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."
Will govt intervene in ex-plantation workers plight? - Commander S THAYAPARAN (Retired) Royal Malaysian Navy
Monday, December 19, 2022
Malaysiakini : “Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity,
nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by
the well-housed, well-warmed and well-fed.”
- American novelist Herman Melville
COMMENT | Well actually, the political elites have intervened in the plight of families seeking their due.
A
successful conclusion after a 19-year struggle occurred in 2019 for 24
families from the Ladang Bangi estate in Selangor when they were offered
keys to their new homes, thanks to the assistance of - you guessed it -
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).
From the reportage by PSM
on Feb 21, 2019: “For 19 years, the 24 families faced court trials,
constant harassment by gangsters to vacate their homes and some were
even thrown into jail by the authorities for fighting for their rights.”
The
families were so happy that the homes “…came equipped with a
refrigerator, TV, cabinet and air-conditioners”. The sartorially
challenged S Arutchelvan joked, “Even I am staying in a low-cost unit
and I don’t have such facilities.”
Of course, this took place just
before the Semenyih by-election. This goes to show that elections may
not bring about changes, but apparently, days leading up to elections
do.
PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan
These types of gangster tactics are not new, of course. As Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy said on Jan 18, 2020, in another case of this kind in Nibong Tebal, Penang:
