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."
APRIL 2 ā Umno's newly-minted vice-president and Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was unhappy with the contents of history books and wanted ābetterā history lessons. Hishammuddin kicked up the fuss during his winding-up speech at the Umno general assembly when he said the party and the Malay Rulers were the only parties who fought for Malaysia's independence.
Obviously it wasnāt a brilliant statement. It got Umnoās ally MCA and other groups riled up, naturally. This also doesnāt augur well for Hishammuddin who by now should be a wiser person upon his graduation from the adolescent Umno Youth wing. Hishammuddin is the one who needs history lessons. Being the son of Tun Hussein Onn and grandson of Datuk Onn Jaafar, Hishammuddin should have known better than to make ridiculous and unsubstantiated remarks. What more when his grandfather Onn was the among the first patriots to fight for a multiracial and democratic government in this country; or should that fact be hidden from our history books now?
Onn founded Umno in 1946 during the campaign against the formation of the Malayan Union. Among a rather conservative Malay population, Onn promoted a view which was already popular at the time ā āRaja itu Rakyat, Rakyat itu Rajaā (The king is a citizen, and the citizens are king). It was a social contract of sorts upon which Umno was formed.
Together with his son Hussein, who was then Umno's secretary-general, Onn quit Umno in August 1951 due to irreconcilable differences with others in the leadership. Onnās idea was ahead of his time ā he wanted Umno to open its membership to non-Malays in an attempt to turn Umno into a multiracial organisation. Onn went on to establish the multiracial Independent Malayan Party (IMP), and subsequently Malay-majority Parti Negara. Both parties failed to win majority support. Communal politics was strong then, as it is still prevalent now. Perhaps Hishammuddin has forgotten that his grandfather Onn was not a member of Umno at the time Malaya achieved independence in 1957. The true Malayan patriot died a sad man in 1962. Continued here....
