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."
Umno president Ahmad
Zahidi Hamidiās censure of BN leaders at the MIC congress was treated as
a gaffe - by his comrades. But deep down, if the leader is going to go
down, he is likely to expect them for company.
Why didnāt any of
those named stand up and object or protect? Only after the furore was
blown to smithereens did anyone react ā that too claiming it was a joke.
Umno president Ahmad Zahidi Hamidi
Elsewhere,
it seems that the aborted attempt in 2018 to ratify the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
(Icerd) was carried out by a ghost.
The game of finger-pointing
continues and almost everyone is in denial mode. The DAP said it was not
involved. Saifuddin Abdullah (who served as foreign minister during the
Pakatan Harapan administration) pointed to P Waythamoorthy (former
national unity minister) who immediately gave a brisk reprimand.
Doesnāt
anyone have the gall and gumption to take responsibility and give
reasons for doing so? No, thatās not their style and expect the expected
ā people forget.
Then, there are DAPās Selangor chairperson
Gobind Sigh Deo and national secretary-general Anthony Loke DAP.
Collectively, they canāt give plausible reasons for dropping incumbent
Klang MP, Charles Santiago.
They talk about āhe knew he would be
droppedā since 2008 but why? Did he go against the party or was he
involved in nefarious activities to require him to stand down?
Or simply put, did Charles refuse to align himself with any of the
factions in the party or he refused to kowtow and pay homage to certain
leaders? We can only speculate when no reasons are offered
Interestingly, Loke justified dropping another - the incumbent MP for Bentong,
Wong Tack, because he was ānot that popular on the groundā and a survey
that they conducted indicated ālow levels of satisfaction with his
performance.ā
Caught in the crossfire
But in Klang,
no survey was conducted and the people have openly stated their stance.
Voters from across the communities want him to remain as MP. It is
reflective of the manās commitment to service and his integrity.
Incumbent Klang MP Charles Santiago
His
magnanimity can be measured by his statement (after being dropped) that
he is committedā to democracy and its principles and accepted the
decision of the party.
Who knows better - the people whom Charles spoke for or party leaders who seldom step foot in the area?
Then,
thereās this theory of introducing fresh faces being bandied about.
Really? What about other old horses who have served longer?
It
would certainly be not right to question the decision of the party but
when it goes around advocating and propagating openness and listening to
the people. Whereās the principle of practising what you preach?
With
the election days away, many have shot themselves in their feet and
others have been caught in the crossfire and a handful maimed by a
friendly power.
So, is this much-talked-about honesty and openness
for real? If they cannot be open on matters of selection, what about on
more important matters being elected to office or even forming the
government?