Words of mouth

How to take the heart away

WE have heard this before: gift of the gab. But not many Malaysians have it, least of all politicians. Gabs aplenty, but gift? Hardly. A few personalities have it. The rest are all din and dissonance. When did you last hear a great speech? Is there a collection of great speeches by Malaysians? No. Collection of speeches? Yes. You see, it comes with the mastery of diction and delivery. Sadly, Malaysians — largely, that is — aren’t a good reading public. Even more despondently, we aren’t a speaking public. Malaysians, it seems, do not have the words to take the heart away.

But listen to this Merdeka speech by our first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. It has some jewels, though it may not enjoy the fame of Jawarhalal Nehru’s “Tryst with Destiny”. Interestingly, both were midnight speeches at the hour of independence. “Let no one think we have reached the end of the road: Independence is indeed a milestone, but it is only the threshold to high endeavour — the creation of a new and sovereign state.” Today, Malaya has become Malaysia, but the “high endeavour” continues.

The idea that we have just begun as expressed by the phrase “threshold to high endeavour” is arguably the gist of the message to all Malayans then and Malaysians now. Tunku’s diction is timeless, appearing to tell those who have come after, and will come later still, to continue the “high endeavour” as “a beacon of light in a disturbed and distracted world”.

Standing, as we are in 2019, at the confluence of a still “disturbed and distracted world”, we say, in the borrowed words of the princely prime minister, “with remembrance for the past, and with confidence in the future, under the providence of God we shall succeed.” We stand inspired, Tunku. And you may be pleased to know Tunku, we, like Tennyson’s Ulysses, are “strong in will to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield”.

Then there is another Malaysian variety — say-it-as-it-is kind. Aka the Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad speech. It may not put an Armstrong on the moon like John F. Kennedy’s did. Nor have the refrain of “Yes, we can” of Barack Obama. But it hits where it hurts. I am going to hurt you really bad, the doctor seems to be saying. Dr Mahathir’s speech at the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept 27 is of the type. Understandably so. Disturbed and distracted, the world is kept so by the powers that be.

Sadly, Malaysians — largely, that is — aren’t a good reading public. Even more despondently, we aren’t a speaking public.

Someone needs to disturb such a universe, and it better be Dr Mahathir. Here we go: “It is this structure of the United Nations that renders it incapable of achieving its principal objective — that of preventing wars between nations. Indeed, the structure had enabled the promotion of war within countries and between countries. Malaysia does not just talk. We do. We settle disputes with our neighbours through negotiation and through the World Court. We won some and we lost some. But no one has been killed.” With apology to Muhammad Ali, Dr Mahathir’s words may not float like a butterfly, but sure sting like a bee.

Pick your style of great speech, but precede it with reading. Because, with reading come words to take the heart away.