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."
COMMENT - Real 'harapan' with Rafizi's Bersama? By Andrew Sia
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Malaysiakini : Many Pakatan Harapan core supporters, especially the non-Malays, are
angry that the prime minister has largely allowed racial hate speech to
run free, instead of enforcing existing laws against such provocations.
We
feel taken for granted, as the cynical calculation has been that we
have nobody else to vote for, since PAS is worse. Meanwhile, DAP is a Dilemma Action Party caught between reform demands and Malay racial politics.
But
now, Rafizi has launched Bersama, which offers a real alternative for
all races. To use the lingo of cowboy movies, thereās a ānew sheriffā in
town.
Sky-high medical insurance
Hot
racial issues have grabbed attention, but I am more worried about the
creep and creepiness of big money on government policy. For example, why
is medical insurance skyrocketing under the Madani government?
An overview in The Edge
summed up the sad situation: government officials, private hospitals
and insurance companies all blame each other. Hospitals point to
insurersā higher profits. Insurers accuse hospitals of jacking up bills.
Both blame āglobal medical cost inflationā.
Doctors have told me
that even if some of their colleagues want to be honest, private
hospitals pressure them to āboost revenueā with KPIās on ordering MRIs,
CT scans etc.
Given
such profiteering, we expect Putrajaya to step in as a guardian of
public interest. But what if health industry towkays have made
āpolitical donationsā to influence policy?
This is notorious in the United States, where big health corporations have given huge legal bribes called ācampaign contributionsā to ensure that medical bills stay sky high.
But surely, such a disease has not affected our āhighly moralā Madani government?
Well,
letās see. A law was proposed to stop the sale of cigarettes and vapes
to youths born after Jan 1, 2007. Yet, the deputy health minister admitted that lobbying by the tobacco industry killed this proposal.
Money politics
Umno is infamous for money politics, but it may have infected PKR too. Rafizi revealed there is a culture of ākepit beg duit bawah ketiakā (clutching a money bag under the armpit) when going round to buy support.
To combat this disease, he explained
that Bersama will be the first party with a constitution where
leadership must be based on merit and hard work, not goodies given out.
But there is a ādeep stateā in Malaysia of powerful vested interests which is resistant to change. Can that be overcome?
Perhaps thatās why Bersama has announced a rather modest 12-point agenda that includes free preschools for children, more government doctors to reduce waiting times and improvements in education.
These
are technocratic issues and wonāt really dethrone the deep state, but
the 12 points will really help people. So, it's doable.
I believe Bersama has competent and committed leaders to achieve this ā unlike our education minister, who rushed to start āPendidikan Karakterā after cases of school rapes and bullying.
But can Bersama even win? Rafizi has said they are on a ākamikaze missionā, and it doesnāt matter if they all lose.
For
me, whatās crucial is that we finally have a party to pressure Harapan
to do more progressive reforms, rather than bending over backwards to
please Umno, which has betrayed Madani in Johor and Negeri Sembilan.
Kingmakers in hung Parliament?
Rafizi,
Nik Nazmi and eight other PKR MPs in his camp already have 10 seats.
This number could swell because the huge group called Pamu (Parti Aku Malas Undi ie non-voters) was 24 percent of the electorate in 2022.
They could be energised to go to the polls and drive Bersama to victory in 15 to 25 mixed seats.
This
will put the party in a ākingmakerās positionā because the next
elections are not expected to have a clear winner, given the
multi-cornered fights involving Umno/BN, Harapan, PAS and Bersatu, which have āberpecahā (broken up) with Hamzah Zainudinās faction.
In
that scenario, Bersama can insist that any coalition they join must do
certain reforms, just as small groups like the Green Party of Germany
have done. The party would live up to its kancil or mousedeer logo of
outwitting bigger opponents.
If DAP decides to walk out of the Madani government at their upcoming July congress, they may want to ask: do they want to sink with a tainted Anwar? Or find alternatives?
Some people say Rafizi is clever but arrogant. But I prefer āsincere sombongā to ācharming cunningā. Former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew was also arrogant, but he got the job done.
Half
of Malaysians are under 31. But the leaders of PAS, PKR and Bersatu are
all around 79 years old. Will they take short-term moves to stay in power, without bothering about future problems after they have passed on?
The
ultimate dream is of a new wave to sweep away our worn-out politics.
The launch of Bersama focused on Gen Z, Gen Alpha and new solutions.
Rafizi
himself has cited how voters who wanted true change have propelled
various reformists to surprising victories over the status quo. These
include Zohran Mamdani in New York, Move Forward in Thailand and
recently, Joseph Vijayās TVK party in Tamil Nadu.
Do we dare to dream of something bigger than voting for the āleast badā option?
