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."
Batu MP: Apathy, bureaucracy affecting citizenship applications
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Malaysiakini : While most stateless cases involve those who fail to meet the
deadline to access citizenship, Batu MP P Prabakaran said government
bureaucracy is also part of the problem. “Long processes in the
National Registration Department (NRD), Immigration Department and the
Home Ministry are also affecting the people.
“This is a
distressing national issue affecting Malaysian families regardless of
their socioeconomic status,” he said on Facebook yesterday. He
made the statement following a public consultation programme held at his
constituency on March 19, where organisers recorded over 1,200 cases of
locals having citizenship issues in just one day.
The programme, held with the assistance of National Registration
Department (NRD) officers, attracted people from across the country.
Batu MP P Prabakaran (centre)
Breaking down the issue, Prabakaran said one common problem faced by the stateless was the long-waiting period. In some cases, applications for citizenship took over five years – causing severe mental agony to families.
“Due
to the long wait and rejections in the first round of applications,
families undergo mental stress. Plus, applications are limited to those
below 21 years of age. “As such, their future becomes bleak, with no effective pathway to citizenship,” he shared.
Other
cases involved adults who were abandoned as children and grew up
without documentation, and children born to Malaysian parents but left
in care homes or with acquaintances - despite available documents to
prove their nationality.
Prabakaran also highlighted cases of
children deemed to have been born out of wedlock in Malaysia owing to
difficulties registering a marriage to a foreign spouse and stateless
children who had been adopted by Malaysians.
Foreign spouses, he
added, were also having problems getting permanent residency or
citizenship after the passing of their Malaysian spouses – despite
having Malaysian children. “In addition, we also have high
numbers of stateless children from divorced parents, where the latter
had failed to register for their MyKad when the former reached 12 years
old,” Prabakaran added.
‘Parliamentmust address this’
BenHur : Long standing issue DSAI I hope you take a personal look on this. Home Affairs does not give significance to this
Siva1967 : I was a stateless child.
I don't recall much of the agony my adaptors went through but the one thing I recall was the government officer asking me, are these your parents and are you happy to go home with them.
I was 7 years old then. My obvious answer was, Yes.
