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."
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and other relevant ministers must immediately answer for the current drama in Lahad Datu. It is totally unacceptable for the BN government to take a dilly-dally
attitude following the intrusion of "armed men" from the Philippines. The BN government's ‘gentle approach' would certainly backfire because
it looks like a tactical strategy to scare Sabahans into voting for them
in the 13th general election. Under the Laws of Malaysia Act 37
Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 - incorporating all amendments
up to Jan 1, 2006, "unlawful possession of firearms" in contravention of
the Arms Act 1960 is punishable by death penalty, imprisonment for
life, or 10 to 14 years imprisonment with whipping with not less than
six strokes of the rattan depending on the case. In the Lahad
Datu case, as reported in the media, hundred of armed militants (with
heavy automatic weapons such M14, M16, M203, etc) have encroached into
the Sabah soil. Is this not considered a very serious violation of the Firearms Law of Malaysia? If
so, why are these militants allowed to negotiate instead of being told
to immediately drop their arms and surrender when they were already
being surrounded? This is a totally lame approach by the BN
government to protect the national dignity and sovereignty. It just
shows BN's complete weakness in handling a serious emergency situation
of an insurgence into our land. The action of the BN government should have been swift and decisive to demonstrate our security forces strength and power. How
can a small bunch of militants from a defunct ceremonial Sulu Sultanate
bully our security forces into negotiating with them? The Sulu
Sultanate cannot even claim any part of the Philippines as their
ancestral kingdom separate from the Republic of the Philippines, let
alone have an army large enough to invade Sabah. Would they be powerful enough to stage a war to enforce their claim on Sabah? The
twist of this whole episode or fiasco is leaning towards widespread
rumours that the BN government's ‘no-bloodshed strategy' could be a
tactic to counter the growing political uncertainties for BN in Sabah. The negotiation is going on for far too long and is looking too fishy. The
patience of local villagers barred from entering the cordoned-off areas
to go in and out of their homes, to carry out their daily routine and
economic activities, is now running very thin. It has also not
helped that the details of the so-called ‘negotiations' have been
withheld from the public knowledge, with the mainstream media mainly
controlled by the BN government ‘advised' to downplay the issue. With
not much news on the daily development, most Sabahans and Malaysians
have been forced to search the internet online news and portals, tweets
and social media for updates on the intrusions, leaving many people to
spin their own theories and grapevines on the issues and the
government's mishandling of the situation because not even a single shot
is fired. This present incident is in contrast to the tragic
incident in September 1985 when armed men dressed in military fatigues
fired randomly at the public and killed 11 people and injured several
others before robbing RM200,000 from a Standard Chartered Bank branch
and a Malaysia Airlines office in Lahad Datu. A group led by DAP
national adviser, Lim Kit Siang, with the DAP Sabah adviser cum KK MP Dr
Hiew King Cheu and state chairperson Jimmy Wong visited Lahad Datu near
the ‘stand-off' area to personally gauge the situation and to get an
update of the latest feel on the grounds. They were very
surprised to note that, according to the reporters who have been on site
since the beginning of the incident and the villagers, nothing much had
happened and the daily activities have been normal. So, what is the
fuss all about? If there are ‘intruders', get them to surrender
and lay down their arms. They should be arrested, put behind bars and
charged under the Malaysian law with entering Malaysia with deadly
weapons. The government has spent billions of ringgit to properly
equip the Malaysian army, navy, air-force and police with the weapons,
armored vehicles, helicopters, fighter planes, warships and submarines
to protect our country. How is it that a few hundred militants
from a neighbouring country cannot be captured, arrested, deported or
chased away immediately? Why have negotiations to be held and our government being held ransom? It is a blatant display of a very weak and indecisive BN government. This
government action further elaborates the issue of millions of illegal
immigrants who have entered Sabah and Malaysia that were later instantly
given Malaysian identity cards or MyKad, allowed to vote and given the
right to own native land. There is no excuse at all and the
handling style is totally unacceptable. In this instance, our government
should have been very firm and authoritative. How can the Home
Minister Hishammuddin Hussein say that that the "situation is under
control" and that they were "dealing" with it? The only way to silence the critics is to deal with the situation with utmost urgency and swiftly. Otherwise, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, the home minister and the defence minister should all step down. In
fact by now the prime minister should already have dissolved Parliament
and give the people a chance to go to the polls and show their mandate
on who should be the next national government at the 13th general
election - BN or Pakatan. The theory of an opportunistic tactic by BN in view of its sinking popularity in Sabah could be true. Sabah
is considered BN's ‘fixed deposit' but the winds of change seem to be
blowing hard against BN in the ‘Land below the Wind'. If this is
true then the fixed deposit has been withdrawn or has expired. With it
being withdrawn or expired, BN has to find a way to get the 'fixed
deposit' back. But how can BN deposit for Sabah when about one
trillion ringgit had already been illegally siphoned out of Malaysia in
the last 10 years according to research and advocacy organisation Global
Financial Integrity? Is this the end of the road for BN? Problem after problem is surfacing and unsolved in almost every area. More
and more bones are falling out of the closet and all the rubbish swept
under the carpet is beginning to build up into a mountain. Malaysia
is becoming famous for the wrong reasons. The government's approach to
the latest ‘occupation' is stupid and unreasonable. The prime minister had just signed an election integrity pledge for a clean and fair election. The
BN government had been well known for corrupt and unfair practices for
many decades and the royal commission of inquiry hearings has reveal the
blatant truth. How can the prime minister expect the Malaysians to believe his election integrity pledge? In Sabah, in the past, it was "tukar baju" from Upko to Usno, Berjaya, PBS and Umno - all comrades in arms for BN. But now, it is - "tukar, ubah, ini kali -lah!" (This time, change!) Malaysiakini
Justification for millions spent for the Police and need to see results from those expenditure. Roles may overlap but the iniciative must be from the Armed Forces first in these circumstances.
IS THIS Situation any different from when Armed Indonesians Parachuted into Malaysian Territory during Confrontation Episode?
Observer