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 social contract is ours to create by Commander (Rtd) S THAYAPARAN, formerly of the Royal Malaysian Navy
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
"Our masters have not heard the people's voice for generations and it is much, much louder than they care to remember." - Alan Moore (V for Vendetta)
COMMENT
At the recent homophobic and Anwar Ibrahim-bashing Himpunan Barisan
1Malaysia, the nebulous "social contract" was dusted off and like a real
document (which it is most certainly not), used to plead the Umno case.
University Sains Malaysia associate professor P Sivamurugan (right) sycophantically counseled
that "this social contract must be strengthened for greater
improvement," and to add to his rather disingenuous diatribe linking
criticisms of the so-called social contract to a misunderstanding of the
constitution, he weaseled in "it is up to majority who do (understand),
to defend the constitution".All
I can say is I hope right-thinking Malaysians don't shun (as per
Sivamurugan's advice) those critical of the social contract and its
willful conflation with the Malaysian constitution (by academics such as
him), people like Mavis Puthucheary. who was formerly associate
professor in Universiti Malaya's Faculty of Economics and
Administration, and who wrote ‘Malaysia's Social Contract - Exposing the
Myth Behind the Slogan'.
The central thrust of her argument is encapsulated (in my opinion) in two quotes which I reproduce here. The first: "Central to the narrative of the inter-ethnic bargain is the
power-sharing arrangement in which the leaders of the political parties
of the Alliance government set out the rules for the sharing of the
nation. Nation-building was based on the theme of the making and sharing
of nation among its multi-ethnic citizens within a framework which
entails the maintenance of the special position of the Malays. It was
clear that at the heart of the debate was the issue of power-sharing
between the two main ethnic groups, Malays and non-Malays, within a
democratic framework." And the second: "In the first 10
years after Independence, the balance of power between the two main
parties, Umno and the MCA, was more or less equal. After 1969, however
the balance of power within the ruling coalition shifted significantly
in favour of Umno and the political system itself became less
democratic. Although both parties fared badly in the 1969 elections,
Umno leaders who had secured control of the government concentrated
their efforts on regaining Malay support while still maintaining the
power-sharing structure. With the introduction of the New Economic
Policy and the extension of Malay privileges especially in the fields of
education and employment, Umno regained its popularity among the Malays
and consequently assumed a dominant position in the ruling coalition." A fool's endeavour ‘Malays' of course in this context should include the phenomenon of
constitutionally-created Malays and the exclusion of the other
bumiputeras - Orang Asli/the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak
which would skewer the demographic and make the concept of ‘Ketuanan
Melayu' as redundant as ‘Ketuanan Bumiputera' although the latter would
at least have some element of honesty in it. All
of which makes PKR's and PAS' reassurances to the ‘Malay' community,
that as the "majority" they would benefit the most under an affirmative
action programme rather problematic, but I digress. Another person who should not be shunned these days but is by Pakatan partisans, is blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK). In his seminal'You want to know about the Social Contract? Okay, let's study history'blog
posts, he took up Puteri Umno human resources bureau chief Fahariyah Md
Nordin suggestion to BN leaders to "educate" the young who are
‘ignorant" of history. This
being RPK, over the course of a few days he released the entire 33-page
Reid Commission's report and recommendations which led to the creation
of Malaya and is most connected with the so-called social contract. RPK also had the good sense to quote former prime minister Dr Mahathir
Mohamad who conceded that the social contract did not exist in written
form but was a verbal contract. All of this makes "strengthening" it a
fool's endeavour.
Let us assume that the social contract is not a
figment of Umno imagination but rather a "verbal" (sic) contract
negotiated and agreed to (by the ethnic power groups of the time) which
has been altered over the decades by Umno. Where do we go from here? New social contract In
the same event, Just World Movement president Chandra Muzaffar who
shared the stage with perennial virgin Umi Hafilda Ali and butt dancer
extraordinaire Mohd Ali Baharom (sheesh, if you judge a man by the
company he keeps...) asked, "What does the other side have?" Well, I may have an answer to that.What
the other side offers is a new social contract. What terrifies Umno is
that this is a social contract not based on appeasement or gratitude. It
is not a social contract that overtly alleviates one ethnic group over
the others. It is not a social contract that demands obedience in return
for peace. It is not a social contract brokered in secret in our names
for the division of power although the division of power is intrinsic in
this new social contract.
It
is not even a verbal contract. It is more of an unspoken understanding.
This understanding extends to the realpolitik of Malay rule because of
their "majority" status. However this understanding is cognisant of the
compromise that Malay rule does not mean Malay superiority. This
understanding openly acknowledges the tensions that arise out of a
multireligious country having as its backbone a fundamentalist Islamic
party as a possible governing party. The
numerous skirmishes over the role of Islam in the alternative alliance
is evidence that unlike the social contract of Umno, where Islam was
used as a tool to divide the country, Islam in this social contract is a
tool which would determine if the concepts of rights is applicable to
all or if Muslims would be forever segregated from the rest of their
countrymen. In other words, the nature of the discourse when it
comes to Islam is different. No longer are the non-Muslims who subscribe
to this social contract afraid to voice their concerns when it comes to
Islam intruding into their lives.There
may be the "separate but equal" camp but there is also a growing
movement which understands that the people most affected by Islam are
the Muslims themselves and that freedom of interpreting one's religion
should be a right extended to all. It is an
understanding of a sizeable section of the voting public in its support
of a disparate group of political parties divided along racial and
religious lines pursuing the ideal of good governance and accountability
as a route to peace and stability. and not the old social contract
which emphasised unequal racial power-sharing as a means to sustain
tolerance and economic co-dependency.
Voluntary participation This social contract was a long time in the making and perhaps found
expression in the political tsunami of 2008. However unlike the
Rukunegara which is only paid lip service, this social contract, our
social contract, is aspiration turned into action when we take to the
streets in support of Bersih, or Hindraf or vernacular school education
or the recent Himpunan Hijau march. It is an expression of
voluntary participation for goals that would benefit society and not
necessarily political parties. It is a new phenomenon in Malaysian
society where people shrug of their empathy and march for what they
believe in. It is not a social contract that has coverage in the
press or is explicitly expressed by opposition leaders. It is not a
social contract which we are told binds us but rather a contract that is
instinctively embraced by a certain section of the electorate of their
own free will. It is a social contract that means different
things to different people but at its core is a belief that mutual
cooperation in the face of diversity is a way out of the racial and
class quagmire that Umno and its social contract has bestowed us. It is there in the forums where race, religion or rule of law is
debated and which is predictably used by the current regime as
propaganda characterising those who attend as unpatriotic. However, like most contracts of this kind, it is flawed. At times, it is
myopic. At times, it relegates principle to the backburner in favour of
political expediency. At times, it is racist even though it claims
inclusiveness. At times, it is hypocritical in the way how it views the
conduct of Umno and Pakatan. The
good news is that it is a work in progress unlike the Umno social
contract, which is a sword of Damocles that hangs over our heads. Its
virtue is that it will continue evolving as long as those who subscribe
to it mature politically. Time is on this social contract's side. Chandra (left),
this is the social contract of the "creatures" you wish the majority
would reject. I think this is the greatest gift the political tsunami
has given to future generations of Malaysians. Or maybe I am wrong. Maybe Umno-BN is a virulent strain of chlamydia and Pakatan is a strong dose of Azithromycin. Malaysiakini
University Sains Malaysia associate professor P Sivamurugan (right) 
In
the same event, Just World Movement president Chandra Muzaffar who
shared the stage with perennial virgin Umi Hafilda Ali and butt dancer
extraordinaire Mohd Ali Baharom (sheesh, if you judge a man by the
company he keeps...) 
The
numerous skirmishes over the role of Islam in the alternative alliance
is evidence that unlike the social contract of Umno, where Islam was
used as a tool to divide the country, Islam in this social contract is a
tool which would determine if the concepts of rights is applicable to
all or if Muslims would be forever segregated from the rest of their
countrymen.
The
good news is that it is a work in progress unlike the Umno social
contract, which is a sword of Damocles that hangs over our heads. Its
virtue is that it will continue evolving as long as those who subscribe
to it mature politically. Time is on this social contract's side.
