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."
Southern Bank Master Card, Denial of Payment and Humiliation
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Denial of payment Southern Bank screwed up again. I paid my credit card dues online through Maybank2u, to Southern Bank on the 27th Dec 2006 @ 06.24 am, both for my principal card and my supplementary card (wife's) which amounted to a few thousand ringgit. By right Southern Bank should have received the amount transacted on the same day as the transaction was long before 12.00 pm on that day. I called them on the 28th and asked them on the status of my transaction, they told them they did not receive it. I called them again on the 29th Dec 2006 at 0930 hrs, they said that they had not received it and they had the temerity to suggest that I call Maybank.
I called Maybank, the Customer Care Service People , told me that they have records stating that my money had been transferred to Southern Bank. The Maybank people were very sympathetic to my inquiries. I called Southern Bank again, a Ms. Lin at this number +603-62047777, she responded by saying they had technical glitches. I asked then whether SBB would impose late payment charges, to which she responded that they would call me back. This was around 1050 hrs. I waited for the promised call, nothing happened. I called them again many times, they have this irritating voice mail, "Thank you for calling Direct Access, our customer relations officers are currently busy....blah...blah...I managed to get through at 1246, someone else answered, not Ms Lin, I asked to speak to her. Oh, pardon me she was out for lunch.
Okay fine, I tried again many times and went through the same irritating crap again, could not get through, I decided to have my lunch. Had a quick lunch and dialed Direct Access agin, at precisely 1447 hrs on my watch, I got through. The person who spoke to me did not identify herself, oh, yes she knew who I was. She said that they would call me by today. When I asked whether late payment charges would be imposed, she responded by saying that she would reccommend that those charges would be put aside. Reccommend, indeed !!!$%#% I checked with Maybank, they guaranteed me that my money was already with Southern Bank.
Until now Southern Bank has not called me. My phone bill just went haywire, many thanks to Southern Bank's inefficiency, which I can expect only from Government Departments, calling up so many people to find out what happened to my money. Serves me right too, for continuing to use the same bank, I am a sucker for punishment.
I would like to share another unpleasant experience I had with the Southern Bank Mastercard. This happened to me in the year 2002. It was an humiliating experience, the e-mail below was written to my friends to relate my experience with a copy to the bank. Do not trust a single credit card, in my case the Southern Bank Master Card. I am only posting this, so to let you know.
Humiliation
Wednesday,January 08, 2003 8:40 AM
Hi Guys, Happy New Year everyone ! I wish to relate to you all and share with you all, one of the most embarassing moments of my life, so that it will never happen to you. I have this credit card called Direct Access Master Card from Southern Bank. It is a gold card, with a credit limit of RM15,000/-. I was at Jusco in Ipoh with my family doing some shopping. Oh, before I forget, I assumed I had no outstanding payments to be made to Southern Bank Mastercard. Well, I approached the payment counter with the confidence of a guy who had no debts in this world. The cashier swiped the card into the reader, what came out was 'do not honour'.
I asked her to try again, the same thing appeared. It was a long queue, I actually wished that the floor would swallow me, everyone behind me in the queue was starring at me. My poor wife and kids were practically squirming with embarassment. Lucky for me I was carrying cash, which was just enough to cover my purchases. I called Direct Access on my handphone, they told me that I was outstanding on my payments. I asked them the amount I owed them.
Left : Click on image to enlarge. The one cent can be seen just above the dotted line.
They blocked my credit card, as I owed them the incredible amount of ONE CENT. I of course e-mailed them, asking them, why did they do this to me. Here is an extract of the reply, "The amount would have been the residue interest calculated by the system until you made your final payment". They are not even sure if you note "would have been", in the above sentence. They also had the nerve to use bad English to reply to my queries. "We apologised for the experienced that you had during the usage of the card". At that moment in time, I had never used that credit card. I for sure knew that I did not owe them the 1 cent.
So you know the quality of the people there. It is easy to apologise, but the damage had already been done. Do they really mean the so called 'sorry' sincerely. I for one doubt it. Anyway beware of this bank, the Southern Bank. Do not say I did not warn you.
There is an attachment, showing the amount due letter from Southern Bank, ONE CENT. Please pass this on to your friends
Regards, and I pray it does not happen to you all. Major(Rtd)D.Swami
