Rudyard Kipling"
āWhen 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 soldierā
General Douglas MacArthur"
āWe are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.ā
āIt is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.ā āOld soldiers never die; they just fade away.
āThe soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.ā
āMay God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .ā āThe object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
āNobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
āIt 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."
Mass conversion claim: 137 Orang Asli appeal to nullify Islamic status By Hidir Reduan Abdul Rashid
Thursday, November 16, 2023
Malaysiakini : A group of Orang Asli have turned to the Court of Appeal to quash
their Islamic status which they claimed was imposed on them through an
unlawful mass conversion 30 years ago.
The 137 plaintiffs from the Bateq Mayah ethnic group are appealing against the Kuantan High Court ruling on Oct 3
which allowed applications by the Pahang Islamic Religious and Malay
Customs Council (Muip) and four others to strike out the lawsuit. When contacted by Malaysiakini, the Orang Asliās former counsel Fahri Azzat confirmed the notice of appeal was filed on Oct 12.
The lawyer added that after helping the group file the appeal, his law firm Fahri Azzat & Co has withdrawn from the matter. āThe Kuala Lumpur-based law firm Seira & Sharizad is now acting
for my former clients at the appellate court level,ā Fahri said.
Lawyer Fahri Azzat
Besides
Muip, the four others who applied to strike out the Orang Asliās action
were the federal government, the Orang Asli Development Department
(Jakoa), its director and officer. They are five out of the six
defendants targeted by the suit. The other defendant is the Pahang state
government which also backed the striking-out bid.
The lawsuit alleged that the wrongful and illegal conversion was carried out at the Orang Asliās home at Kampung Benchah Kelubi, Merapoh, Kuala Lipis, Pahang, in April 1993. The
court documents claimed that 57 of the plaintiffs were converted during
the incident and that the remainder of the plaintiffs were children
born later and also have the word Islam on their identity cards due to
their descendants.
Threat allegations
The
plaintiffs claimed that in early 1993, two village leaders were asked by
a Jakoa representative to not only convert to Islam but also get the
other villagers to do so. They alleged that when the villagers
refused to do so, an officer from the department visited the village and
issued several threats to ensure their conversion.
The threats
included villagers would not be allowed to live in the village anymore,
their houses and crops would be destroyed, and they would be chased down
and tortured if they ran to the mountains.
The plaintiffs claimed
that the villagers were not informed of the legal implications of
embracing Islam, namely that they would be subject to Pahangās Islamic
legal framework and that children born to them would automatically be
Muslims too.
They claimed that they did not profess or practise
Islam following the alleged mass conversion and continued to embrace the
cultural and religious beliefs of the Bateq Mayah. After 2000
when more of the villagers learnt how to speak basic Bahasa Malaysia,
they then realised that the word āIslamā was stated on their identity
cards, they added.
Previously filed at the Kuala Lumpur High
Court on Sept 28 last year, the matter was later transferred to the
Kuantan High Court on May 30 this year, whereby the Kuantan court
nullified the suit on Oct 3.
Beman : What's the point of converting people to your religion when they do not believe in it? They are only followers in name, not in heart. Maybe the converters are insecure in their own religion, so much so they need to have number in order to feel secure. What does the enlightened Madani PM have to say about this?
darmakochi : Looks like he had taken a vow of silence on local news since he seems to be completely focussed on international issues like Palestine and HAMAS.
BrownSinga7958 : Maybe CNN should ask Anwar about this and see how he answers in front of US audience.
A153 : Using force, threats, and lies to spread their religion. But when their kind willingly embrace another religion, they become furious.
JBond : This force conversion have been on for a long time and in many places. Thatās why religious authorities in this country are allocated huge budgets. Part of it are conversion in remote and ignorant communities where they can bully and coerce them into submission. Itās open secret.
