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."
Mat Kilau and our nostalgia for Britain By Andrew Sia
Friday, September 23, 2022
Malaysiakini : COMMENT | Our relationship with the
British is weird. Were they colonisers who exploited us, or were they
people we still somehow look up to and want to imitate?
The movie
‘Mat Kilau’ was the biggest Malaysian box office hit ever, with RM90
million in ticket sales. This was our version of an Islamic Rambo
rebelling against the “oppression” of British rule. Yet Pahang,
Selangor, and Penang announced that they would fly flags at half-mast
for the recent funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
This is confusing.
If we believe the movie, the British were the “bad guys”. So how are we
supposed to feel when Malaysian states honour the British Queen?
And
here I am, a Malaysian with ancestors from China, writing this article
in English. Is this because I am a descendant of Anglicised “Straits
Chinese” who were once proud to be called “the King’s or Queen’s
Chinese”?
