One can ask what the work of any political leader is. One answer could be that he/she uses words to communicate a vision for change in the future.

Recently one leader developed an agenda of \”change we can and change we will,\” as his Presidential campaign.

He convinced the majority of Americans and much of the world of the same. We all voted for him. But, many sceptics remain.

Words are the craft of leaders and speech writers to communicate vision, especially a new vision and a new future not envisioned of thought possible before, especially in the recent past.

The ordinary followers of such a leadership agenda for action are those who have begun to think and believe that the words can be translated into action because of political will.

They then start acting on the change process at their own levels and context, often with themselves and with their immediate co-believers.

Then real change begins to happen step by step, slowly but surely.

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This past week, President Obama (Top) gave his first Address to the United Nations General Assembly.

He spoke the following words, and made the following challenges as, \”all our individual duties and responsibility for the world we live in.\”

He articulated four pillars of American Foreign Policy on global issues in the context of multilateral international relations.

I received the text by from Jim Wallis under his Hearts and Minds Column from Sojomail, a weekly email-zine of spirituality, politics and culture.

Pillars of US foreign policy

First pillar: \”We must stop the spread of nuclear weapons, and seek the goal of a world without them.\”

Citing the \”fragile consensus\” of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, he pledged that \”America intends to keep our end of the bargain,\” and called for a summit next April before the treaty review conference in May.

Second pillar : The pursuit of peace, beginning with \”an unshakeable determination that the murder of innocent men, women and children will never be tolerated.\”

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He pledged continued support for peacekeeping efforts in areas such as Darfur, but devoted special attention to the Israel-Palestine peace initiative.

Strongly emphasizing the goal of \”two states living side by side in peace and security,\” he went on to note the responsibility this places on both sides.

On the one hand, \”The United States does Israel no favours when we fail to couple an unwavering commitment to its security with an insistence that Israel respect the legitimate claims and rights of the Palestinians.\”

On the other hand, \”nations within this body do the Palestinians no favours when they choose vitriolic attacks against Israel over constructive willingness to recognize Israel\’s legitimacy and its right to exist in peace and security.\”

Both statements were met with applause.

Third pillar: We must \”take responsibility for the preservation of our planet.\”

Noting the conference on climate change the day before, he cautioned that \”If we continue down our current course, every member of this Assembly will see irreversible changes within their borders.\”

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He committed the US to moving toward transforming our energy economy, and warned that \”any effort that fails to help the poorest nations both adapt to the problems that climate change have already wrought and help them travel a path of clean development simply will not work.\”

Fourth pillar : Finally, the world must have \”a global economy that advances opportunity for all people.\”

He noted the G20 Summit, which begins tomorrow in Pittsburgh, and the importance of ensuring that while the world is still recovering from crisis, the world must \”put an end to the greed and the excess and the abuse that led us into this disaster.\”

Most importantly, Obama said, \”far too many people in far too many places live through the daily crises that challenge our humanity.\”

On behalf of the US, he pledged to \”support the Millennium Development Goals and approach next year\’s summit with a global plan to make them a reality.

And we will set our sights on the eradication of extreme poverty in our time.\” (source: Sojomail )

Words without action?

The question Jim Wallis reflected upon was \”were these merely words and therefore devoid of potential action?\”

This query about the gap between intention and action is always a favourite of mine and all spiritual people because the problem with the modern world is that too often our talk is bigger than our walk.

Often when such a gap exists between our walk and our talk, it becomes our personal integrity gap, and therefore a liability!

In Malaysia, our leader has articulated a 1Malaysia Agenda for change. Some of us use different language for this same agenda but believe in this imperative for unity in our nation-state, as with the rest of the world, also as envisioned by President Barack Obama.

Only one race-the human race

The only problem in Malaysia is that only Najib speaks like this.

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He does not seem to have many followers. For example, there is one letter to the Editor in Malaysiakini which articulates the most abusive form of anti-1Malaysiaism one can feel and experience.

The writer complains about how new recruits to the public services at BTN (Biro Tata Negara) are verbally abused and psychologically threatened for having desires to be a common human being.

One who believes in the equality of all human beings as the only race, the human race!

And, unlike Najib\’s disobedient public service agents at Biro Tata Negara, another group of Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysians have been voluntarily organising and getting together finding common grounds for our common desire and spirit of unity which we can now call the SABM community.

Unfortunately for Najib, we-the-people-group, do not yet believe his 1Malaysia agenda because it is still only words and mere words are not enough, especially when they are propagated and sold only by mainstream media and public organs, the same ones which contradict them in action.

I quote the writer: \”Come on! What is the government trying to do? 1Malaysia my foot! Outside, the Malaysian government pushes for unity, but inside, is only the rotting stench of racism.\”

Even my son\’s Malay friends were disturbed by the speeches made by the BTN people. Clearly they are trying to suppress free thoughts and the right to voice out their opinions.

Leadership is always about influence and never authority and power to make change happen!

Only God has that. Too often, in our world, that of very developing countries, we cannot come to the cognizance that in the 21st Century leadership for change comes about only vide information, knowledge and education and never authority, power and enforcement.

I wish Najib, son of Razak, much good wishes that he strives to do as well as Obama, at least in bridging the gap between his own espoused theory and theory-in-use.

Leadership only influences when exemplified. May God bless Malaysia!