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."
Why is it, I always have to be crass? Because the IGP's mentality never ceases to amaze me!!
Friday, October 04, 2013
Far from offering a waterproof theory, Inspector-General of Police
Khalid Abu Bakar had claimed that the guns missing from the police force may
have fallen into the sea. Right, any
right thinking person will say that is a load of
crap. He just does not take
responsibility for this criminal negligence. How on earth did this guy get to
be IGP? Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar (IGP)'s explanation that
the 44 missing weapons were not used by criminals is really pathetic and
moronic. "Ballistic reports show that none of them have been used by
criminals." he said. Does he have any inkling of accountability? The IGP wants to be
a leader, seriously I do not think he is prepared to accept the accountability
that goes with his job. But you can’t
have one without the other. They are two sides of the same coin. But what does
accountability look like?
First and foremost, it means that you accept
responsibility for the outcomes expected of you—both good and bad. You don’t
blame others. And you don’t
blame the external environment. There are always things you could have
done—or still can do—to change the outcome. Until you take responsibility, you
are a victim. And being a victim is the exact opposite of
being a leader. Victims are passive. They are acted upon. Leaders are active.
They take initiative to influence the outcome. That is what our IGP is, a
pathetic victim. Once you take responsibility,
you can begin fixing the problem. This eliminates a lot of wasted effort in playing the
victim and blaming others and the environment. The problem with our IGP is
that he thinks he and his bunch of incompetents are above the law.
Remember his performance in the death of Aminulrasyid Amzah, (IGP) Khalid
Abu Bakar, who was then Selangor chief police officer, said that the schoolboy
was a criminal, a thug, because he supposedly had a parang in his car. This one took the cake, the Kugan case, when a
person of his rank, testifying in court attempted to suppress the truth to
escape liability. In his first statement to the media after Kugan's death, Khalid
had said that Kugan collapsed and died after drinking water. In the next
media statement, Khalid had said that Kugan died of water in the lungs. Is he
covering up again for the missing 44 guns?
Allow me to relate a couple of incidents which happened in the Army. The
first case was when we were doing an assault river crossing in Kota Belud
whilst on the Young Officers Tactics course, we were crossing this fast flowing
river with packs and carrying our rifles in batches. We were hooked onto a
nylon rope, which was laid across the river, with a hip sheet and karabiners. We had to
lie flat with our faces down and pull ourselves. It sounds safe, but one could
still drown due to unforeseen circumstance. Anyway it came to the turn of a
young Chinese Officer (2nd Lieutenant) from the Armoured Corps, somehow
his rifle slipped off him and was lost.
The Commandant of the training centre did not say, “fell into the river”, and
life went on as though nothing got lost.
Hours and days were spent looking in
and alongside the river banks. Even a Bomoh was paid to locate the rifle. It
was never found. Did the young Officer get away with his carelessness? Dream on,
that never happens in the Army! An official “Board of Inquiry” was held, headed
by officers, who called in all the witnesses. The Young Officer was found
negligent and charged. He lost 3 months of his seniority. He did not pay for
the rifle, paying for it is the easy way out. The army does not allow that.
Another case, we were conducting “Operations
Hentam Galas” . The Platoon Commander, a young Malay 2nd
Lieutenant, was conducting a long range patrol, where elements of the 10th
Regiment Communist Party of Malaya (our enemy) was operating around the Wias/Gua Musang area. That
area was hilly and the terrain was tough, the slopes were muddy and slippery.
It was during the Monsoon Season. One of the members while negotiating a steep
incline fell, holding onto his Light Machine Gun, he rolled down the hill pack and all. He did not get injured,
after the patrol returned to base, he discovered that a magazine containing 30
rounds of ammunition was missing.
He reported it to the Platoon Commander, who immediately
went out again with the same patrol to the place where the soldier fell. They
searched that area for two continuous days, in fact they moved camp to that location.
On the second day he reported the loss
to his Company Commander. After the operations were over when they returned back
to “civilization”, a “Board of Inquiry”, was conducted. The Platoon Commander
was found guilty not the soldier, he lost 3 months seniority after being
charged based on the findings of the inquiry. Yes, with Command comes
responsibility.
There was a rafting expedition conducted along the Perak river by an army
unit. The raft overturned at a confluence where the currents were strong. A
prismatic compass went missing, a “Board of Inquiry” was conducted. The Chairman
was me. No one was faulted and the compass was written off against public
funds. You see the Military has the gumption to conduct itself with responsibility,
without playing the blame game. The Military also applies Command
Responsibility for its commanders on the battlefield. The Police Commanders
too should be held accountable for custodial
deaths, and loss of equipment which the IPCMC
could cover. So tell me again why am I so crass?
