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."
NEP chickens have come home to roost By Mariam Mokhtar
Friday, January 12, 2024
Malaysiakini : COMMENT | We now see the ugly side
of the New Economic Policy, the grand experiment in socio-economic
engineering few politicians will admit has failed.
The investigation of various rich and powerful prominent Malays for alleged corruption does make us wonder if the NEP chickens have finally come home to roost. Suddenly,
all the questions we wanted to ask in the past but were unable to do so
at the time - because we feared our draconian laws - and all the doubts
that we kept to ourselves but would like to voice out, are finally
being asked by the authorities.
Recently, newspapers have dedicated many column inches to the allegedly corrupt Malay elite comprising former prime ministers, former ministers and Malay millionaires or billionaires, currently under investigation by the MACC. Instead of these “successful” Malays being an inspiration to ordinary
Malays, questions are now being asked about how they acquired their
wealth.
Their achievements were not through hard work, although
they would like us to think their success was all their own doing and
ability.
They
sold the population the image of the successful, entrepreneurial Malay,
capable of performance on an international scale, but what we were led
to believe, was probably a pack of lies. They only cared about their personal wealth, but ignored how their actions were damaging the Malaysian economy.
Existential Turd : Dear Mariam, I dare to say, most Malays that I know of, even those who make comments here in Mkini, decrying the same thing as you, do not really want to overhaul the system. To put it unkindly, they just want to appear righteous, than doing the right thing.
They want to have the cake and eat it too. Malaysia has further to fall before enough people come to the same realization as you. They may not like the corruptions, but you will not find a single one forswearing the benefits they are enjoying.
It took us two generations to realize NEP was the wrong policy. Corruption charges are finally being leveled against former leaders. But a new set of corrupt leaders simply take their place. Removing one cancer, only for it to pop up somewhere else. The culture of largess and patronage system is still entrenched and alive. People get into politics not to serve the people, but to serve themselves.
While we wasted two generations fritter away our advantages, our competitors and neighbours like Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, China all raced ahead. Even if we work hard now, we will only prevent the gap from getting wider. Because, they are working hard too. Unless they make serious mistakes at the same level as us, for as long as us, they will forever be ahead of us.
Malaysia's backwardness compared to its neighbours is thus cast in stone for generations to come. The best we can hope for is being towed by our more advanced neighbours. But they will demand a pound of flesh in return. So while the majority population constantly frets about being displaced by the minorities in their own country, ultimately, they will be marginalized by the foreigners they welcome, some of whom may be former citizens. That's irony for you.
If I am Malaysia's competitor, I want nothing more for Malaysia to continue on its current trajectory.
Bluemountains : This govt is doing everything possible to reduce subsidies; hence the birth of PADU.
But, the elephant in the room is the collossal amount of tax-payers' money used to support the NEP.
The NEP is meant to alleviate the economic status of poor bumiputras, but we hear of children of rich people like ministers being given scholarships. We also hear of rich bumiputras getting 15% discount for purchases of properties worth over a million ringgit. In effect, these rich bumiputeras are being subsidised by those who buy without discounts.
The over-bloated civil service is another big drain on the finances of the country. A day will come when the payment of salaries and pensions will no longer be sustainable.
So far, we do not see any effort by the govt to trim the excess fat probably for fear of being voted out.
