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."
Indianisation of early Malay kingdoms and society by Ranjit Singh Malhi
Sunday, October 24, 2021
Malaysiakini : HISTORY: TOLD AS IT IS |
As a multi-ethnic nation, Malaysia must take pride in its
multi-cultural and multi-religious heritage as reflected in Tourism
Malaysia’s slogan, “Malaysia, Truly Asia”
Ranjit Singh Malhi
In this regard, we must
not deny the significant impact of Indian civilisation since the early
centuries of the Common Era (CE) on the development of early Malay
kingdoms and society, particularly on the ruling and upper class. Indeed,
till today, as reiterated by Ismail Hamid in his book ‘Masyarakat dan
Budaya Melayu’, the Indian civilisation “has left behind some traces in
every aspect of Malay life”, particularly pertaining to language,
literature, customs, and the coronation ceremony of Malay rulers.
According to John F Cady, available evidence seems to suggest that
“the massive cultural impact of India” on the Malays in the Malay
Peninsula prior to the 14th century was “virtually overwhelming”.
Similarly, Nik Hassan Shuhaimi states that “up to the 14th century,
Hindu-Buddhist influences had a major impact on Malaysian culture.”
Nevertheless,
it is important to note that the Malay society did not blindly embrace
the Hindu-Buddhist culture in its entirety, but rather adapted it to
suit local cultural patterns and religious beliefs. For example, the
Malays did not adopt the Hindu caste system and that the scripts of
Indian origin were modified for local language writing. Sadly,
our current school history textbooks have downplayed the influence of
Indian civilisation on Malay kingdoms and society before the 14th
century.
Worse still, the “ethno-nationalist narrative” of
local history repeatedly claims that Parameswara, the Hindu-Buddhist
founder of the Melaka sultanate, became a Muslim in 1414 and took a new
name, Megat Iskandar Syah. However, based on Ming records, Parameswara
died in late 1413 or early 1414 and was succeeded by his son, Megat
Iskandar Syah. Make no mistake about it - Parameswara died as a
Hindu-Buddhist.
According
to the ‘Sejarah Melayu’ or Malay Annals and other leading historians
such as Oliver W Wolters, Christopher H Wake and Mary Turnbull, the
first Melaka ruler to embrace Islam in the 1430s was Sri Maharaja, the
third ruler of Melaka, who assumed the name of Muhammad Syah.
