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."
Bishops expose ploy to convert under-aged students to Islam (Part 1) by Bob Teoh
Sunday, February 24, 2013
The Catholic Church in Sabah has exposed a covert ploy to convert under-aged students to Islam in Labuan. In a strongly worded letter signed by the four Roman Catholic bishops
of Sabah, they complained that non-Muslim students at the Labuan
Matriculation College between 17 and 18 years old, "are constantly
subjected to various forms of harassment, ridicule and pressure to
change their religion." The residential college is under the matriculation division of the
Ministry of Education and has an enrolment of 2,771 students from
Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan.
About half of them are Catholics and
Protestants and the rest made up of Muslims other than 77 of them who
are Buddhists. According to the latest issue of "Catholic Sabah," the fortnightly
newsletter of the ecclesiastical province of Kota Kinabalu, the letter
dated 5 October last year was published two weeks later in the Herald,
the Kuala Lumpur-based Catholic weekly newsletter. The letter was jointly signed by Rev Datuk John Lee, who recently
retired as Archbishop of Kota Kinabalu, Rev John Wong, Coadjutor
Archbishop of Kota Kinabalu, Rev Datuk Cornelius Piong, Bishop of
Keningau, and Rev Julius Dusin Gitom, Bishop of Sandakan.
Following the expose by the four bishops and publication of their
letter, the education authorities responded by sending a senior
delegation last month led by Dr Sariah Abdul Jalil from the Ministry of
Education which included Sawan@ Rizal bin Amil, the director of the
college and its deputy, Kamarudin Mansur, and five other key personnel
from the college for a discussion with the Sabah Catholic Church to
"thrash out certain issues" according to Catholic Sabah. The two-hour meeting was described by the newsletter as "frank and
cordial while affirming that the (Catholic) Church is committed to
ensuring that the religious rights of all non-Muslims are not being
eroded." "The discussion on the protection of rights for the students also
included the rights of the students to a safe and conducive learning
environment, one that is free from harassment, intimidation and
pressure," the newsletter said.
"The right to attend religious services without students losing out
in additional classes or activities conducted by the college on weekends
was also highlighted," it added. The newsletter also said another highlight of the discussion was the
right of the students to hold discussions, prayer meetings and services
in the college and to form an association as provided for under the
Educational Institutions (Discipline) Act 1976. It also said the right to protection for non-Muslim lecturers and
students who speak out against religious harassment was also raised
during the discussions. Those familiar with such matters said in the
past, any Christian teacher, especially those from Peninsular Malaysia
would be given a 24-hour transfer notice from the Education Department
if they raised such issues or complaints while serving in schools in
Sabah or Sarawak.
When the issue first surfaced sometime in the middle of last year,
the information was that an under-aged Catholic student and three more
from the Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) of Sabah were converted to Islam
without the knowledge or consent of their parents. Subsequently, the
number involved proved to be more.
The newly formed NECF-COSA or National Evangelical Christian
Fellowship Commission of Sabah Affairs took up the case but did not
proceed further due to lack of information. The matter was then referred
to the Sabah Council of Churches. It was at this stage that the
Catholic Church decided to conduct full scale probe into the matter that
led to the four bishops issuing their joint letter together with a full
report.MYsinchew
