It is very troubling to observe the conduct of our politicians from both sides of the divide, both the ruling government's component parties and the opposition members. While we beat the drums up in our fervour to attain a developed status with the arrival of Wawasan 2020, the same cannot be said for a growing number of our politicians.

Increasingly, we hear the ruling party members, at any given opportunity, branding the opposition parties and their key politicians as 'anti-government'. We are all too used to that well-worn ruse where the opposition is often painted as a troublemaker.

Of the various public gatherings that the opposition factions try to put together, there are instances where approvals and police permits always seem to be a problem. It gives the impression that these opposition parties are illegal and have no right of place in the political system of a growing nation.

In a nutshell, the labelling by the ruling party members is that the opposition is bad, dangerous and troublesome and as such, the 'rakyat' should keep away from them.

On the other hand, the opposition party members, too, have been very often singing the same old tune of corruption and mismanagement (for far too long) when confronting the ruling party's reign. Never a 'ceramah' goes without a ridiculing of the Barisan Nasional coalition parties. There is hardly any endorsement of the right things done by the ruling parties' machinery.

And from both quarters we often witness much mud-slinging and smear campaigns. And let us face reality - politics is not meant to be so dirty.

Unless and until our politicians can act in a civilised and learned manner, we may never arrive at the station of developed nation status. Mere infrastructure and buildings galore cannot be the benchmark; these have to be propped up by the values and philosophies manifested by a more morally acceptable behavior among politicians.

Here are some thoughts that politicians from both sides of the divide could ponder over:

• Criticise but remain objective.
  
  
• Remain objective without getting destructive.
  
  
• Win the 'rakyat' over with noble ideas and not through mere politicising as what happens here in this country.
  
  
• Accord respect but act decisively with true leadership when the need arises.
  
  
• You do not have to run your opponent down to win; rather win on your own merits. The voter is a thinking and feeling being too.
  
  
• Expose wrongdoings but ensure that justice is not sacrificed in the process.
  
  
• Irrespective of which side of the divide you stand, your responsibility remains unchanged, namely, to play a constructive role in nation-building by working with and for the 'rakyat'.
  
  
• And if you are incapable of adopting any of the above pointers, please abandon your political ambitions and return to society for only then would you have done justice to God, King and country.