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."
'Stop using political power to convert bumis to Islam'
Sunday, January 26, 2014
From Malaysiakini : Christians in Sabah want Prime Minister Najib
Razak to stop the use of political power to convert bumiputeras to
Islam, and will stage a series of protests until their cause gets heard.
The Solidarity Natives, or Perpaduan Anak Negeri (PAN), alleges that a
‘dakwah’ movement backed by Putrajaya had used "intimidation, threat,
deception and inducements" to win Muslim converts. This, it said, violated Malaysia's promise of freedom of religion to the
Borneo state when it became part of the federation 50 years ago. "We have been deceived, intimidated and cheated long enough. PM Najib
must lead the way to assure us that he is not only a PM for the Malays,
but for all Malaysians. "All must be treated fairly and have the freedom to embrace a faith of
their choice. We acknowledge Islam as the religion of the federation,
but not extreme political Islam, in ways not envisaged by the framers of
our federal constitution. “This (the federal constitution) is the supreme law of the nation and
not syariah (laws)," said PAN in a statement on its assembly in Ranau on
Saturday. PAN has launched asix-month campaign
into the Kadazan Dusum-Murut (KDM) heartland. It started off with a
‘mamangkis’ in Penampang, Kota Kinabalu during the Christmas period. ‘Mamangkis’ is a war cry from the Borneo natives' headhunting days and is often invoked when faced with a threat. "Today, our mamangkis takes a different form. No more do we seek victory
with blood other than the blood of Jesus, our redeemer and our Lord
over us," it said. Not anti-Muslims PAN stressed that while it rallied against extremism, it is not anti-Muslim. "Rest assured we do not see Muslims, and those who become Muslims by
choice, as our enemies. We have always embraced them as our brothers and
sisters. “In
Sabah, we are one big family with Christians and Muslims living in
peace and harmony side by side even within the same family." What the group didn’t want is a systematic attempt to eradicate Sabahan's cultural heritage as Christians and their ethnicity. "Some call this a form of genocide," lamented the statement. PAN noted that many of its complaints about the forced conversion of
natives into Islam have fallen on deaf ears as the Putrajaya-controlled
state apparatus always held the final say. "Just last month after Christmas, a group from the peninsula went to
Pitas, one of Malaysia’s poorest districts, and deceived Christians
there to convert to Islam under the guise that the federal government
was giving them some financial aid. "The place is so poor that there is no piped water, nor electricity. The
place is so remote that no elected assemblyperson has visited them in
the last 50 years. “Makadan Masabu, 54, has lodged a police report. But the police have
handed the matter to Muis, the Sabah Islamic Council," the group added. Conversions not proper Although it has been reported by Utusan Malaysia in 2009 that
Muis have registered 117,579 new Muslim converts since 1970, PAN said
many of these cases might not be properly done. PAN said that many natives were often handed valuable land to entice them to convert to Islam. The group also alleged that the National Registration Department (JPN)
had deliberately classified some Christians as Muslims, adding a 'bin'
or 'binti' into their identity cards. When these mistakes were pointed out, the JPN reportedly would not rectify them. "The Sidang Injil Borneo (SIB) Sabah had compiled a list of 162 such
cases and their lawyers had handed it over to the JPN for remedial
action nearly four years ago. “JPN replied that all these 162 files have been lost in their office.
Until the files are found, these 162 bumiputera Christians are
officially Muslims," it said. The recent Jan 2 controversy in Selangor, where the Selangor Islamic
Affairs Department (Jais) seized copies of the Alkitab, was just another
example of how political Islam has cast a pall on the issue, PAN added. "History teaches us that the controversy over the use of the ‘Allah’
word is not new. Our Alkitab, the Malay-language Bible, was banned 33
years ago. It is still banned as evident by one fatwa after another. “It is not about one word. It’s a long-term strategy of extreme political Islam to dominate (others)," the group stressed. Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has, however, reaffirmed on Thursday the government’s commitment towardsthe10-point solution, an agreement reached with Christian groups on importation and use of the Alkitab.
But Najib yesterday said that the ban on non-Muslims from using ‘Allah’ stands in states which have such provision under law.
“In
Sabah, we are one big family with Christians and Muslims living in
peace and harmony side by side even within the same family."
