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."
Anwar cannot even utter Akmal's name By Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Malaysiakini : This is what the tyranny of the majority looks like.
Indeed, so
silent have the prime minister and his lackeys been on Akmal’s
provocation against the non-Malays and how biased the state has been
against supposed transgression by non-Muslims compared to the Malays,
there is only one conclusion - this is the will of Madani.
DAP lawmaker Ramkarpal Singh asked
why there has been no action against Akmal. The only response to
Ramkarpal should be, Why don’t you answer this for the rakyat since you
are also part of Madani?
Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh
Ramkarpal
is supposed to take care of the interests of the non-Malays. Instead,
he is posing questions as if he has no power to act within this
government.
I doubt anything will come of a police investigation against Akmal or even a prosecution if there is one.
Misusing the flag
Now
that we have seen the discrepancies in the way Madani chooses to
persecute different groups when it comes to the flag, let us talk about
the Jalur Gemilang.
What are the ideas behind it that its
so-called defenders want to inculcate? Everyone is supposed to be equal
before the national flag, but does reality reflect that?
Does this value apply in the way that the Madani state chooses to sanction people who have supposedly disrespected the flag?
Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh (centre) during a protest over an inverted Jalur Gemilang in Kepala Batas, Penang last week
What
Akmal has done is made the Jalur Gemilang symbolise bully boy tactics,
reminding the non-Malays of their place in Madani society.
Think about how shops closed before this so-called rally. The fear and anxiety it has created among the people in putting up the flag.
Think
about the reasons behind the person who uploaded the video in the first
place. Why didn’t he or she correct the video after the store owner explained why the flag was upside down? There appears to be malice.
Akmal also referred to the tax-paying Malaysian who made the blunder as “ah pek”.
Remember when he once said that the government should create a
non-halal logo and paste it on Kok’s forehead, referring to her as ”Nyonya tua” (old Nyonya)?
Akmal
has also thumbed his nose at the state security apparatus. Are these
the values that the Jalur Gemilang represents? More importantly, are
these the values that Madani represents?
Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh
Remember when academic Tajuddin Rasdi expressed his deep shame at the way Sin Chew Daily was treated over its flag mistake?
In response to him, Perkasa information chief Irwan Fahmi Ideris
said, “Today, Malaysians - especially Malays - have been too tolerant
with various issues such as KK Mart, and have now reached a tipping
point when the national flag has been desecrated by those who purposely
want to enrage the Malays.
“How can Malays be called ‘vindictive’ for wanting to defend the nation’s dignity?”
Anwar and DAP
What
about DAP? Political operatives like Akmal understand that it really
does not matter what they do because the DAP base will not punish the
party.
This is unlike the Malay majority polity, who have
demonstrated their willingness to shift their support to whatever
reactionary Malay party they think best serves their interests.
Anwar
played the liberal, reformist, and progressive Muslim when he was on
the campaign stump, and this elevated him to cult-like status amongst
the non-Muslims.
But after coming into power, either as a
handmaiden to the old maverick or into his own, his obsession with
securing the Malay vote has driven him and Pakatan Harapan further
right.
This has been accepted by the non-Malay Harapan base but met with indifference by a majority of Malays.
The
Chinese may have put him in power, but playing the racist game to get
the Malay vote is self-defeating for a variety of reasons.
At this point, the dynamic between the prime minister and Akmal is like how Umno presidents used to play this sandiwara
(drama) were the youth wing president took shots at the party big
cheese in an attempt to demonstrate that the wing was grassroots
agitators who were the footsoldiers of the party but ultimately loyal to
the president and his agenda.
Remember when Akmal claimed that Anwar understood the BN way
of doing things when the prime minister said - “We must offer positions
to qualified individuals as a gesture of appreciation for their decades
of commitment and sacrifice.”
No demand from DAP?
DAP
secretary-general Anthony Loke is demonstrating some fortitude now, but
why doesn’t he just go to the prime minister to demand action on Akmal?
In the KK Mart fiasco,
Loke said he met with the Umno grand poobah. The prime minister is
supposed to be the most powerful in this coalition government, so why
didn’t DAP, which has the bigger voting bloc, bypass Umno and tell the
prime minister to control his Madani members?
DAP sec-gen Anthony Loke (right) with PM Anwar Ibrahim and other DAP leaders
But then again, seeing as how Anwar was silent when the cars of a DAP political operative were firebombed,
perhaps running to the prime minister about a Chinese businessperson
being targeted for a mistake he had already profusely apologised for is
not such a great idea.
Various DAP Youth branches have called on the party to cut ties with Akmal and Umno Youth, which misses the point.
Enabling Umno
This
is about how Madani is enabling Umno and its politics of hate. The
funny thing is, if it wasn't for Akmal, Madani could coast along while
dodging most jabs thrown its way.
Akmal and Umno have destroyed
this Merdeka month. Merdeka years gone have always been stodgy but
palatable spectacles, at times even inspiring enthusiasm. However, this
year, all Madani has done by enabling Akmal is remind everyone of the
toxic racial politics.
At this point, Lawyers for Liberty director Zaid Malek is doing more for the cause of democracy and the non-Malay community than DAP and Madani.
LFL’s Zaid Malek at a counter rally to Akmal’s protest in front of a hardware store in Kepala Batas, Penang on Thursday
The
prime minister, his minister of communication and various factotums in
Madani have been quick to censure what they deem threatening to the
country’s political stability.
Then why the silence when it comes
to Akmal? What happens if his actions one day result in a racial riot?
This would be a convenient way for Madani to introduce more regressive
policies at the expense of democracy in this country.
This is why
someone like Akmal is dangerous. At best, the prime minister really does
not care what happens to an insignificant Chinese trader or at worst,
he really cannot do anything about Akmal.
