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."
Islamic conversion of Loh's kids invalid: Court of Appeal By Hidir Reduan Abdul Rashid
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Malaysiakini : The Court of Appeal has quashed the unilateral conversion of Loh Siew Hong's three children to Islam. A three-person bench chaired by judge Hadhariah Syed Ismail today allowed the Buddhist single mother's appeal over the 2020 conversion of her 15-year-old twin daughters and her 12-year-old boy.
The ruling has resulted in the restoration of the childrenās original Hindu faith as shown on their birth certificate. Speaking
on behalf of fellow bench members Hashim Hamzah and Azhahari Kamal
Ramli, Hadhariah ruled that unilateral conversion is unlawful if it does
not get the consent of both parents. Loh's former husband Muhammad Nagahswaran Muniandy, who converted to
Islam, had converted the children without her consent in 2020.
The judge said that the Kuala Lumpur High Court - which on May 11
last year dismissed Loh's judicial review to nullify her children's
conversion - had erred because it did not consider two critical issues.
One
issue was whether the unilateral conversion was lawful and second
whether a Perlis state enactment - namely Section 117(b) of the stateās
Administration of the Religion of Islam Enactment 2006 which permits
only the permission of one parent to convert a child to Islam - was
invalid for contravening the Federal Constitution. "The failure of
the High Court to answer these two issues is a clear misdirection that
amounted to an error of law," Hadhariah said.
Mother did not consent
She said that the
judiciary is bound by the 2018 landmark decision involving the
unilateral Islamic conversion of kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhiās
children. In that apex court verdict, it was ruled that the
consent of both parents is required for the lawful conversion of the
coupleās children, per article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution.
Article 12(4) states the āparent or guardianā shall determine a child's religion below 18 years of age. The
apex court in the Indira case ruled that the word āparentā in that
provision shall be interpreted as both parents, and that the English
version of the Federal Constitution is the authoritative text.
āIt
is not disputed that the appellant mother did not consent to the
childrenās conversion to Islam,ā Hadhariah said about Nagahswaran, 36,
not seeking permission from Loh (above), 36. To a
contention by the Perlis state and its religious authorities that the
Indira apex court ruling was invalid for failing to consider the claim
that it is the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Federal Constitution that
is actually authoritative, Hadhariah ruled there is no merit in this
contention.
She
said the state authorities failed to adduce evidence to show that the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong had officially prescribed the Bahasa Malaysia
version of the Federal Constitution as the authoritative text. āWe consequently allow the judicial review for prayers (a) to (i),
and we make no order as to costs,ā Hadhariah said as Loh looked on from
the public gallery.
Among the prayers allowed by the Appellate
Court today is for a declaration that the three children are followers
of Hinduism, and for an order of certiorari striking down the unilateral
conversion perpetrated on July 7, 2020.
Maips seeksto appeal
When
met by the media after the proceedings, lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri
Abdulla said that the Perlis Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council
(Maips) would be applying for leave to appeal to the Federal Court. Haniff is acting for Maips, who is one of the four respondents targeted by Loh's appeal.
Perlis
state legal adviser Mohd Radhi Abas is acting for the remaining three
respondents, namely state Mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, the state
mualaf (new Islamic converts) registrar, and the state government. Loh
and Nagahswaran entered a civil marriage in 2008, but their marriage
broke down over allegation of domestic violence that saw her
hospitalised. She filed for divorce in December 2019.
However,
while she was recuperating from her injuries in a hospital, it was
reported the father took the three children away and converted them on
July 7, 2020. In March 2021, Loh was granted sole custody, care,
and control over the children, and legally divorced in September the
same year.
In February 2022, Lohās children - who were under the
care of the Social Welfare Department - were released to their mother
after the Kuala Lumpur High Court allowed her habeas corpus application.
Dr Suresh Kumar : This is one of the reasons why Ngeh's statement is crucial to protect the rights of the non Malays in accordance with our Federal Constitution, but look what the barbarians had done to his house and properties. Thanks to the judges, there is still some light at the end of the tunnel.