The Rhetoric and Language of Mohammad Najib Abdul Razak: A Political Analysis

This paper offers an in-depth political analysis of the rhetoric and the speech of Mohammad Najib Abdul Razak, the 6th and Prime Minister of Malaysia, between 2010 and 2015. Utilizing a qualitative cross-sectional exploratory design within a theory developed by Halliday and Hasan, this study analyzes the political narratives of Najib as performative texts. The focus of this analysis is to determine the political words and rhetorical strategies Najib used in the ethnically diverse and politically complicated Malaysia. The analysis points to a major, bipolar concentration in Najib’s rhetoric. It consisted in the ‘modern’ projection of the audience and the ‘diverse’, ‘multilingual’ communicator and the simultaneous, counter ‘Malay dominance/backlash’ discourse. His political discourse annexes massive audiences. This study also focuses on Najib’s boundaries on ‘we’ as ‘kita’, which is ‘inclusive’ analogy in disengagements, disproportionate and contradictory arguments on ethno-national justifiable simplification of argumentative strategies. It reflects the ideology which is covered by political discourse in Malaysia and the dominance in the geopolitics of the region. Finally, this text analyzes how Najib’s rhetoric how state translation and the media as Surrogates of Najib’s rhetorical and institutional control. In the end, the author suggests that Najib's rhetoric was highly crafted political technology that, instead of solving, kept a lid on the basic tensions of the Malaysian society. His eventual political demise, then, is to be taken as marking not the defeat of this rhetorical model, but rather the most profound fracture of the fragile balance that model was intended to preserve. This dissertation offers a new perspective on the intersection of political linguistics and Malaysian Studies by demonstrating how, in a critical period of the country’s history, language was deployed as a key instrument of power.

Political Rhetoric, Malaysian Politics, Ethno-political Communication

1. Abadi, A. M. (2021). Kleptocracy, strategic corruption, and defence policymaking: The impact of Najib Razak's 1MDB scandal on Malaysia's defence relationship with China (2015–2017). Contemporary Politics. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Alhamidi, W. Z., Purnanto, D., & Djatmika, D. (2021, April). Speech act and politeness strategy of Rasulullah Muhammad SAW on the book of hadith Bukhari. In English Language and Literature International Conference (ELLiC) Proceedings (Vol. 3, pp. 334-342). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Ashik, S. M. M. H. (2022). Limiting Freedom of Expression in Digital Platforms: Between State Obligations and Intermediary Moderation in a Multicultural Context. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Bakar, A. L. A., Esa, S. M., Ationg, R., & Jawing, E. (2021). The English language in the Malaysian education system. International Journal of Education, Psychology and Counseling, 6(43), 122-130. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Birhane, A., Isaac, W., Prabhakaran, V., Diaz, M., Elish, M. C., Gabriel, I., & Mohamed, S. (2022, October). Power to the people? Opportunities and challenges for participatory AI. In Proceedings of the 2nd ACM Conference on Equity and Access in Algorithms, Mechanisms, and Optimization (pp. 1-8). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Chavez, L. R. (2023). Covering immigration: Popular images and the politics of the nation. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Hariyanto, B. (2023). A discourse analysis of Islam Nusantara in Said Agil Siradj's speeches. Western Sydney University. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Hyland-Wood, B., Gardner, J., Leask, J., & Ecker, U. K. (2021). Toward effective government communication strategies in the era of COVID-19. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8(1). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Lai Fong, Y. (2022). The framing of the Chinese ambassador's visit to Malaysia's Chinatown: A gesture of goodwill or interference in domestic politics?. Journalism. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Lauscher, A., Crowley, A., & Hovy, D. (2022). Welcome to the modern world of pronouns: Identity-inclusive natural language processing beyond gender. arXiv preprint arXiv:2202.11923. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Lean LIM, C. (2021). Towards Satu Bangsa : a reevaluation of the race-based narrative and its impact on Chinese communities in Malaysia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Martono, M., Dewantara, J. A., Efriani, E., & Prasetiyo, W. H. (2022). The national identity on the border: Indonesian language awareness and attitudes through multi‐ethnic community involvement. Journal of Community Psychology, 50(1), 111-125. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Pillai, S., Kaur, S., & Chau, M. H. (2021). The ideological stance of multilingualism in education in Malaysia in the press 2000-2020. Advances in Southeast Asian Studies. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Sharbawi, S., & Mabud, S. A. (2021). Malay, Muslim and Monarchy: An introduction to Brunei Darussalam and its national identity. Globalisation, education, and reform in Brunei Darussalam, 45-66. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Simanjuntak, M., Nafila, N. L., Yuliati, L. N., Johan, I. R., Najib, M., & Sabri, M. F. (2023). Environmental care attitudes and intention to purchase green products: Impact of environmental knowledge, word of mouth, and green marketing. Sustainability, 15(6), 5445. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Susanto, D. (2018). Basuki Tjahaya Purnama's conversational maxims: A political discourse analysis. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Tambiah, S. J. (2023). Leveling crowds: Ethnonationalist conflicts and collective violence in South Asia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Tiung Lee, K. & Safar Hasim, M. (2009). Media framing of a political personality: a case study of a Malaysian politician. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Waikar, P., Osman, M. N. M., & Ali, R. (2021). Dancing with the Ummah: Islam in Malaysia's foreign policy under Najib Razak. The Pacific Review. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study