Siminul Win

First of all, well done to my still serving fighter pilot brethren for a stellar ground attack in Lahad Datu.

 

For the ongoing military operations, may my brothers in arms have courage, as we have courage in you.

 

And it appears that I have not only been exposed but also other blogs have verbatimmed my earlier post and I have been slammed for what I have said. Yes, I shall lose sleep over this!!

 

Amongst what has been hurled:

Bagaimana nak jawap ni?
Nobody is criticising the ATM.
We are angry our ATM are being put at unnecessary risk because of the prevailing stupidity of the PM and HM. Habis cerita. Bila GE nanti kita ABU!

 

and:

I tak faham what this guy is screaming about. So does it mean that we can continue to have a useless government who does not care two hoots of Sabah' borders, yes and to go on issuing ICs to these philipino migrants just becos it is all in the name of Muslim brotherhood, and that they are welcomed to stay in Lahad Datu.. blah2? So we can't criticize the manner in which the episode is being handled and that whatever silly decisions the present ruling government makes, we have to go along? And then we are family? Crap!

 

In the first instance I write on my own blog for my own pleasure and not yours. I seek no consensus nor affirmation. I know full well that I am no Raja Petra with hits in the hundreds per post. LOL!! Nobody read my blog for 5 years and nobody gave a damn. Kinda nice really :)

One of the failings of the internet age is that instead of liberating fertile opinion, it has bred opinionism. The anonymity and impunity of the net allows you to criticise all and sundry, over matters that are not under your control. Sometimes this is great. Other times it is brainless. I admit it serves as self therapy but for most times it remains as self indulgent hand relief. And decisions on territorial sovereignty is a field not open to Joe and Jane Public. Period.

Claimed proprietorship of common sense in questioning the government may be made on the common street, but not along the private chambers where difficult decisions are made. Such decisions are not on your shoulder and yelp as you may here, you have no influence on the outcome whether for victory or for defeat.

But there are those who have no choice but to obey. They bear a burden beyond what you can fathom and they do it even if they feel the way you do about the government. That is where boys are separated from men.

 

It is bad enough that both sides of the political haggling will be exploiting this episode for their own political buoyancy and survival, without those on the sidelines who have no intent in becoming part of the solution volunteering unwarranted comment and contributing to the problem. What makes it worse, especially for armchair generals and politicans alike, is that no matter what we see in the government, they cannot be denied looking good at how their servants have handled the situation on the ground. Much to your chagrin perhaps, but see what yapping does?? Whom do you think you are impressing? What a bunch of reality show couch potatoes!

 

The wonderful thing about a crisis is that we get to see who really loves this land. The charlatans come crawling  out like roach nymphs from the decaying woodwork.

 

What errors may have been committed in the fog of war have been committed. Poor information makes for inaccurate decisions, but it is not unusual in war. Don't you know whom the first casualty of war is?? But laying your hand at the plough and looking backward makes for a very crooked furrow in the land you intend to sow and harvest.  Yet the leaders have reconstituted, and so legitimised their actions that not a single nation under the UN has batted an eyelid over the application of force, especially the elected government of the Philippines.

 

To the uninformed, all war, conventional or counter-insurgency, is as much hardware driven as information augmented. There will be psychological operations through the falsification of information. Indeed, terrorists are called that because they strike terror, not fear, by the ugliness they leave behind them as they move.

 

In that same vein, the spewing of dissent in the media, mainstream or alternative, aids the enemy. Knowing you do not support your elected leaders in a time of national crisis is the very boost of morale to their illegitimate cause that they seek without sweating out a victory on the battlefield. In short, you are unwittingly or deliberately, presenting yourself as a traitor just on the basis of your poor taste in airing your graces and deranged sense of timing.

 

The time for chastising those whom you feel are less qualified than you in leading this operation will come, but it is not this day You can have your devalued two cents worth for unedited publishing later when the dust is settled, but it is not this day. Today we must stand as one. Else the cost will be more than your deluded rantings can salvage.

 

Those who are legally trained understand the need for restraint on public comment over a trial still under deliberation. I do not plead that you accord the same respect over a very trying time for all Malaysians. That is if you believe that in these times there is something bigger at hand than your own sentiments, and that is to stand together with your elected leaders for whatever outcome this may bring; that is if you actually believe in this country at all. We are on the same boat. You can stand with your captain and try to keep the ship afloat, or you can jump off like a hoarde of rats. Your choice reflects your allegience.

I have said my piece. I do not seek to convert the inconvertible who insist on so much while contributing little.

In the end when all falls to dust it is those whom you condemn who will have to watch your sorry asses.

Just sayin'.