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."
The 15th general election is over. Although Pakatan Harapan does not have a clear majority, it is the coalition favoured by the majority of voters with 82 seats in Parliament as compared to its nearest rival Perikatan Nasional with 73 seats.
Politicians like to say that once the people have spoken, the choice
of the people has to be respected and accepted. Why then are they not
respecting and accepting the will of the people by allowing losers to
get together to block the winner from taking office?
This is not the way our parliamentary democracy is supposed to
function. Parliamentary democracy – as former attorney-general Tommy
Thomas so eloquently argued in a recent article – demands that the
leader of the party with the most number of seats in Parliament be
invited to form the government. Instead, what we have is a clutch of
defeated politicians scheming amongst themselves to deprive the winner
of his right to try to form the government.
As someone put it, it’s tantamount to losers asking other losers to
make up the numbers to win. Is that fair? Is that democratic? Can a
government formed through such chicanery claim to have any legitimacy or
command the respect of voters?
Let’s cut to the chase: our democracy is being subverted and
undermined by parties which have lost simply to keep Anwar Ibrahim and
Pakatan from power. If Perikatan Nasional had won the most seats, do you
think we would even be having this discussion?
To be sure, many don’t like Anwar but his party won the most seats in
Parliament and he has the support of 1.2 million more voters than his
nearest rival. Ketuanan Melayu power brokers may not be happy that the
DAP will return to Putrajaya as part of the Pakatan coalition but the
people have spoken; their choice must be respected if we are to remain a
democracy.
