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."
Party polls delay shows Umno is morally bankrupt By P Gunasegaram
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Malaysiakini : There were three candidates for the Umno presidency in 2018 - Zahid
got 99 divisions and 39,197 delegates, Khairy Jamaluddin 61 divisions
and 32,592 delegates, and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah was way behind with 30
divisions and 20,462 delegates. Khairy would have had a good chance of
unseating Zahid if elections were held as normal, especially if it were a
two-cornered fight.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, wearing his piety on his chin
Strong
powers were vested with the president following the new Umno Baru
constitution after the 1987 bruising polls battle between Dr Mahathir
Mohamad and Razaleigh where Mahathir narrowly won.
The Umno
Supreme Council decision in June last year resolved to postpone party
elections for 18 months. This in effect ensured that Zahid is set to
maintain his position until December this year. The general elections
are not due until two months after May next year, or July 2023. Give six
months after that and Zahid could be in power for up to another 18
months.
In other words, he would be president without party
elections for two and half years (a normal term is three years), a clear
abandonment of democracy by the Umno delegates in favour of keeping a
tainted leader in power for up to five and a half years.
While it
may be possible to challenge the decision to amend Umnoās constitution
in court, especially with recent court rulings indicating that the right
to challenge any decision in court cannot be taken away, it does not
look like any will be made.
While the Registrar of Societies
should look into the relevant legislation to see if the rights of
ordinary members have been violated by an inordinate delay in the Umno
elections, no one is hoping there will be one, given the current
backdoor government is in power.
āCabinet decidesā
The
resolution was proposed by Umno vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin
while fellow vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob (who is also PM)
supported it.
Ismail, who got the most votes (183 divisions and
74,680 delegates) for the vice-presidentās position in the last party
polls in June 2018, probably supported the amendment of the constitution
for political appearances. If Umno polls were held, he might well be a
candidate for the top post.
But he is very clear about who decides on calling for elections - in terms of procedure, it is the cabinet which will decide, he said.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob
āThe
party is different from the government because the party is aware that
if there is a proposal, it will be brought to the cabinet first to be
approved. If the cabinet decides on a date, the cabinet will give me the
mandate to discuss with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. That is in terms of
procedure.ā
So Ismail, a lawyer, is not going to be pushed into a
decision - it is in his interest to take his time. However, by
convention and by law, Ismail may actually have the prerogative to
dissolve Parliament and does not need the mandate of the cabinet, as the
king is supposed to act on the advice of the prime minister as far as
this is concerned.
But Zahid has now ensured that he stays
president until the end of next year. Under the law, GE15 needs to be
held by July next year.
That means Zahid will be in power and Umno
president even after the general elections - the person who may well be
given the right to form the government if Umno/BN win as he is the head
of the coalition. Unless he is convicted by then, which is why Ismail
will delay the elections if he has the choice.
It is a pretty messy and fluid state of affairs, which will sort itself out if Umno/BN badly loses the GE15.
A
corrupt party whose leaders do everything possible to stay in power,
even though their reputation is tainted and in serious question and who
routinely honour and give face to a convicted felon, should be voted out
of power, the way it was in 2018.
It is the only thing which will force a long-overdue leadership change at Umno Baru.
