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."
Our leaders struggle to unite this fractious nation with the 3Rs (race, religion, royalty) influencing their every action. It does not help when the perennial issues of temples, forced conversions, halal food and dress codes keep cropping up to divide us on a regular basis.
Most
of the time, these conflicts are fanned by the same politicians who
know that the only way they can hang onto power is to drive a wedge
between us. They have no desire to be rid of the 3Rs.
We will
never know for sure if the temple issue was resolved amicably, although
everyone involved would like us to think so. Many of us suspect that the
usual carrot and stick approach was employed, with more emphasis on the
latter.
In
the past, “sensitive” issues involving temples or churches almost
always meant that the Muslims had the upper hand. They knew that they
had the power to do as they pleased.
Those who destroyed temple idols escaped scot-free because the perpetrators were alleged to be of unsound mind. Crosses on churches had to be moved.
Religious artefacts removed
At
my mission school in Ipoh, the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (aka
Main Convent), it was alleged that under orders from a former education
minister, religious artifacts from the school chapel were removed
without prior notice.
The nuns were unable to save the statues and
many religious and historical items, which date from when the school
first opened over a century ago. Workers dumped the items onto the back
of a lorry and then, onto a landfill.
Article 11 of the Federal
Constitution states that “every person has the right to profess and
practice his religion” but local councils and politicians have different
interpretations from us.
Just think about the havoc wreaked if mosques had to endure the same tribulations.
On
March 25, Anwar erroneously claimed that the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman
Temple had been built without permission, that it was an “illegal building” and that the nation should follow the rule of law.
His aides failed to advise him that the temple was built in 1893 and that the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) did not exist then.
In
his insistence that everyone observes the rule of law, will the prime
minister investigate how Jakel managed to purchase the land via closed
tender?
Double standards
Many Malaysians
are aware of the alleged close ties between Jakel's owners and a former
first lady. They know too that during the disgraced felon Najib Abdul
Razak’s tenure, tracts of prime land in KL were sold in allegedly suspicious transactions.
First,
the authorities declared the temple illegal. We then discovered that
the land had been quietly sold off to a high-profile crony company.
Arrogant PMX
Whilst
we are distracted by the turf wars over this temple, the irregularities
about Jakel's purchase of the land will probably be swept under the
carpet.
Anwar then had the cheek to urge Malaysians to live in
harmony. After all the angst, anger and breakdown in communication of
the previous weeks, the prime minister failed to appreciate that his
presence at the mosque's groundbreaking ceremony on March 27 was highly
provocative.
Displaying his usual arrogance, Anwar then claimed “victory”, all in the name of Islam and a two-tiered system of justice.
