I'm comparing the speech to Najib's speech delivered on the eve of our national day celebrations. There are several key differences.
Najib's speech provides very few soundbites -- while some may scoff at their value, i think they can't be underestimated in their role to ensure the message sticks in the minds of the listener. Compare this to what Obama gave us:
"Our combat mission is ending, but our commitment to Iraq's future is not.""Through this remarkable chapter in the history of the United States and Iraq, we have met our responsibility. Now, it is time to turn the page.""And we must project a vision of the future that is based not just on our fears, but also on our hopes -a vision that recognizes the real dangers that exist around the world, but also the limitless possibility of our time."
Najib's speech didn't connect with the man-on-the-ground. A good speech does this by using "real" examples, such as when Obama told us the story of the final combat brigade driving out of Iraq. The imagery of the cowboy riding victoriously into the sunset is incredibly strong.
Two weeks ago, America's final combat brigade in Iraq -the Army's Fourth Stryker Brigade -journeyed home in the pre-dawn darkness. Thousands of soldiers and hundreds of vehicles made the trip from Baghdad, the last of them passing into Kuwait in the early morning hours. Over seven years before, American troops and coalition partners had fought their way across similar highways, but this time no shots were fired. It was just a convoy of brave Americans, making their way home.
Najib's speech, while alluding to a lot of "bird's eye changes" doesn't make any specific promises. When a leader speaks to his people, he needs to take the opportunity to tell them what, how and when he is doing things that matter to the country. This is the closest he came to it:
6. Justeru, cabaran sebenar kita hari ini adalah untuk mentransformasikan Malaysia supaya menjadi sebuah negara maju berpendapatan tinggi menjelang tahun 2020. Ke arah itu, kita telah pun memasakkan asas-asas yang kukuh dalam bentuk pelan transformasi kerajaan atau GTP dan pelan transformasi ekonomi yakni ETP sebagai pelan hala tuju yang jelas ke arah matlamat mulia tersebut.
Compare that to the bulk of Obama's speech outlining in quite a bit of detail how the US is withdrawing from Iraq, and how the US will support Iraq in the future.
Lastly, perhaps i'm being judgemental, but the delivery of Najib's speech was awful. It was too obvious that he was reading a teleprompter (of course, Obama does too), intonation was dull and uninspired, and he had this droopy sleepy look on his face the whole time. Maybe i'm wrong, but you're my Prime Minister, the first amongst us -- where was the passion, the commanding presence, the charisma? Could it be that i'm setting the bar too high? Obama is an amazing speaker, able to inspire a response from a corpse. Would it be much to hope for our PM to have a stronger personality?
Perhaps the purposes of the speeches were very different. Obama's needed to be convincing and at the same time respectful to the lives already lost in Iraq -- its a painful part of American history the last 7 years, and thus requiring very careful words and verbal positioning.
Najib's was a "feel good" speech meant to remind and unite the nation on the eve of her 53rd anniversary celebrations. No need to get into specifics, no need to burden the listeners with heavy thoughts. However, i do feel that it was an opportunity lost. Perhaps now more than ever, Najib needs the country united and strong. Addressing the nation, its a chance to speak to everyone, to remind them of where they came from, how far we've traveled, and the exact direction of our future. At the very least, the use of verbal imagery should have been stronger.
There aren't many occasions when the PM will address the nation directly. While i can't say the speech was disappointing, i must say i was hoping for more.
