Najib Razak`s speech tonight will be the shortest he has ever delivered at the joint opening of Umno`s three wings in his tenure as deputy president of Umno.
It will also be his final speech as the deputy president because by Thursday, he will officially be the 7th Umno president and heading a newly elected supreme council.
It is the tradition of Umno for the deputy president to open the Youth, Wanita and Puteri wings and his past addresses had usually gone on for more than an hour.
But he wants his message tonight to hit home in as impactful a manner as possible and that is why he will be keeping his speech uncomplicated, to the point and trimmed down to about 45 minutes.
He will be down-to-earth but serious, simple but meaningful, and most of all he will spell out the hard truth for everyone in the party.
The thrust of his speech will be on reform and change, that Umno must change or be changed.
He will talk about his outlook for the party and the kind of team he hopes will be elected to assist him in the party and the Govern-ment.
He does not want money politics to determine the next leadership of Umno and he has hinted that many times in the past week. He is going to be firm on change.
He will tell his listeners that if Umno does not make changes with regards to its leadership, if it does not elect a team that has a clean and hard-working image, the party risks being rejected in the next general election.
He also senses how restless the mood at this year`s general assembly is going to be and after four months of marathon campaigning, the delegates have already gone through the plus and minuses of all the delegates and are more than ready to cast their votes.
A long speech would not sit well on a restless crowd.
His past speeches to the three wings have usually been a little more intellectual and futuristic because he has always felt that he was reaching out to a largely young crowd.
It will be aimed at an audience that is watching, listening, and absorbing beyond the three wings.
The three wings vote on Wednesday morning. The outcome of the three wings will be a harbinger of what is to come on Thursday when delegates to the general assembly cast their votes.
They do not have the clout to set the tone for the general assembly but their choices will indicate whether delegates will support Najib`s aspirations for the party.
Given that, Najib would want to make the most of his speech at the opening of the three wings.
Najib has not made any specific remarks regarding the choice of leadership for the wings because he feels that the choices should reflect what the ground wants.
But given money politics that is said to have taken place at almost every level of contest, the message of a clean and capable leadership will also have to apply to the Youth, Wanita and Puteri wings.
Najib will need a credible pool of talent to draw from when he forms his first Cabinet.
As Dr Mahathir Mohamad pointed out, Najib cannot afford a team that does not measure up in the eyes of the people, especially the larger body of voters.
His team has to be accepted by the party and respected by people outside the party and this is the team which has to lead Umno into the next general election.
And Najib`s Cabinet, which has to serve all Malaysians, has to be credible in the eyes of everyone.
Najib is taking over Umno in troubled times. No incoming leader has had to deal with the kind of challenges he faces.
He is inheriting a party whose image is at its most vulnerable in history, he is up against an ambitious opposition and he has to brace himself for a global economic crisis.
Najib`s speech will be much awaited because he will be speaking as the incoming president and the next Prime Minister.
Umno is at a crossroads, Najib knows which direction he has to take the party. The question is whether the party is still at cross-purposes over the team that Najib needs or if will be unanimous in giving him the support he has asked for.
Najib`s big moment has arrived.
[출처 : 코리아헤럴드]
No comments:
Post a Comment