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."
What do you expect when most of our Generals are built like medium and main battle tanks, where religious dogmas reign? You would need another 30 years to get rid of this rot where promotions are based on the old boys network and religion, especially so you must be from the Royal Malay Regiment. When they are at the rank of Major and below, they are fine. Once they attain the rank of a Lieutenant Colonel, they prepare for their after life and become Mullahs, instead of Commanding Officers. They were just in the wrong profession! This is happening because Mat Sabu and Liew Chin Tong are sleeping on the job, for fuck's sake it's a 100 days already!!! Malaysiakini : How did no one notice the special forces personnel were working for Hisham?’
Armed Forces: Escorts for Hisham should have ceased after GE14
Korkor: The Armed Forces is a disciplined entity and
take orders from seniors. To blame the three concerned officers is not
in order. They are just following instructions from top to continue
serving Hishammuddin Hussein. What they should do is court-martial those senior officers who gave
the orders to serve the former defence minister. A clear case of misuse
of power. Show and take strict disciplinary actions accordingly
immediately.
Anonymous 9916: You expect our military personnel to be disciplined, really? This is no fiasco, but just a reflection of reality. Even the former defence minister is not disciplined and has no
integrity, what do you expect from the Armed Forces head and personnel? All our security forces – the Army, Navy, Air Force and most of all, the police, need revamping from top to bottom. If Pakatan Harapan is serious in reshaping Malaysia, start now at the
failed departments. Otherwise, it is Harapan who runs the risk being of
being revamped in next general election.
Vijay47: This very statement from the Armed Forces
indicates that in high places, it is still business as usual, with
efforts are being made to water down the gravity of the abuse and, as
expected, to transfer blame to subordinates. The Armed Forces apparently wants us to believe that soldiers – even
elite commandos and Navy's special operation forces (Paskal) members –
can coolly stay away from their postings for extended periods and no one
would be the wiser. The three special force members have been absent for more than 100
days, and goodness knows how long more had the news not been broken. Do
the concepts of Away Without Leave (AWOL) or desertion not apply to the
Malaysian armed forces? Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu, it is time for you to stop being Mr
Nice Guy and display your claws and fangs, beginning with a commanding
officer or two being court-martialled. Ironically, the least guilty one is Hishammuddin himself; being
former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s cousin, and also being from
Umno, the DNA squirming through his veins simply would not allow him to
act with honour and propriety. But for the cheek of his defence that “it was only temporary and they
are so close to my family and I,” Hishammuddin should be sent to the
brig on bread and water.
Gungadin: So when these three military special
forces personnel failed to turn up for duty for over three months, their
superior officers thought nothing of it? In military parlance, this is called 'desertion' and is punishable by
imprisonment under section 54 of the Armed Forces Act 1972. This also
applies to the person who 'procures' this desertion. So let's see what
happens now.
Abasir: The Armed Forces chief has to tell
Malaysians how the three managed to do what they did for so long without
detection. He should detail the steps they took on a daily basis to go
AWOL. He should identify the commanding officers of the three rogue
officers and specify the consequences in store for their dereliction of
duty to supervise. Otherwise, the Armed Forces chief should step down and make way for a
really competent one with integrity...if such a person exists in the
Defence Ministry.
Odysseus: Hishammuddin is trying to wash his hands of this scandal. If he truly wanted to hire these three armed forces staff, he would
have insisted that they resign long ago, informed the Armed Forces chief
and sent them back to their base after BN lost in GE14.
Jinggo: Najib Abdul Razak called Mohamad a cartoon; Hishammuddin wants to teach Mohamad how to run a defence ministry. Three special forces officers are working as Hishammuddin’s
bodyguards and no one knows. Mohamad, get a grip on your portfolio,
before the cousins make a fool out of you.
Wira: This is not a national security secret. The
Armed Forces and Defence Ministry should reveal publicly the findings of
the internal investigation. Transparency is the key to structural
improvement.
TehTarik: Hishammuddin is largely to blame for this
fiasco. Being the former defence minister he should be well-versed with
standard operating procedures. The reason given of a' temporary' arrangement is a lame excuse. He should shoulder the larger share of blame, as he is in a superior
position in his relationship with the three subordinates. What he did is
misuse of power and stems from the entitlement culture of Umno-BN.
Don’t Just Talk: Bad habits die hard, and for an
educated person like Hishammuddin, he should know that his privileges as
defence minister ended on May 8. As usual, why does it need a news outlet to break the news that three
armed forces personnel, who are on the government payroll are providing
personal bodyguard services to him? His late father, former prime minister Hussein Onn, was known for his
honesty and discipline. He would have been disappointed with his son's
behaviour and abuse of power.
Chris Kwan Sabah: Hishammuddin, you were in the BN
government for decades, you should know the rules and regulations. Don’t
start saying that you don’t. The day you ceased your government post, you should have handed back
all issued items including personnel, to the government, period. Three months later, you were still using military officers to serve
you. You took advantage of the situation where the Harapan government is
too busy with your cousin. The Defence Ministry should send you a bill
for the security service during this time.
Oxymoronictendencies: It seems incredibly arrogant
for Hishammuddin to continue to use the protective services of Malaysian
defence force personnel. Equally, it is shocking that defence force
personnel should continue in a role for which they have no authority. These people are still being paid by the Malaysian government, and
Hishammuddin blithely brushes it aside with some remark about it being
“temporary.” At a minimum, there should be an inquiry as to how these defence
personnel have been able to continue their roles with Hishammuddin. If
they are found to have ignored orders or failed in their duty somehow,
then they should be prosecuted and punished appropriately. At the same time, Hishammuddin should be investigated for potentially
suborning defence personnel without due authority. And of course he
must pay a fee for the services of these people. A large fee. This whole issue then begs the question as to how Hishammuddin has
amassed sufficient wealth to be able to afford such protective services.
And why he would need them at all.
Oh dear, Hishammuddin, your practice of keeping your head below the
proverbial political parapet has just backfired badly. Your life is now
going to be inspected piece by piece.
