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."
Malaysiakini: “If you want a government where you can sleep easy at
night, if you want a government that can ensure certainty for the
future, then support Barisan Nasional.” - Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to Chinese businesspeople in 2013.
"Corruption is widespread in this country and must not be tolerated, or Malaysia will not emerge as a first world country." - V Sithambaram
COMMENT | Najib Abdul Razak's conviction
is no doubt some sort of catharsis for Harapan supporters. The long and
twisty road to Najib’s conviction has been littered with the kind of
astonishing political shenanigans that characterise the “immaturity” of
the polity that some folks use as an excuse to not push forward
fundamental reforms. Keep in mind that when Najib made the
statement, which serves as the opening quote of this piece, in 2013, his
regime was voted back into power.
For instance, when DAP veteran
Lim Kit Siang said that he would even work with Najib to “save Malaysia…
if the prime minister is prepared to admit that he had led the country
on a wrong tangent and that Malaysia must be saved with far-reaching
democratic and institutional reforms”, all this seems like a bad dream
now.
