Link graphic for a KJB version Bible Verse that will be automatically updated when we update it from time to time
">


7th Rangers: Independence at 55: Form over substance by Commander (Rtd) S THAYAPARAN, formerly of the Royal Malaysian Navy
 
Fighting Seventh
The Fighting Rangers
On War, Politics
and Burning Issues
Profile
Miscellaneous

American Thinker
American
Newspapers Online

Arab News
Asia News
Asia Times
Assyrian News
BBC News
Breitbart News
British and
International
Newspapers Online

CAMERA
CBS News
City Journal
CNN
Christian Solidarity
International

Daily Caller
Daily Mail
DAP Malaysia
Dawn
Drudge Report
Dutch News
Faith Freedom
Ali Sina

Foreign Affairs
Forward
Fox News
Google News
Ground News
Guardian
Haaretz
Harakah Daily
English

Herald Malaysia
Hurriyet Turkey
History of Jihad
Independent
Indian Newspapers
Online

Inspire Magazine
IPOH Echo
International
Herald Tribune

Jerusalem Newswire
Jihad Watch
Local-
French News
In English)

London Times
Malaysiakini

Malaysian Insider
Malaysia
Centre for Policy
Initiatives

Free Malaysia Today
Malaysia Chronicle
Malaysia
-Sarawak Report

MEMRI TV
Middle East
Forum

Mission Network
News

MSNBC News
National Review
NEWSMAX
New York Post
New York Times
Nut Graph
Opinion Journal
Right Wing News
Spiegel
Star Online
Straits Times
Sun Malaysia
Sydney
Morning Herald

Telegraph
The Malay Mail
The Rebel Media
The Sun (UK)
Time
Times of India
Town Hall
US News
World Report

USA Today
VBS TV
Washington Post
Washington Times
World Net Daily
World
Watch Monitor

Yahoo News
Ynet News



No Atheists
In A Foxhole

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."

Proud To Have
Served With Warriors

Glorious
Malaysian Food
Foreign Bloggers + 1 Sarawakian
&
Other Stuff
Gaming

Major D Swami
WITH Lt Col Ivan Lee
Click Here

Lt Col Ivan Lee
you want him with
you in a firefight!!!!

Dying Warrior
xxxxxx
Condors-Infantry
Fighting Vehicles
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Camp
Bujang Senang
Click Here
xxxxxxxx
The A Team
Click Here
xxxxxxxx
Major General
Toh Choon Siang
Click here
Lieutenant General
Stephen Mundaw
Click Here
With His
Dying Breath
Killed in Battle
In Death
Last Thoughts
Before Battle
Whilst There Is
Life, There Is Fight

Not Done In Yet!!

Iban Trackers
XXXXXXXX
Facts On RoP
Hutang Negara
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Independence at 55: Form over substance by Commander (Rtd) S THAYAPARAN, formerly of the Royal Malaysian Navy
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
"The proverb warns that, ‘You should not bite the hand that feeds you.' But maybe you should, if it prevents you from feeding yourself." - Thomas Stephen Szasz

COMMENT
For some, Merdeka day was the day we matured as a nation. For others, it was marred by political one-upmanship and the disgraceful behaviour of certain celebrants. Unfortunately, the truth rarely rests somewhere in the middle. Never forget when it comes to politics, the middle is all about compromise. For the past 55 years, we lived with moderation and tolerance. If you are non-Malay, you were told to be grateful to the hosts of this land for being allowed to live here in peace and harmony. The so-called social contract (sic), a nebulous figment of political imagination, was conflated with certain elements of the Malaysian constitution which then become the barometer of how racial relations were governed in this country.

This Merdeka day celebrations was the harbinger of the shape of things to come. What it demonstrates is that ‘Janji Ditepati' has fallen apart and the Umno centre cannot hold. For a certain section of the Malaysian voting public, it was a jubilant moment of redefining the Malaysian centre from one of appeasement and tolerance to that of unity in racial and economic diversity, and the hope of a more egalitarian way of Malaysian life. Understand now, that I think the ‘opposition' is not there yet in fulfilling those expectations, seeing as how they are playing the same race game but for a certain section of the ordinary rakyat who believes in that ‘hope', it was a night of brotherhood and affirmation that the tsunami of 2008 was a watershed moment that heralded a new Malaysian dawn.

Predictably Umno stayed true to form. The events leading up to Merdeka eve was the usual partisanship of Umno/BN malfeasances and Pakatan Rakyat showboating. From hijacking the national day theme to alternate slogans, the whole thing was a shadow play of self-serving politics masquerading as patriotism. Of course, since our history is that of the manufactured kind, most people seemed more interested in form than substance. I have always been deeply sceptical of shows of patriotism because mostly it's jingoism in a cheap dress, but this year there was an undercurrent of genuine sincerity of love of country.

For a certain section of the Malaysian polity, it was more than just a day of remembering independence from colonialism but it was also day of declaring independence from Umno hegemony.

For others who view the current political discord as something of an aberration in Malaysian politics - in every country in the world political differences are the norm but here in Malaysia, after years of Umno/BN haranguing its considered anathema - it was a night that the ‘opposition' hijacked an event which was supposed to be an opportunity for national unity for political mileage.

Change of leadership


The fact that Umno for one night could not bring these two opposing forces together in a symbolic show of national unity is just further evidence that the first step for a new Malaysia is for the people to get used to the idea that a two-party alliance competing for stewardship of this country is the panacea for years of BN rule.

Bear in mind that this is not an endorsement of Pakatan (although admittedly I am a reluctant partisan) merely my belief that the first step for all of us (pro-BN and pro-Pakatan) to progress after years of apathy is to practise the most basic of democratic principles - a change of leadership. Merdeka eve provided much amusement. Take this whole mooning pictures of our glorious leader and his wife tempest in a tea cup. The term "biadap" (how I loathe that term seeing as how it is loaded which the usual Malaysian hypocrisy that passes as "values") has been thrown about to describe the action of the dumb kid who found it necessary to make an arse of himself by exposing his ass.

Commenters in Malaysiakini and elsewhere either praise the action as the frustrated howl of a young person appalled at the excess of the Umno regime or heap scorn on him as someone who is rude and out of Malaysian character. For the former, spare me the uber liberal chest thumping of freedom of speech/expression and thumbing the nose at authority. It was an example of both, but it is a dumb example at best which tarred the better example of those attending the event despite the fact that the rally was declared "illegal" and the always present threat of violence when it comes to defying this regime.

And thank you Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat for pointing out that engaging in such acts "... is not the work of Malays and Muslims. "This is very shameful and saddening, the photograph that I saw was not of Malay (the perpetrators of the act). We Muslims are taught not to disturb others. If others do it to us, we will get angry."

Perhaps Tok Guru was not furnished with pictures of those Malay/Muslim university students who engaged in an orgy of hate against the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual) community, certain opposition personalities and social activists, burning and shredding pictures and engaging in the most hateful of rhetoric. And then of course, there are the never ending disruptions by Perkasa and their ilk of opposition ceramahs. Remember folks, the red paint on the bus is probably the work of "biadap" non-Malay/Muslims because it's not in the culture of the Malays to engage in such activity.

And this exemplifies the hypocrisy of the latter when it comes to the action of that dumb kid. Pro-regime blogs have drawn attention to the "jambu-ness" of the dumb kid, which fits in nicely with the homophobic narrative and the disdain of the ‘other' which Umno peddles, which is more often than not ignored by the so-called inclusive majority of Pakatan.

Arresting
the mooning kid when there are a slew of politically motivated acts of disruption against Pakatan which goes unnoticed should be embarrassing to the PDRM but as is, it is just business as usual for a police force compromised by Umno. There really is nothing more to say except to see how it plays out for a kid who got caught up in the heat of the moment while the outsourced thugs of Umno are free to spread their hate, secure in the knowledge that the Umno state will never lift a finger against them, all part of ‘janji ditepati', I suppose. This is why when an example of a true spirit of Merdeka is presented to Malaysian partisans in the form of those four transsexuals challenging Islamic doctrine in the courts, it is met with silence or hate.

Honestly, what they are doing (dare I say it?) takes cojones and to me is an act of defiance against the established social order, and regardless of one's views on sexuality and gender, a hardcore example of fighting for one's rights. If this does not exemplify the spirit of Merdeka, I don't know what does.

Manufactured controversy
But what really made the night memorable for me are those kids who hoisted the
Sang Saka Malaya flag. Not only were they drawing attention to the history of this country which has been deliberately buried, they were also challenging the ideological status quo by reminding anyone who bothered to look that the ‘Malay' polity was never a monolithic entity made up entirely of Umno or PAS.

Now that, my friends, are symbolic gestures worthy of praise depending on your political bent. The fact that the PDRM and the home minister are painting this episode in the bright Umno colours of political subversion - hey it is - and accusations of flag changing (so what if it is) just proves that BN will manufacture any controversy on the filmiest of foundations to fire up the indignation of its supporters in the hopes that this would translate to legitimacy. I have written about the destruction of the Left by Umno/BN but what is really was, was the destruction of the idea of a polychromatic Malay community and the creation of the myth of the monolithic Malay community under siege by the avarice of the non-Malay "pendatangs".

What those kids managed to do was for a brief moment remind Malaysians that there has always been a diversity of opinion in the Malay community and the Malaysian political and social landscape, and that is where our possible salvation lies. Merdeka for a long time was a rote exercise with everyone going through the motions either in apathy or secure self-entitlement. For the first time in decades, people were forced to question their own beliefs and put in the hard work of actually committing to principles they took for granted or to which they only paid lip service.

With all the controversies and the bickering, with all the partisanship and acrimony, Malaysians for the first time no matter which side of the political divide they were on, were confronted with the reality that people have different ideas of how best to chart the future of this country.

The greatest thing about Merdeka this year was that for the first time since Independence, it truly was about something. Malaysiakini


posted by Major D Swami (Retired) @ 7:00 PM  
1 Comments:
  • At 10:30 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Sir-- all the mess n problems are created BY WHO== the coalition clowns>>economic destruction, poverty ,corruption n social division<< etc.. so what is the solution then,, in the CORPORATE world-- the answer is simple-- sacked them>> the solution for our nation is simple-- unseat BN in GE 13,, let the sea water from south china sea washed away the corrupted leadership n bring forth fresh HOPE n anew dawn for our nation>> all malaysians should see the bigger picture for the nation future<< a rich nation plundered by the corrupted leadership.. enough lah

     
Post a Comment
<< Home
 
ARCHIVES


Previous Post
Indian Soldiers
World War 1
Links To Rangers
Military Related Links


End of a Saracen
East Malaysian
Warriors
Blow Pipe
xxxx
xxxx
Lieutenant Colonel
Zulkapli Abdul Rahman
Click Here
Lieutenant Colonel
Harbhajan Singh
Click Here
Heads from the Land
of the Head Hunters
Heads
20 Harrowing Images
Vietnam War

Creme De La Creme-Click here

Killing Time
Before Deployment

Lt Col Idris Hassan
Royal Malay
Regiment
Click Here

Also Known as
General Half Track

Warriors
Dayak Warrior
Iban Tracker with
British Soldier

Showing the
British Trooper
what a jackfruit is!!

Iban Tracker

A British Trooper training
an Iban Tracker

Iban Tracker

Tracker explaining
to the British Soldier who
knows little about tracking

Iban Tracker
Explaining to the
British Trooper the meaning
of the marks on the leaf

Iban Tracker
Aussie admiring
Tracker's Tattoos

Lest We Forget Major Sabdin Ghani
Click Here
Captain Mohana Chandran
al Velayuthan (200402) SP
Ranger Bajau
ak Ladi PGB
Cpl Osman PGB

Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
Photobucket
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Advertistment
XXXXXXXX
Powered by

Free Blogger Templates

BLOGGER

google.com, pub-8423681730090065, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 <bgsound src="">