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."
Malaysia's tryst with destiny on Sunday by Tommy Thomas
Friday, May 03, 2013
From Malaysiakini COMMENT In one of the most eloquent and
moving speeches of the 20th century, Indian prime minister Jawaharlal
Nehru announced to the world on Aug 14, 1947: "At the stroke of the
midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and
freedom", and that India had "made a tryst with destiny" upon becoming
independent. On May 5, 2013, this most important of date in our
56 years of independence, Malaysia too will have a date with destiny.
True Merdeka is within our grasp, to be freed from the bondage of BN
misrule. But are voters ready to take destiny into our hands?
It
is a given that the last few days of the campaign, the events occurring
on voting day, the counting of the votes and the appointment of the
prime minister will be marred by the dirty tricks of BN, and the
agencies of the state, in their efforts to steal the general election. The will of the electorate is without meaning to them. Institutions
which, and individuals who, are obliged to discharge their duties
honestly, independently and impartially will act in a terribly partisan
way. The election will therefore be neither free nor fair.
Nonetheless, the voters, who will ultimately decide Malaysia's future,
must not be discouraged. Rather, they must be fortified by a
single-minded determination to ensure that Pakatan Rakyat will
peacefully take power by becoming victorious in the 13th general
election.
Don't let them steal GE13
Individually and collectively, Malaysian voters have much power and
influence on the outcome. We must not allow this election to be stolen
from us. The measures that we can take include the following:
1.
In order to diminish the effect of cheating, a record turnout must take
place. If 85 percent of the 13.3 million voters actually cast their
ballots, it will mean that more than 11 million Malaysians voted on that
day. Every vote counts. Turn up early.
2. In order to diminish
the effect of foreigners voting illegally, every genuine Malaysian voter
must be vigilant when casting his or her vote. All genuine voters must
closely observe those near them in the polling station, engage with them
in conversation and if they behave oddly, alert the agents of both
parties who should be in attendance at the polling centre.
Tech-savvy voters will no doubt film anything of suspicion and immediately post them on Facebook or YouTube. Millions of Malaysians must record their experiences on Sunday. This will be history in the making.
3. Do not vote for BN merely because the voter has personally received
monetary or other benefits in the last few months. Such gifts are
blatant electioneering of the worst kind. Indeed, these are prohibited
under our election laws (but unfortunately, never enforced by our
courts).
Further, this is eventually to be paid for by the
taxpayers, which means the voters themselves, or their children. The
national debt is rapidly increasing. These payments are not paid from
monies belonging to the BN or Najib Abdul Razak. They are abusing their
power as trustees of public money to "buy" voters by using the rakyat's
own money and giving it back to them.
BN's scare-mongering
4. Do not be frightened by the BN's scare-mongering. Intimidating and
threatening Malaysians have been a deliberate electoral policy of the
BN. For 44 years, it has been the May 13, 1969 riots.
Two other
threats have recently surfaced. First, that Bursa Malaysia will collapse
and the economy damaged if Pakatan wins. Secondly, that the hudud will
be introduced. Millions of Malaysians who would have voted to bring
Pakatan to power will support the Bursa, if prices slide. It is
the policies of the BN that have created the ever-growing natural debt
and the massive outflow of funds that have weakened our economy. Pakatan
can only strengthen the failed economy. Insofar as the hudud is
concerned, PAS has accepted that it is only part of its party agenda,
but not that of the Pakatan coalition. Because a two-thirds majority of
Parliament is needed to amend the federal constitution to implement
hudud, PAS, on its own, cannot achieve it. Accordingly, all these
threats are hollow.
5. For those who remain fearful, remember
the comforting words that President Franklin Roosevelt used in his
inaugural address in 1933: "The only thing we have to fear is fear
itself."
6. Do not be influenced by the brazen propaganda of our
TV, radio and mainstream newspapers. They are so one-sided that it
offends all decency. Vote according to your conscience. Do what you
think is right.
7. In order to reduce the effects of defections
and party-hopping by any unprincipled and greedy members of parliament
elected on May 5, which could defeat the will of the people, as happened
in Sabah in 1991 and Perak in 2009, Malaysians who want change by
voting for a Pakatan government must elect a sufficient number of
Pakatan parliamentarians.
A simple majority is triggered at 112
out of 222 seats. But any Pakatan victory below 130 seats may not
provide a sufficient cushion if crossovers take place. Hence, the
popular vote target should be 7.5 million out of 11 million votes, which
would mean getting about 68 percent of the popular vote. If
sufficient right-thinking Malaysians act this way, we will finally,
after half a century of a continuous Umno-dominated government.
We will then have a new federal government that will lead us to a new
Malaysia: a second, and more important Merdeka. May the Almighty God
bless us by ensuring this outcome.
