Add to this, Harapan seems intent on shooting itself in its foot and what we are witnessing is a coalition that seems to exist only for the power brokers to manoeuvre themselves into positions of influence.
Harapan officials have been making a big deal of Malaysiaā€™s improved ranking in Transparency International's (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2019. Kit Siang wrote: ā€œIf there had been no change of government, Malaysia will be sliding down the CPI score to the thirties bracket, to find new company among the more corrupt nations of the world in the lower rankings.ā€
Now, whether you choose to place any faith in these rankings is beside the point. Some folks may ask, isnā€™t anyone bothered about corruption? I think they are but the reality is that Malaysia has always struggled with its corruption issues. There are two aspects to this issue. The fist is that the average rakyat believes that politicians are corrupt, so perhaps Harapan political operatives are less corrupt than the regime that was kicked out, but the point is the average's rakyat's expectation is extremely low.
The second aspect is that corruption in this county is intimately linked to racial issues. Whether the narratives of corrupt Malay/Muslims stealing from the coffers or the rich Chinese plutocrat class engaging in financial malfeasance with the political power elite or even the sacred cows of the Malay community, the royalty and their links to both power structures become a flashpoint which subsumes policy considerations.
Harapanā€™s problem was its claim that if the Najib regime continued, it would be the end of Malaysia, and when the people ā€“ and you donā€™t have to be particularly sophisticated either ā€“ notice that change has been barely perceptible, they begin to wonder if there was anything really wrong in the first place. Keep in mind that the opposition (then) was always claiming that the Umno/BN regime was corrupt. There was always this kind of apocalyptic vibe in the way how the opposition defined the discourse.
All those old narratives that the opposition used against the BN regime has come back to haunt them. I keep telling Harapan political operatives that if they do not want to honour the manifesto, at least put out a detailed list of everything that Harapan has accomplished ā€“ and I mean detailed, not just a wish list or some half-baked presentation ā€“ but real concrete steps that Harapan has taken and which are fundamentally different from what BN did.
Instead, all controversies have been manufactured by Harpan from the khat/Jawi fiasco, to the Lynas con and backtracking on important nation-building initiatives like the Rome treaty and Icerd. Iā€™ll give you an example. The Orang Asli issue has always been problematic but Harapan has been making some positive moves in this area ā€“ the most important of which is the appointment of Juli Edo to head Jakoa ā€“ which does not mean that all is kosher for the Orang Asli.
A report card on this issue can be read in New Mandala by academician Rusalina Idrus: ā€œAs for Pakatan Harapan, it needs to step up and to be consistent in their commitment to the Orang Asli or risk losing Orang Asli support down the line. But it is about more than just winning votes. It is about addressing past injustice and discrimination. The PH (Harapan) coalition came about based on grounds of fighting injustice. The governmentā€™s commitment to the Orang Asli will be a test of its moral standing. It is not just political will that is needed, but also moral courage. As Tijah points out, it still remains to be seen if this new government has the courage to do the right thing.ā€
While I understand that the Orang Asli issue may not be sexy enough for most folks, what this demonstrates is that there can be movement in Harapan if, as Rusalina points out, there is a political will - but more importantly - moral courage. As Mariam Mokhtar wrote: ā€œRadical measures will involve race and religion, but which MP dares to buck the trend? Harapan's decline is not just Mahathir's fault. Harapan MPs have a collective responsibility, but it is their arrogance and refusal to listen which disgust us.ā€
If Harapan is to remain a viable choice, as opposed to a single shot one, they have to think big and not allow themselves to be constrained by conventional political/racial wisdom. Not spooking the Malays and constant worry of what Umno/PAS would do in any given situation is what is crippling Harapan. Another important issue that Harapan needs to face up to is voter apathy among its base. What Kit Siang should really worry about is that for the decades BN ruled, there was peace and stability, even though racial and religious policies were running this country.
Once the base starts realising that a change in a government really does not mean a change in policy, people will stop participating in the process. And the Harapan base is really a big problem for the coalition. On the one hand, you have those Harapan partisans who believe that the presence of Mahthir was the affirmation that BN-style political social contract politics defined Malaysia. On the other hand, you have the Reformasi-inclined partisans who believe that the system needs to change. In other words, Harapan must define itself beyond the whole 1MDB issue. Look at it this way.
Umno/PAS know exactly who they are. The MCA and MIC, if they choose to join whatever coalition that comes from this dalliance, know exactly what their subservient role is. Meanwhile, in Harapan, the DAP has to contend with the running dog narrative, and Malay power structures are busy attempting to contain each other. Umno/PAS are seen as stable while Harapan parties look like they cannot even organise an orgy in a brothel.
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.
And please, let us not have this nonsense talk of ā€œmoderationā€. Moderation has always been defined, not by values or policies ā€“ which are predicated on not spooking the majority ā€“ but rather on compromise at the expense of oversight and accountability. Every political party has its definition of moderation.
I hope Lim Kit Siang understands that if Harapan continues playing the same BN game in 2020, this really could be a one-term administration.
posted by Major D Swami (Retired) @ 10:04 AM  
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home
 
ARCHIVES


Previous Post
Indian Soldiers
World War 1
Links To Rangers
Military Related Links


End of a Saracen
East Malaysian
Warriors
Blow Pipe
xxxx
xxxx
Lieutenant Colonel
Zulkapli Abdul Rahman
Click Here
Lieutenant Colonel
Harbhajan Singh
Click Here
Heads from the Land
of the Head Hunters
Heads
20 Harrowing Images
Vietnam War

Creme De La Creme-Click here

Killing Time
Before Deployment

Lt Col Idris Hassan
Royal Malay
Regiment
Click Here

Also Known as
General Half Track

Warriors
Dayak Warrior
Iban Tracker with
British Soldier

Showing the
British Trooper
what a jackfruit is!!

Iban Tracker

A British Trooper training
an Iban Tracker

Iban Tracker

Tracker explaining
to the British Soldier who
knows little about tracking

Iban Tracker
Explaining to the
British Trooper the meaning
of the marks on the leaf

Iban Tracker
Aussie admiring
Tracker's Tattoos

Lest We Forget Major Sabdin Ghani
Click Here
Captain Mohana Chandran
al Velayuthan (200402) SP
Ranger Bajau
ak Ladi PGB
Cpl Osman PGB

Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
Photobucket
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Powered by

Free Blogger Templates

BLOGGER

google.com, pub-8423681730090065, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 <bgsound src=""> google.com, pub-8423681730090065, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0