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."
MP SPEAKS | LCS' future is as crucial as its past - Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Malaysiakini : MP SPEAKS | Both the past and the future of Malaysia’s littoral combat ship (LCS) saga matters.
The
release of the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) report on the RM9
billion scandal - which has seen not even a single of these much-needed
vessels for Malaysia’s defence completed despite RM6.083 billion already
spent on it - has led to many questions in the public discourse over
who is responsible and what went wrong.
This is entirely correct and appropriate.
Even
if all of the ordered LCS’ were magically delivered tomorrow and the
country was able to recoup the money wasted or improperly spent, the
culprits must still be brought to justice. Malaysians must stop letting themselves be gaslighted over the wrongdoings of the years behind us.
Still, forward-thinking and planning are needed. The
guilty must be punished. But we must also learn the lessons that this
saga offers: namely that competence, accountability and transparency
must apply to all government procurement - including for military
hardware.
Malaysia’s ability to defend itself has
arguably been negatively impacted by the delay in building the LCS. This
delay was arguably exacerbated by the fact that the government of the
day did not act transparently or consultatively.
No future outline yet
The
current federal government has decided to continue with the project by
maintaining the same contractor, Boustead Naval Shipyard Bhd (BNS). But it has yet to reveal how it intends to ensure that the failures and delays that have plagued the project will not recur.
The
current defence minister, Hishamuddin Hussein, has said that he hopes
the first LCS will be completed “…within a year or two”. However,
he ought to have outlined how the government will ensure this will
indeed happen and what it will do if it does not. It must not be
forgotten that he had oversight over this project during his previous
tenure as defence minister for over four years.
All
we have from him and his colleagues in the government are promises. They
are in effect, requesting Malaysians for patience and goodwill, over
and over again.Also, although there have been
several arrests, as far as one is aware, no one has yet been charged
over the scandal, although the MACC has said recently that it plans to
do so soon.Malaysians deserve more than just words from the government.