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."
Amid food crisis, an 'invisible fortune' is being robbed by Low Choon Chyuan
Friday, June 03, 2022
Malaysiakini : Pointing to the sky, a 53-year-old farmer from Kanthan Baru, who
wished to be identified only as Lau, said: āWe have to rely on it (the
sky). When it rains, there will be less harvest.ā
āBut now, we have to also see when the government is going to take back the land we work on,ā he added.
Farmer Lau sprinkling vegetable seeds on his field
PKNP
had offered the farmers the option of moving to Padang Ragut, where
each person would receive two acres of farming land with a 10 to 15-year
lease.
However, the proposed site is located in a mountain area
and lacks water resources, which is not suitable for planting
vegetables.
The farmers did not dare to take the risk and declined the offer. No alternatives were offered.
Losing an āinvisible fortuneā
Chemor has lands suitable for growing vegetables, and there are skilled farmers whom Tan described as an ā invisible fortuneā.
He
said the land is flat, and the former mining lake provides sufficient
water, whereas the soil enables farmers to diversify their crops and
reduce market risks.
āThey have been planting crops for three
generations. They have accumulated much experience and rarely have a bad
harvest,ā he added.
Chemor Modern Farmers Association chairperson Tan Tean Chee
This
āinvisible fortuneā is at risk since. Faced with the threat of losing
their lands, the farmers do not want their children to follow in their
footsteps.
Introducing himself only as Chua, a 73-year-old farmer said he did not want his children to be farmers.
āThere is no guarantee. After all, this land does not belong to us.
āWe
canāt stop the nation from developing projects, but where can we go
when you take away our lands? We didnāt get much schooling,ā Chua rued.
Recently,
Tanah Rata assemblyperson Chiong Yoke Kong criticised the government
for introducing numerous unfriendly policies, which led to farmers
losing confidence and security in their future.
āAfter a person
sets up everything, the state government takes away the land. Who would
want to invest in agriculture if that is the case?ā the DAP
representative said during an online forum.
Due to this, Chiong pointed out that the farmers are not willing to upgrade and rely on migrant workers instead.
Some 50,000kg of vegetables are produced daily
According
to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, vegetables that are imported
include chilli (72.4 percent), sweet potato (26.3 percent), lettuce
(15.5 percent), cucumber (9.7 percent), brinjal (7.1 percent), mustard
(7.0 percent), long beans (1.8 percent), ladyās fingers (0.7%).
These
vegetables are grown in Chemor. Besides these, the farmers also
cultivate bayam, kangkung, sweet corn, Chinese turnip, carrots, peanuts,
bitter melon and Welsh onions.
In other words, the eviction will also disrupt the supply of vegetables.
By
calculating the number of delivery lorries, Tan estimated that Chemor
farmers produce between 50,000kg and 60,000kg of vegetables per day,
which are delivered to wholesale markets in Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Bukit
Mertajam, Kelantan, Kedah and Terengganu.
According to the Department of Agricultureās (DOA) statistics,
Malaysia spends RM3.99 billion to import vegetables, while exports of
vegetables are worth RM828 million, resulting in a trade deficit of
RM3.16 billion.
Given this scenario, Tan questioned the rationale
behind the Perak governmentās decision to convert farmland into
industrial land.
āYou are converting successful farming lands into
a technology park which has uncertainties (in terms of returns). Is
this wise?ā
In 2016, there were 86,270km2 of agricultural plots in Malaysia. That made up about 26.3 percent of the nationās total land area.
DOAās
2020 data shows there was about 807km2 of vegetable and cash crops
planted, which is 0.24 percent of the total land area. Meanwhile, there
was about 1,918km2 of fruit planted, or 0.58 percent. Oil palm covered 58,652km2 or 17.78 percent.
Meanwhile,
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) chairperson Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj
said it did not make sense to reclaim farmland amid a food security
crisis.
He suggested that the government leases lands to the farmers to secure food supply.
āThere is so little land for farming vegetables.
āIf
the state government needs land for development, why donāt they reclaim
oil palm plantation lands from Sime Darby?ā Jeyakumar asked.
During
the interviews with farmers, many said they understood the need for
economic development but were unable to comprehend why the government
ālooked down on agricultureā.
On May 30, the Perak menteri besar urged people to grow vegetables and rear livestock for their own consumption and to rely less on imported food.
However, such measures are unsustainable and will not solve the actual problem.
