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."
The Armed Forces in Umno quagmire by Commander (Rtd) S THAYAPARAN, formerly of the Royal Malaysian Navy
Sunday, November 11, 2012
"Military guys are rarely as smart as they think they are, and
they've never gotten over the fact that civilians run the military." - Maureen Dowd COMMENT The
recent statement by Navy chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar as to the
justification of the acquisition of the Scorpene submarines is further
evidence that our armed forces is mired in the political quagmire that
Umno finds itself in. The controversial purchase, not to mention
operational efficiency, of these submarines pales in comparison to the
politicisation of our security apparatus, which has reached
unprecedented depths unheard of in so-called functional democracies.
Is this evidence of what Prime Minister Najib Razak aspires to as the best democracy in the world? Abdul Aziz (right),
if you remember was one of the service chiefs lined up behind (looking
rather sheepish) Armed Forces chief General Zulkifeli Mohd Zin when he made an emotional appeal,
which also included subtle threats and comments which were
unacceptable, not to mention unprofessional, for an officer holding the
highest rank in the military to make. He made this appeal when
confronted with accusations by retired service personnel of vote/voter
manipulation in the armed forces.
The fact that these retired personnel made the accusationsat
a press conference organised by the opposition should not detract from
the fact that these accusations should have immediately been
investigated by an independent panel to maintain the integrity of the
armed forces. Access to Scorpene subs
Zulkifeli's
characterisation of the actions of these retired personnel as disloyal
(treacherous) and haranguing of the opposition was beyond the pale.
Of course, the Armed Forces chief was silent when Perkasa chief Ibrahim
Ali hinted that he would be in a better position to retain his seat if
there was amilitary basein his Pasir Mas constituency. My response
to General Zulkifeli's press conference was predictably ignored by the
mainstream media and was published by a pro-opposition blogger.
Now, before I am accused (being a former naval officer) of playing
politics, I have never claimed of being anything but a Pakatan Rakyat
supporter and let us not forget that a pro-regime blogger was allowed
access to the submarines, chatted with the crew and published his 'exclusive' in his blog. I guess the Official Secrets Act does not come into play when BN partisans are concerned.
This
episode was noteworthy because the defence minister had some other
urgent business that day but Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had no
problem observing the operational efficiency of the vessels, which had
been questioned in the mainstream and alternative press.
During my tenure onboard the KD Hang Tuah,
where I was the executive officer, Abdul Aziz was then a young sub
lieutenant. What is interesting about Abdul Aziz is that he is the first
locally trained officer to be appointed Navy chief (he graduated from
the training establishment KD Pelanduk). The late
Captain ‘Dick' Khoo Tee Chuan built from the ground up the training
establishment which started out as the Cadet and Recruit Training
Establishment (Cart) and later commissioned as KD Pelanduk. So much for the idea that the non-Malays are not patriotic enoughas espoused by Defence Minister Zahid Hamidi. But I digress. 'Ethnic poisoning'
Much has been made of the 1511 statement
of Abdul Aziz, but what is worrying as pointed out by a former senior
(rtd) Malay officer from the Ranger Regiment is that the statement
itself in all its historical distortions is an overt ploy to play to the
racial sentiments of the Malay polity. Or should that be the Umno Malay
polity? Do not believe anyone who tells you that the security
apparatus of a state, or any state anywhere in the world, is
"apolitical". The armed forces do the bidding of its elected civilian
masters. But what they don't do is engage in the political process on
behalf of their political masters. This gives the illusion of
"apoliticalness" but the reality is to varying degrees, the armed forces
in most functional democracies are used as tools by their political
masters to further their own political agendas.
In
most functional democracies, either the legislative or judiciary act as
safeguards to ensure that the military is not suborned to the political
process but at the end of the day, most often it is the individual in
the military who has to exercise commitment to principle. This is done
through training and an understanding of the historical traditions of
the role of the military. In Malaysia, not only has the security
apparatus been politicised but after prolonged ‘ethnic poisoning' as I
like to refer to it as the whole military establishment is considered by
Umno as merely an extension of its hegemony.
Our so-called
affirmative action policies that are in reality ethnic job placements
policy, has resulted in the lopsided racial make-up of our security
apparatus, which in turn has been against the non-Malays as evidence
that they are not patriotic enough. Umno dogma has replaced the ideals
of impartiality, and loyalty to Umno is equivalent to loyalty to king
and country. So it should surprise no one that we have former military personnel of one ethnic group reborn as butt dancers disgracing their previous occupation in the name of defending the "honour of the country".
When you have the likes of Ridhuan Tee Abdullah who lectures at the National Defence University and whose books ‘Masih Adakah Ketuanan Melayu?' and ‘Cabaran Saudara Baru di Malaysia'
are launched at the Defence Ministry; I think it's safe to assume that
the corridors of Umno power and the halls of the military intersect.
Ridhuan's academic specialty is ‘Politik dan Kerajaan' and ‘Politik
Islam'.
Monetary rewards
But of course, there is more to it than just systemic discrimination.
Money plays a big part and gone are the days when you retire from the
armed forces and survive on your pension. These days there's good money
to be made while serving and once you leave service, lucrative jobs in
various government-linked companies (GLCs) await. Full
disclosure: I was for a brief period, because of my gunnery
specialisation, a consultant to a local agent for an international
company involved in arms procurement.
I
suspect readers understand why no officers of flag rank ever speaks out
on issues such as these. The answer is of course because they are
indebted to the system. Not only them, but their progeny who hold
influential positions in the various GLCs and private companies that
their parents served upon retiring.
As one officer of flag rank cynically told me, "You don't expect them to pour sand in their caviar bowls, do you, Thaya?"
I
expected this answer. In my experience, senior officers would rather
complain privately than make their contempt public. The reason for their
demureness is monetary in nature. Understand now, that there
are many honourable retired security personnel of various ranks who are
not indebted to the Umno system and who make their contempt known in the
ballot box. They do not speak out for various reasons. These men and
women quietly continue contributing to the country in other capacities
much like they did when they were in service.
I never appreciated this Herman Wouk quote from ‘The Caine Mutiny' (a book I revisit often) until I left the service and over the years, watched what it had transformed into.
The
quote is as follows: "The Navy is a master plan designed by geniuses
for execution by idiots. If you're not an idiot but find yourself in the
Navy, you can only operate well by pretending to be one." Malaysiakini
Is this evidence of what Prime Minister Najib Razak aspires to as the best democracy in the world? Abdul Aziz (right),
if you remember was one of the service chiefs lined up behind (looking
rather sheepish) Armed Forces chief General Zulkifeli Mohd Zin when he 
