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 - Johor protest vote will wake Harapan up By Andrew Sia
Tuesday, July 07, 2026
Malaysiakini : Just two months ago, Zahid said PAS had traitors within, and that blocked cooperation with Umno.
So why are BN and PAS now in a loving embrace? It's as if there was a secret āpolitical khalwat (close proximity)ā between the parties, which has now become pregnant with meaning for all to see.
PAS
pretended to be āholyā and honest to fight bribery, but now
passionately embraces what it had slammed as a tainted party. What a
joke.
Vote BN to free Najib
Not only do we get PAS by voting BN. Another bonus is that it may lead to Najib Abdul Razak being freed!
His son Nazifuddin said that a major BN win in Johor will send a āstrong signalā that the people āstill cherishā his father and want to see the former premier receive a royal pardon.
This āupgradesā BN to a three-in-one product of shampoo and conditioner plus moisturiser.
The extra ooomph is an indirect endorsement by PAS of the felon Najib.
Ex-PM Najib Abdul Razak
Both
of them did another backroom deal before the 2018 election. At that
time, PAS fielded candidates in so many unwinnable seats, hoping to suck
away Malay votes from Pakatan Harapan.
For this āfavourā, PAS allegedly received RM90 million from Umno.
But the move backfired spectacularly, and led to the splitting of Malay votes and the toppling of both Umno and Najib.
This
time in Johor, both PAS and Umno hope to consolidate the Malay vote
behind BN. But will voters approve of this twisted charade?
Damaged brand
Don't
forget that in the 2022 general election, PAS and Bersatu (Perikatan
Nasional) rode a āGreen Waveā to big gains with their slogan āPrihatin, Bersih, Stabilā or "Caring, Clean, Stable".
PN
was touted as the cleaner, more religious option than Umno, which
carried the baggage of mega scandals of 1MDB, Felda and missing combat
ships.
But with PASā latest embrace of Umno, will that damage the Green Wave brand?
Wasn't it bad enough with Bersatu (the Malay word for united) now becoming berpecah (broken) after the expulsion of its former deputy Hamzah Zainudin?
Will Malay voters wake up to the double talk of PAS, which changes its stand as the political winds blow?
PAS
went from supporting DAP in 2013, to then getting āmarriedā to Umno via
Muafakat Nasional in 2019. Then they broke up over PASā so-called
āinfidelityā with āthird partyā Bersatu.
This love-hate relationship now sees them hugging each other again, casting aside the jilted lover of Muhyiddin Yassinās party.
I can almost imagine PAS singing the song āPeaches and Herbsā:
I was a fool to ever leave your side, Me minus you is such a lonely ride, Reunited, and it feels so good, Reunited 'cause we understood, There's one perfect fit, And, sugar, this one is it.
Wounded Harapan
As for Harapan, political scientist Ong Kian Ming has predicted they will suffer a crushing defeat in Johor.
Harapan leader Anwar Ibrahim bent over backwards for over three years to please Umno and broke promises of reform.
PM Anwar Ibrahim campaigning for Harapan candidates in Johor
Supporters became angry, weakening Harapan. Then a well-fed reptile saw the chance to turn around and bite Anwar in Johor.
As the Malays say, āpadan mukaā or "serves you right".
Bersama underdogs
This gives space for Parti Bersama Malaysia to capture ādisillusioned votersā.
Not
only from those exasperated with Harapan's failures, but also from
those disenchanted with the cynical games of both PAS and Umno.
Bersama has succeeded in fielding 15 candidates in Johor, barely a month after being taken over by two former PKR leaders.
The
candidates were not chosen for political bootlicking, but based on
merit as self-made professionals, businesspeople who want real change.
The team is running on a shoestring budget, using unpaid volunteers and a rented truck as a mobile campaign platform.
This is because they refuse to take āpolitical donationsā from tycoons, which will come with demands for favours later.
āHow are big campaign events of other parties being funded?ā asked Bersama leader Rafizi Ramli in a ceramah.
In contrast, the party will reveal how it gets its funding and how it's spent, starting with the Johor election.
Rotan naughty kids
But why vote for Bersama when it only has modest aims to be a vocal opposition in Johor?
Because even if Harapan wins big in Johor, its power is limited as the palace has the final say.
As former Umno leader Puad Zarkashi claimed, āJohor Umno is controlled by the palace in making decisions.ā
Indeed,
even though Umno won a landslide victory of 40 of 56 seats in the last
state election, the party's choice of menteri besar was blocked by the
palace.
A Harapan win will only give sinking Anwar another breath of air, and lull him into thinking āall is fine, don't change things.ā
It's better to choose Bersama as a risk-free āprotest voteā to wake up Harapan.
Forget about the Islamic state fearmongering, as the palace is moderate and PAS is only contesting 11 seats anyway.
A
strong protest vote against Harapan is like giving a firm whack of the
rotan on a naughty boy's backside to make him change for the better.
Don't
worry, Harapan will still be there. But I hope that after a rude
āwake-up callā in Johor, the coalition will do real radical reforms in
its last year of power.
Then voters can decide if a new and improved āHarapan Baruā is still worth supporting.
