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."
National Sports Council’s bailout stinks to high heavens by R Nadeswaran
Friday, May 27, 2022
Malaysiakini : In money laundering parlance, it would be described as “layering”,
but I make these remarks with a caveat – I am not in the least alluding
that these monies were “layered” lest I get a “love letter” from his
lawyers.
These comments are by no means an attempt to malign the accused or change the course or influence the court.
Former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Whether a crime has been committed or not will be decided by the court based on the evidence presented.
Zahid’s
testimony under oath has yet to be refuted. Hence, it shows misconduct
and financial irregularities on the part of the NSC.
Since when
has the NSC been tasked to “bail out” professional football teams when
they are in financial trouble? Is this their forte? Have the principles
for funding for sports activities been changed?
The NSC is
supposed to enhance the standard of sports by providing financial
assistance to National Sports Associations for the training and
development, as well as monthly allowances for athletes. Surely, it does
not encompass professional clubs.
The trial was told that RM1.3
million was to pay the wages of the players and staff of the football
association, which was on average about RM500,000 to RM600,000 per
month, and that the outstanding salary for four months came to around
RM1.3 million.
Again, since when did the NSC start paying the
salaries of professional footballers and officials? Was it a loan, a
grant or a donation? If it was a loan, has it been repaid and if it was a
grant, how was it recorded in the accounts?
But that is not the
end of the matter. Why did the NSC make payment to a third party, in
this case, Lewis & Co, which managed Akalbudi’s funds? Something is
certainly not right as there is no privity of contract between Akalbudi
or Lewis & Co and the NSC.
If any, shouldn’t the deal be
between the club and NSC? Shouldn’t payment be made directly to the club
instead of making it to Lewis & Co?
Is this a precedent? Has
it opened the door for other troubled professional outfits going with a
begging bowl for similar acts of charity?
Where does the buck stop?
This
is the uncontrollable monster I commented on this week. Previously,
millions were spent on bringing ageing stars for exhibition tennis
matches while local tennis continues to flounder due to a lack of funds.
In
2007, there was the infamous Champions Youth Cup football tournament
hosted by Malaysia at a cost of over RM20 million. The tournament was a
failure by all standards.
Former sports minister Azalina Othman Said
At
that time, when the spending was questioned, the then sports minister
Azalina Othman Said maintained that RM17 million paid to the company –
Gifted Group and its head honcho Jonathan Price – was "bidding fees" but
nowhere in the world does any country “bid” to host any tournament for
three consecutive years.
But after the flop and the change of
guard at the ministry, the subsequent editions were not held and a
cancellation fee was demanded!
The biggest standout of this
monster endeavour undertaken by the NSC was the planned development of a
“forward training base” in Brickendonbury, just outside London.
About
RM70 million was earmarked to develop the Tun Abdul Razak Research
Centre but the local council rejected the application. Despite being
told that no development would be allowed in the area because of
restrictions on land use, RM2 million had already been spent on
architects’ fees and other related matters.
Where does the buck
stop? Is the NSC the country’s Santa Claus for sports? Is money
allocated for sports development spent prudently?
The spending is
done in secrecy. After the failure to win a gold at the London Olympics
in 2012, I approached the then minister, Ahmad Shabery Chik, for a
breakdown of the RM30 million spent on the “Road to London” project.
Shabery
said it would be done but he was over-ruled by the NSC director-general
who declared that “there is no need to tell anyone how we spent the
money”.
This aptly sums up the attitude of civil servants
entrusted with public money. With no one to be accountable to, millions
go down the drain – as in the case of paying professional footballers.
How many more millions have been spent in other spheres without the need
to be accountable?
