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."
Umno’s options: Govt or CSA opposition? PN or Harapan? By Wong Chin Huat
Monday, November 21, 2022
Malaysiakini : COMMENT | What are the options left for Umno for now till GE16 after its humiliating defeat, worse than in GE14? Some
Umno leaders have called for the party to stay out of government as
opposition. Whatever decisions are made today or this week, they must be
revisited in the Umno party election, latest by April 19, 2023, or
before or after the state elections in the six states – three each under
PN and Pakatan Harapan – expected by or before next August.
Whether
multiparty democracy can grow healthily may partly depend on how Umno
reinvents itself or allow itself to be gradually swallowed by other
parties. In this election, BN won the support of 3.4 million votes or
22.20 percent and like it or not, a brand name for Malay-Muslim
nationalist/conservative voters.
Umno’s choices can be split into
two levels. First, should it join a coalition government or stay out as
an opposition bloc on a Confidence and Supply Agreement (CSA) with the
coalition government? Second, whether as a government junior partner or
an opposition on CSA, should it side Harapan or PN?
What are the payoffs in these options?
Junior partner in coalition government
The
best advantage of joining the next coalition government even as a
junior party is of course incumbent advantages, from influencing
government policies and law-making to enjoying allocations and resources
exclusively accessible for government lawmakers.
The
disadvantage? As a junior partner in the coalition government, it may
lose its identity and credibility in the next election. The senior
partner tends to get credit for a coalition government’s success while
the junior partners often have a tough time pleasing their own
supporters for achieving too little.