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."
Cadet Officer's Mess at Officer Cadet School, Port Dickson
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
The Cadet Officer's Mess at the "Kasturi Battalion". A snap from the past. It is no more now. The CO of the Battalion was Major Fathol Zaman, who is in cams. The rest are cadets. Seen closest front is Cadet Sergeant Juan Chow Huat, Cadet Officer Chuah Chin Aun, Cadet Officer Hamdan Abdullah and Cadet Officer Zainuddin. All of them became Ranger Officers. Major Fathol was from the Rangers. The guy behind on the left did not join the Rangers, by virtue of that I just cannot recall his name. They are enjoying a very cold glass of beer. Those days Cadets were allowed to drink. The Communists were still around at that time.
A view from a Military truck, must be Hugh Low Street named after a British Resident. Notice the shophouses and the sparse traffic. On the right of the car is the "ting-ting" man's tricycle.
The roundabout, facing towards Ipoh Parade which is on the right along with the Menti Besar's residence. St. Michael's Church is on the left if you head towards 12 o'clock. To the left is Jalan Gopeng. This is the view from Jalan Tambun, now known as Jalan Raja Di Hilir.This snap was taken from a Military Truck.
Kem Syed Putra aka Tambun Camp by Lt Col (Rtd) Fathol Zaman Bukhari
Saturday, May 27, 2006
The other features of significance are the Officers’ Mess and Rumah Kenyalang. The Officers’ Mess across the road to Tambun has undergone a major facelift after a freak fire in 2003 nearly burnt it to the ground. The mess houses the bachelor officers’ living quarters. The dining hall and living room are cosy and exude an ambience that matches the best Ipoh could offer.
Above : Definitely not, "The Officers Mess". Cooking in the bush, on an exercise.
The bar, dubbed the ‘second Apple Jam’ in the 1970s, is devoid of life after religious dictates in the early 1990s restrict social interactions, in all service messes of the Armed Forces, to the mundane. Sale and consumption of beer, liquor and other intoxicating drinks in messes are strictly forbidden. Poor taste given the unique nature of soldiering, which requires bonding and companionship.
The mess is an appropriate place for such an activity. The curtailing of this basic physical form of interaction is detrimental to the social makeover of the officers and its negativities are becoming more apparent each passing day. At the rear of the mess stands a dilapidated building, which is the first squash court in Perak. The building is in a poor state of repair and a major renovation work is desirous to return it to its former glory. Rumah Kenyalang is the official guest house at the Home of the Rangers. Continued here....
Dear Sir,
I applied for my new Mykad, quite some time back, that's a long time back, long before the deadline. I am one of those people who likes to do things long before deadlines. I am not one of those who waits for police discounts for fines, sending income tax returns directly to KL and not at the last minute to the local office. You know the deeply encouraged and embedded Malaysian culture of doing things at the last minute, which you all encourage.
Oh, yes, coming back to the Mykad, my wife and I collected ours at the State National Registration Office, you know when it was located near the Perak Medical College. You have apparently now moved to Jelapang.
My Church, recently decided to do a public service on what your gross incompetent people have been doing, yes, from the Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara. What was shocking was that people who had filled their forms as Christians were registered as "Buddha". "Buddha" is the person and Buddhism is a religion. There were a a large number of them. What really riled me the most, I, who am an ethnic Indian and an ex-govenment servant, who used to carry dog tags engraved with the words "Kristian", in the event I fell in the service of my country suddenly finds himself converted to "Confucius". Confucius is a person, the practice or a way of life is known as "Confucianism". I was against putting religion in the identity card from the beginning of this fiasco.
Allow me to educate you ignoramuses on that, Confucius taught ideas; but with Confucius's adoption in the Hàn Dynasty as the official moral and political doctrine of the State, the Confucian tradition became so broad that "Scholar" or "Literatus" became all but synonymous with "Confucian," and so Confucianism could simply be called the Ju Chia [], or School of the Literati. Go here for the details, Confucius . Further you go against everything the "Rukunnegara teaches, Kesopanan Dan Kesusilaan" which means, "Mutual respect and good social behaviour". That's in the fifth line. Which you and your people at the NRD seem to ignore.
You might want to say that I might have wrongly filled my form, even though I am a pensioner, I retired at the age of 44 after 26 years of service in an elite Infantry Unit, the Royal Malaysian Rangers. I am as clear as crystal on what I wrote, I wrote the word "Kristian". My question next, is this a scam on the part of the NRD, to make people pay for corrections. RM10 for every correction will amount to a substantial sum. I do not understand the rationale of that, because of your gross incompetence and ineptitude on your part we have to pay the price ?
On my part I refuse to pay. I took a day off, of my limited and valuable off days to renew and get this glorified Mykad. The next question is, can I claim for my mileage and for my off day in cash for your blunders. Meaning a one day pay for processing and another day for collection. My mileage claim will have to cover my trip from Penang as I work there, my residence is in Ipoh. Forget about providing me a bus fare, it must cover two and fro trips from Penang. Or maybe send your team to my place of choice to undo your BLUNDER. For goodness sake do not apologise to me, when you do that you would appear to me like a tender morsel. I need more than an apology.
I think and many others think so too, that you people are "Monkeying" around with the religion of others. Over and above that you want to rip people off their hard earned money. I would also suggest that all of you attend some kind of sensitivity training, from TOP down, starting with you. I deserve respect from the likes of you, no I demand that respect. Or is there a hidden agenda behind all these doctored blunders ?
I am writing this letter to you in English, to check whether you could coin a decent reply in English, you know with all the gross incompetency flying around. Aah yes, I do expect a reply.
Regards
Major (Rtd) D.Swami
Ps. To the editors of all the publications, please feel free to publish my letter to highlight this criminal incompetency to the public. I sincerely thank you.
The film of Dan Brown's globe-conquering book turns out not to be a film at all, but two and a half hours of rambling rubbish, says Tim Robey.
First, an admission. I haven't read it. I believe this still puts me in a global majority, but only just. Anyway, it's someone's job not to have read The Da Vinci Code and to treat the movie simply as a movie, right?
Would that Ron Howard had fulfilled his end of the bargain and actually made one. It's my sad duty to reveal that The Da Vinci Code is not a film at all, but an ingeniously marketed multimedia hoax with the sole intent of separating unsuspecting viewers from their cash. You will fork out your £10, or your £150, or whatever it is in Leicester Square, you will feasibly spend a further £5 on popcorn and drinks, and you will sit down, expecting a pacy and exciting mystery to unfold involving murders, paintings, anagrams, and diabolical Vatican cover-ups. In full from the Telegraph...
Finally, everyone is talking about the Christian faith. What an opportunity ! Now the average unexpressive , silent and mediocre Christian, the one who is comfortably ensonced in the confines of his social sphere is thrust out to explain and proclaim : what is your faith ? What do you believe in ? Go and tell others.
Why be defensive when you can go on the offensive ? Christ has been sold countless times, in countless generations. Those 30 pieces of silver have been most ceratinly been affected by inflation in today's world. He is still sold for a lot of money. What is great, is that HE still sells ! My friends in Christ, we are most certainly in the world, though because of our faith we are not of this world. Take the world at its own game.
Remember the Sandhedrin, paid money to tell others that ,"his disciples stole his body away". That did not stop the faith from flourishing. Lies beget more lies. Lies are told to cover the TRUTH, fiction is told to contort the TRUTH. You, having the light of faith, tell those who do not know, tell those who are longing to hear His name, tell them about Him. -
Melissa Peter of Kuala Lumpur in the HERALD, the Catholic weekly, 14th May 2006.
Sony Picture's Da Vinci Code. Jesus Christ was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. Judas Iscariot met with the chief priests in Matthew 26:15, "And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver."
Betrayal repeated by Judas Gospel, best-selling ‘Da Vinci Code’. Judas’ betrayal of Jesus is being repeated today by editors and booksellers who are selling Christ for billions and seducing millions in the process.While we celebrate here the memory of the passion and death of the savior, millions of people are seduced by the clever rewriting of ancient legends to believe that Jesus of Nazareth was never crucified.“There is much talk about Judas’ betrayal, without realizing that it is being repeated. Christ is being sold again, no longer to the leaders of the Sanhedrin for 30 denarii, but to editors and booksellers for billions of denarii,”
We cannot allow the silence of believers to be mistaken for embarrassment and that the good faith of millions of people be crassly manipulated by the media, with raising a cry of protest, not only in the name of the faith, but also of common sense and healthy reason. Pope’s preacher: Betrayal repeated by Judas Gospel, best-selling ‘Da Vinci Code’
Jungle Warfare School (Pusat Latihan Darat-PULADA) or Army Combat Training Centre by Colonel Peter Hall DSO of the Worcestershire Regiment
Friday, May 12, 2006
Left : Prelude to "Ganyang Malaysia"
Now we were off to patch up yet another crisis - confrontation (political jargon for WAR!) between the states of Malaysia and Indonesia. Borneo, is third largest island in the world, and the scene of this confrontation, one of the most difficult in which to conduct a military campaign. It consists of very mountainous country covered with nearly impenetrable tropical rain- forest.
There are very few navigable roads and practically no railway lines. In fact, the only navigable routes outside the small and scattered urban areas, were the rivers. These rivers meandered muddily through mangrove swamps down to the South China Sea. How did such a conflict break out in 1963? Why should British and Australian forces be involved?It was my good fortune that the officer I was to relieve as Commandant/Garrison Commander was an old friend. He was Lieutenant Colonel ‘Steve’ Purcell, OBE*, the Royal Hampshire Regiment. Steve and I had first met when he was commanding a Rifle Company in 2nd Malay and I was Brigade Major. We had already established a bonding. As I have said before, the British Army was not, in numerical terms, a large one Left : An Iban Tracker, the predecessor to the Rangers, explains the signs on the ground to his British comrades, whilst hunting Indons.
"*Col E.Steve Purcell became the Garrison Commander of British Forces in Cameron Highlands, that year was 1969. I was honoured to receive a scholarship to Outward Bound School, in Lumut from Colonel ES Purcell in the year 1969.I was then 15 years old and had just completed my LCE. The scholarship consisted of $300/xx for the 25 day course and of course pocket money of $50/xx, which was a fortune those days. I thank him once again for his generosity in making me realise my dreams. Bless you, sir."- Major (Rtd)D.Swami. Continued here...
Blood Money by Colonel Peter Hall DSO of the Worcestershire Regiment
Saturday, May 06, 2006
What was an SEP? The initials stood for Surrendered Enemy Personnel - an ex-CT who had surrendered himself to the Security Forces. For some time the psychological warfare unit of the security forces had been printing leaflets in Cantonese, Malay and Tamil. These urged CT’s to surrender. The pamphlet offered the promise of amnesty to a surrendered enemy; transportation to another district (to minimise the risk of reprisal) and, a considerable amount of cash - if the information given resulted in a successful operation by the security forces. In fact, we were offering ‘blood money’ to someone who was willing to betray his ex-comrades.
Above : An Iban tracker whose cigarette is being lit by a British soldier, the predecessor to the feared Rangers. Note the fearsome looking sword on his hip, which might have contributed to the souvenier photo of the Royal Marine below !
The SEP would accompany the ambush party to confirm that the area of ambush was correct. It was made very clear (a phrase that politicians use constantly) that, if there was any treachery, the first dead man would be him! For once, the whole operation went according to plan. I had 15 minutes of anxious waiting. Was this going to be another ‘busted flush’? Had I been bamboozled into leading my men into a wellconceived counter-ambush trap? The wait before action is an intense strain on one’s nerves. Almost on cue, a short, squat figure appeared in our selected killing zone. Left : The contribution !
About five yards behind him, a second figure came into view. I sprung the ambush by firing the first shot. Immediately there was a fussilade from three light machine gums and approximately 30 riflemen. Both CT’s spun over as if they had been hit by a bus. I have no idea if my personal shot registered a hit. Knowing my own inaccuracy as a ‘deadeyed dick’, probably it did not! Nevertheless, there were two enemy dead, riddled with bullets. At last, we had managed to contact a very elusive enemy who, now, lay literally, like a couple of ghosts. Continued here....
