Politicians by and large cut their speeches according to the type of crowd they are speaking to. Malaysia is as good as any example when it comes to this fact.

Over the years we have been used to seeing UMNO leaders wave the multi-racial flag on the outside but come the UMNO general assembly they are suddenly found to be spewing race based rhetoric instead.

This time around however, things were a little different. Najib's first presidential address at the UMNO general assembly last week departed from the volatility of the recent past. There were many parts of course that pandered to the listening crowd but one cannot ignore the fact that time and time again the speech veered back to the need for UMNO to reach outside the race box.

A fair bit of the said speech acknowledged a simple truth. As a country, we can never succeed without being able to draw strength from our plurality and diversity.

We only have to go as far as our sporting achievements to see that this is true.

When the national football team of yore variously had a mix of names such as V. Arumugam, James Wong, Santokh Singh, Isa Bakar, Wong Choon Wah, Lim Fung Kee, M. Chandran and the legendary Mokhtar Dahari, we qualified for the Olympics, beat the Arsenal Football Club and drew with England.

Sadly, the national football team today ranks behind Myanmar and Vietnam in the FIFA World Rankings.

Needless to say, the team today has the diversity of a box of matches.

When Malaysia won the Thomas Cup in 1992, the team line up bore the names of Rashid, Razif and Jailani, Cheah Soon Kit, Yap Kim Hock and Foo Kok Keong.

Aside from these team sports, Nicol David, Karamjit Singh, Shalin Zulkifli, Rabuan Pit and M. Jegathesan make up some of the names in other sporting success stories.

In the world of the arts, business, fashion and academia the talents are Lat, Yasmin Ahmad, Tony Fernandes, Jimmy Choo and KS Jomo to name a few.

Malaysia's overall success is therefore clearly founded on our diversity. Historically as a nation we have never truly and wholly succeeded by going it alone without each other. The struggle for independence and the nation building efforts thereafter is an early example.

The maiden Everest climb is another fine example. One way or another, diversity ensured that the Malaysian flag was hoisted on the world's highest peak.

Then there are examples of failure where there is no diversity. The judiciary from top to bottom does not reflect the nation's diversity. Same goes for the police force and the civil service. Every now and then there is a clamour to get more of the other races into these fields because we know that success in this country lies in diversity.

Perhaps much of the Prime Minister's speech was fuelled by the euphoria of the victory in Bagan Pinang by election where the non-Malay vote swung UMNO's way. Perhaps he realised that the Barisan Nasional bed is burning and while MIC and MCA are fiddling, UMNO needs to step up and do their job.

Whatever the reason, it was wonderful to see an UMNO president's speech that did not set out to emphasise our differences.

I do not forget, however, the Malaysian politician is an expert in the one step forwards two steps back dance so your guess is as good as mine whether or not the UMNO president takes the next step forward.

Equally important is whether the membership of UMNO will bother to heed their president's demand when he said, "If we care for the welfare of the people, then the people, irrespective of race or creed, will willingly support and uphold our leadership. Ultimately, 1Malaysia is a celebration of Malaysia's plurality and diversity from which the country draws its strength...

"The crux of it is that UMNO must continue to uphold its tradition of fighting for the people. It is because of this that UMNO will continue to champion for the welfare and livelihood of all Malaysians. I want the party's initiatives to be in keeping with the times. UMNO can no longer be seen as a party that leans towards only one group."

The answer to these questions lies in time but the hope is that the nails come down hard and fast on race based politics and policies sooner rather than later.

In the meanwhile, we have other basic matters to sort out.

At a Hari Raya open house a couple of weeks back, my friend's father, the host, said that the nation needs to stop putting the cart before the horse.

He remarked that until we are able to figure out just how to ensure the cleanliness of our elected leaders, public toilets, rivers and streets, we simply cannot be thinking about space programs and Formula 1 races.

How true and what a timely reminder coming just slightly over a decade before Vision 2020 becomes due. (By DAVID D. MATHEW/MySinchew)