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 : COMMENT |If
Malaysian politics is a fairy tale, then Dr Mahathir Mohamad is the
vindictive stepmother who cannot bear the thought of the mirror uttering
another name or one that he has not sanctioned.
In
a more seasonal tale, he would be a Machiavellian-Dickensian Ebenezer
Scrooge who would refuse to heed the warnings of the three spirits of
Christmas and remain unrepentant.
If set in the 1980s, he would have locked them up together with Lim Kit Siang without trial for dissent.
So it is no surprise that Mahathir continues to speak ill of Anwar Ibrahim albeit the reformasi
Snow White has made certain alterations to the manuscript, which some
find unpalatable, in aligning with dwarves of questionable character and
motives.
MS : When David Letterman of Late Night decided to call it a day several years ago, his producers ran a tongue-in-cheek promo which had a line up of political and stage luminaries mouth the line, " our long, national nightmare is over".
Which brings me neatly to the deluded and deposit-losing Mahathir, rejected by his own people and yet unable to leave the limelight to the one who has risen from the political wilderness into which he was cast.
Mahathir's delusions, like those of his coterie of cronies and backers are many, chief among which is "respected elder statesman".
He is not, just like he was not a visionary (a title he was awarded by sycophants) after Visi 2020. Well, we know what happened that year - the disastrous politics of treachery, the lies and the mismanagement which followed and the fragile economic state of the country ...even before Covid slipped in undetected.
The problem really is that none of his political adversaries have found it in themselves to tell him like it is - his pivotal role in reducing the country to what it is today, the series of missteps and misadventures with public funds wasted on prestige projects and his policies which actively promoted social division while bankrupting the universities of its accumulated intellectual wealth.
Mahsuri's Curse, I now believe, included the malignant presence of Mahathir on the island. With his humiliating removal and the simultaneous assent of his nemesis, I believe the curse is now finally broken. If common sense and right thinking finally characterizes governance in this much abused land, there may be a sliver of light and hope at the end of 2022.
Mujaheed : Mahathir is the only PM candidate that has lost deposit in election, what a shame!!!
