"When she was in United States, we maintained contact, we talked to each other on the phone, almost every night. And there was one occasion I tried to fix this video conferencing but somehow it did not come out very well enough so better to talk on the phone"
About this Quote
A former head of government rarely sounds this domestically unguarded in public, and that is precisely the point. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi frames intimacy through logistics: phone calls, time zones, nightly routine, a failed attempt at video conferencing. The diction is plain, almost stubbornly unpolished, which reads less like a crafted soundbite than a controlled glimpse behind the curtain. For a politician, that ordinariness is strategic. It softens authority into recognizably human behavior: a person trying, imperfectly, to keep a relationship intact across distance.
The telling move is the technical stumble. “I tried to fix this video conferencing but somehow it did not come out very well enough” performs humility twice: first by admitting incompetence in a modern tool, second by retreating to the reliable phone. In an era when leaders are expected to be sleekly “connected,” Badawi’s preference for the familiar can be read as generational honesty, but also as a quiet statement about what counts as real communication. Presence isn’t the novelty of the medium; it’s the frequency and intent (“almost every night”).
Context matters: Badawi’s public image leaned toward steadiness and moderation rather than theatrical charisma. This anecdote aligns with that brand. It sidesteps grand political narratives and instead offers a micro-story of maintenance: relationships, like administrations, survive on repetitive, unglamorous work. The subtext is reassurance - to listeners, to family, to a public that often suspects leaders of emotional distance - that power doesn’t exempt you from longing, or from the small humiliations of technology.
The telling move is the technical stumble. “I tried to fix this video conferencing but somehow it did not come out very well enough” performs humility twice: first by admitting incompetence in a modern tool, second by retreating to the reliable phone. In an era when leaders are expected to be sleekly “connected,” Badawi’s preference for the familiar can be read as generational honesty, but also as a quiet statement about what counts as real communication. Presence isn’t the novelty of the medium; it’s the frequency and intent (“almost every night”).
Context matters: Badawi’s public image leaned toward steadiness and moderation rather than theatrical charisma. This anecdote aligns with that brand. It sidesteps grand political narratives and instead offers a micro-story of maintenance: relationships, like administrations, survive on repetitive, unglamorous work. The subtext is reassurance - to listeners, to family, to a public that often suspects leaders of emotional distance - that power doesn’t exempt you from longing, or from the small humiliations of technology.
Quote Details
| Topic | Long-Distance Relationship |
|---|
More Quotes by Abdullah
Add to List
