Civility in politics

I saw a picture of Dato’ Sri Anwar Ibrahim and the Prime Minister last night having a meal together at Parliament. The picture captured the both of them in a good mood and engaged in what looked like friendly banter, smiling broadly for all to see. Both combatants have made it a habit of kicking off each parliamentary term by posing together and shaking hands, all to show the people that they are gentlemen. But this moment of civility inevitably descends into mutual vilification as both sides wage no-holds-barred political war against one another over the next five years. I hope, however, that this time both men make a genuine attempt to be civil so that the politics of hate and recrimination in the country can be mitigated. This would be an immense relief to all of us.

Being civil is essential for democracy to take shape and mature. On a basic level, it simply means that both men must be willing to be nice to one another. Civility in the context of their political relationship, of course, means more than that: it means knowing how to communicate effectively, to play fair, to adopt polite behaviour and to be open when dealing with one another as much as possible. Both parties must be willing to use this approach and forsake gutter politics, focusing instead on bringing about the best in each other. Civility costs nothing.

At a time when the nation is festering with racial distrust and even hatred in some quarters, the leaders of both factions share the responsibility of cooling things down. The rakyat is tired of listening to endless recriminations, accusations and shouting matches. They want to start hearing positive news. They want a good exchange of policy statements that’s conducted in a civilised manner so they can appreciate the wonderful things that we have in the country.

As Opposition Leader, Anwar should initiate this civility process. He should make regular courtesy calls on the Prime Minister. He may not achieve much in the beginning, but these visits can set the tone for future dealings. A lot can be achieved by talking to one another whereas nothing would be gained by endless fighting in or outside of Parliament. The Prime Minister would be hard-pressed to reject such overtures and there is no reason for him to do so, the coming UMNO General Assembly notwithstanding. Leaders must lead by good example.

I believe that even the time in Parliament would be better spent when relationships between the groups are set in friendly mode. When distrust is reduced, criticisms will be less offensive and better policies and laws will emerge. I dare both leaders to take this first step towards bringing civility to our politics. Then our live telecasts of parliamentary proceedings would draw more attentive viewers and Parliamentarians themselves would be more focused on real issues. That would truly be the beginning of Ubah in our democratic system.- zaid.com