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."
From The Malaysian Insider MAY 16 — BN is experiencing a taste of its own medicine, possibly for
five straight years more, and the coalition may expire at the end of
it. Because at the end of the term, the toll on the psyche of the party
faithful could be too much to bear — and force the party on a path of no
return, at least no more back to mainstream politics. For its leaders can’t catch a break. For the next few days the new
Cabinet will be the main punching bag for the Malaysian public. Few of
us can define inspiration but most of us can sense it, and a full cavity
search of those named to lead the country will lead to a simple
conclusion, there is little inspiration let alone aspiration among those
selected to lead this country through the better part of the second
decade of the new millennium coming up.
But the Cabinet is not my focus today even if its members are right, front and centre of my dissection. It is that after 10 days of being declared the winners of the
national election by the body which reports to their prime minister,
they feel like anything but winners. The prime minister, his deputy, his former and present Cabinet, they
all appear a bit woozy — a little like second hand akin to a Sunday
after a drinking binge without the drinking binge. When they lost the popular vote in 1969, Umno had time to regroup
because of emergency law in effect following street violence. This time
the emptiness enveloping the Putra World Trade Centre must be
overwhelming.
There may be only 47 per cent of Malaysians in favour of BN versus
the impressive 52 per cent for Pakatan Rakyat, but the divide becomes
even more pronounced when factoring the unprecedented levels of activism
coupled with restraint from Pakatan supporters that for a casual
observer arriving in Kuala Lumpur after awhile it may appear that BN
have indeed lost the election.
The BN medicine
It is a fairly direct one, win only a single election every four plus
years — all-or-nothing contest pitting the massive state resources of
BN versus the rest — and tell everyone to clam up between the elections. It does put into perspective when analysed, between 1970 (post-New
Economic Policy) and the Sunday before last, over 43 years Malaysians
were allowed 10 times or 10 general elections or 10 voting days to give
their say. Between those days — the years that pass — BN will kindly inform the
people they have the popular vote and everyone should respect the
situation.
BN justifies the limited opportunity for the millions of Malaysians
to speak out by arguing that they whether by a close or clear count have
the majority of the votes. Why have elections so many times when the
people always end up voting for us anyway, that’s an exercise in
futility. Now, with enough seats but not the popular vote BN must carry on
while a very informed majority is opposed to them, an impatient majority
that will remind them of that unshakeable fact. How will they spin that now?
They have no capacity to change
The handicap is further inflamed by the continued obstinacy of the present regime to change. Change is anathema to them, they are literally holding out till the
rest of the population revert to the old reality of just accepting them,
just because. The appointment of Khairy Jamaluddin was to echo a willing BN, but a
swallow does not make a summer and the party ruled that he was guilty of
some internal election infringements. Khairy may just regurgitate
reform as a basis to differentiate himself from the rest of his party
leaders and plan his own rise. Umno is not a party of reform.
So two swords are pointed at the party, which was not before this
election. That they are not changing their ways quickly enough, and for
the general public to give a long sigh and comment that this is why they
are the first functioning minority government ever (while the Alliance
lost the popular vote in 1969 the pursuant link up with the usurpers
Gerakan, PPP (People’s Progressive Party) and PAS made them a unity
government). Quietly I admit it does endear to me seeing BN struggle, still I
realise that the country will pay the price of the government of the
day.
Even now, the prime minister is unwilling to compromise his own
intentions to stay as Umno president by undercutting the key strength of
his presumed opponent, his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the race
card. Four years of 1 Malaysia may have raised Datuk Seri Najib Razak to
being a person markedly more popular than his party, but it has upset
many inside the party. Muhyiddin’s direct and simple race focus left him
as the more Umno-like leader.
And the day after winning the election, Najib went for the jugular by
blaming them. No Umno leader is ever weak inside his party when he is
attacking the Chinese community, and Najib knows it only too well
because his father wrote the playbook. Najib does not hate the Chinese anymore than he hates Transformers
toy sets, but he did not waste any time to get into his Umno election
mode. So for all those who did vote for Najib because they did honestly believe he would change would be ruing the lost opportunity. Mind you, after retaining the Umno presidency he will revert to Mr 1 Malaysia without missing a heartbeat.
Four more years, or maybe not Umno and the coalition it lords have four years, or they may decide sooner the present power equation is too annoying. There will be more permutations in the country as video streaming
becomes more prevalent. The extent of what the general public can know,
and then interact and hit out at government will spread. That and seeing Datuk Nazri Aziz as tourism minister, have we ever lived in more interesting times?
