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 Cradle to Grave, Spoon Fed and on Crutches - 50 years after NEP, a wealth and ethnic divide by Alyaa Alhadjri & B Nantha Kumar
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Malaysiakini : SPECIAL REPORT | When former air
force technician Safwan Saleh started a side project of re-selling
custom watches, he did not envision he would soon start his own clothing
brand, Petak, in 2016.
The brand, featuring Safwan’s exclusive
designs, started off only with an online presence, but soon he was
generating enough business to open a brick and mortar store in
Cyberjaya. As the business grew, the entrepreneur had planned to
open three more outlets by the end of 2020. And then Covid-19 hit, and
expansion plans turned into a game of survival.
To
keep his business afloat, the 34-year-old said he attempted to apply
for a loan from Tekun Nasional, an agency created in 1998 under the
Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry for bumiputera
businesses. The facility offered a maximum of RM50,000 loan but
“red tape” and offers to use a “cable” to guarantee a loan of RM20,000
soured the experience.
“This was in March this year... I was given a contact number by my company secretary who said, ‘just give it a shot’. “There
was too much bureaucracy. I did not follow up with the next steps
because they told me I am only eligible to get RM20,000 (from
RM50,000),” he said.
Safwan is one of many bumiputera
entrepreneurs who, a generation after the New Economic Policy, are
wondering if the help promised through affirmative action policies would
reach them.
