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."
Creativity facing gale-force winds by R Nadeswaran
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Aftermath of the UMNO Riot
Malaysiakini : COMMENT | In November
2016, I was one of the many (including officers of the law) who watched
helplessly as a mob (later identified by Aliran as members of Penang
Umno Youth) stormed an exhibition at Komtar in Penang.
They were
protesting the display of the caricature works of renowned cartoonist
Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, better known as Zunar. To avoid any further
disturbance, he voluntarily took his work down.
The next day, the
police arrested Zunar after he turned himself in for questioning
following the previous day’s disturbance. Fourteen months later,
internationally renowned Lithuanian street artist, Ernest Zacharevic,
was banned from entering Malaysia.
Elsewhere, the infamous Jamal Yunus led 300 men in red shirts to protest in front of the Malaysiakini office demanding for the news portal’s closure. Earlier, the publisher of The Edge, Ho Kay Tat, and the editor of the now-defunct The Malaysian Insider, Jahabar Sadiq were arrested.
It
was then an era when anyone who did not “say nice things” about the
government or the then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife
were on the receiving end of such mobs and actions. No one was spared –
civil societies, individuals and those who spoke about 1Malaysia
Development Berhad (1MDB). 1MDB was taboo for members of the media and
the ruling party and every government machinery was involved in
preventing the truth from emerging.
