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."
Malaysia is a Constitutional Democracy and Not an Islamic State
Thursday, August 30, 2007
The Christian Federation of Malaysia wishes to express its concern at the following remarks of Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak on 17th July 2007 in response to questions from reporters:
āIslam is the official religion and Malaysia is an Islamic State, an Islamic State that respects the rights of the non-Muslims and we protect them.ā
As he is the Deputy Prime Minister of the country and for all Malaysians, he should not have made those remarks. The use of the term āIslamic Stateā is unacceptable to Malaysians of other faiths, on three grounds.
Firstly, the term āIslamic Stateā is not used in our Federal Constitution to describe the country. By citing Art. 3(1) of our Federal Constitution to infer that Malaysia was meant to be an Islamic State runs contrary to the original intention of the Constitution. The Constitution does not provide for a theocratic state.
Secondly, it was never the intention of the social contract entered into at the independence of Malaysia that Malaysia would be an Islamic State. The Constitution was structured to guarantee the right of all religious communities to co-exist and relate with each other on an equal basis as citizens of one and a united country.
Thirdly, to-date, the non-Muslim coalition parties that make up the Barisan National Government had never consented nor officially endorsed the use of the term āIslamic Stateā to describe the country. The Deputy Prime Ministerās statement must therefore be viewed as lacking official endorsement by the government of the day.
The Christian Federation of Malaysia appeals to the Deputy Prime Minister to retract his aforesaid remarks and to the government to refrain from the use of the term āIslamic Stateā in the description of Malaysia and instead to vigorously advocate the description of Malaysia as a secular constitutional democracy.
Bishop Dr. Paul Tan Chee Ing, SJ Chairman, Christian Federation of Malaysia
