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."
COMMENT | Najib has used up all his nine lives By Mariam Mokhtar
Friday, August 19, 2022
Malaysiakini : Who does Najib think he is? He is the last person on earth to lecture us on fairness and liberty.
Like everyone else, he, too, has the right to life, but in his warped
little world, his right to life included the licence to rob the rakyat
and the nation of its wealth and its reputation.
By
playing the race and religion cards, Najib condoned corruption and abuse
of power. He allowed both to spiral out of control and robbed
generations of young Malaysians of their right to a decent future.
Millions
of law-abiding Malaysians have a rightful place in this country we all
call home. They did not steal from the public or use the state apparatus
to amass more wealth or further their self-interests.
Many
Malaysians who find themselves on the wrong side of the law have no
funds to pay teams of lawyers, or source foreign lawyers to wriggle out
of a conviction.
I know of people whose only 'crime' was to write a few sentences on social media, expressing their own opinions about Malaysian injustice.
Would love to see pink lips on this rack
They
were hunted down by the police, suffered beatings in jail, forced to
sign confessions, bailed out by friends and lawyers, and then released;
only for the law to hound them again and the harassment to resume.
A
few of these young men have been forced to seek exile to protect
themselves and their immediate families. They were forced to flee by
leaders and lapdogs of crooked leaders, like Najib, who did not
appreciate their attempts to highlight the injustice in the system. What
right to life did these young men have?
It was
Najib's profligacy with our money, and his failure to tackle corruption,
which are the root causes of the looming crises we now face. He held
the country to ransom with his narcissistic tendencies, such as his
superiority complex, his sense of entitlement and his attention-seeking.
‘Unrestrained splurge of spending’
Najib treated the Federal Treasury as his own personal kitty. His solution to the many problems we face, for example, the failure of Malay-owned businesses like Sapura or Boustead, was to throw more good money after bad.
He also went through an unrestrained splurge of spending. For their loyalty, cronies and allies were rewarded with inflated salaries for doing no work. Vulnerable opposition foes were bought off.
Until,
and unless, narcissists like Najib are stopped in their tracks, future
generations of Malaysians will be saddled with crippling debts, but more
importantly, the breed of leaders after him will continue to govern in
his style.
On the first day of his appeal, Najib was able to sense that
his freedom was fast slipping away from his grasp. He was also furious
that the judiciary was not playing ball. This is where we must be
careful. Desperate people will do desperate things because they have so
much to lose. The desperate Najib will try and drag as many people into
the gutter with him.
Hisyam Teh Poh Teik
It is impossible to imagine that seasoned lawyers like Hisyam Teh Poh Teik
and Zaid Ibrahim have been caught by surprise. They must have been
aware of the time constraints and that there was insufficient time to
prepare their submissions, and yet, they willingly offered to represent
Najib.
Theirs was no mistake, and they probably thought they could force the judges' hands and demand another adjournment. They failed.
To
make matters worse, Najib and his two lawyers tried to shift the blame
on the panel of judges. That was another wrong and stupid move.
Najib given a fair trial
From
day one, the judiciary ensured that Najib was given a fair trial. They
must have gritted their teeth at his numerous delay tactics, and when he
was late for his court appearance. They accommodated his many requests
because they did not want him to spring the accusation that they had
stopped him from having a fair trial.
At the time, many of us thought the judges were being too lenient. We now appreciate that they were just being careful.
If
Najib had any sense, he would have realised the folly of his ways and
stopped wasting our, and the court's time. Our patience is running thin.
Even
Najib's supporters are getting jaded. In July 2020, despite the
coronavirus pandemic, the court complex was swamped with his supporters.
On Aug 16, a mere handful turned up.
Najib has used
up all his nine lives. If he had any sense, he would just bite the
bullet, go to jail, and just get it over and done with. Why suffer more
mental stress? Why torture himself?
The drama does
not end with Najib, as the courts will be busy processing those closest
to him, both in his family and his party.
There is only one obstacle to Malaysia's healing process. Najib!
He must serve his sentence before we can return to the right path.
