The art of diplomacy is virtually non-existent in this country. Rather than deflecting quagmires with deft public relations skills, politicians here appear to harbour a fetish for the confrontational approach.

First and foremost, these swashbucklers do not view themselves as heads of a government but as heads of an archaic organisation, unsheathing their swords the moment their authority and judgment are questioned by subordinate members.

The widespread disillusionment with the government today could have been minimised or even averted if those treading along the corridors of power had been a tad more diplomatic in handling certain ultra-sensitive issues.

If politicians, for whatever reasons, find the idea of a corrupt-free and efficient executive appalling, the least they should do is cast an impression that the government is clean or aspiring to be so.

But in Malaysia this does not apply. Ill do it, try stopping me if you can, is the prevalent megalomanic attitude.

Public perception does not matter, at least until the next by-election or general election comes knocking on the door.

Despite this, public support is expected and when it fails to come forth or reveals signs of decline, the politicians sulk, refusing to build roads in dissident areas.

Professional propaganda

On the same note, discrediting each other with derogatory names and screening video clips of violence peppered with an overzealous narrator whose vocal chords ooze with salary-driven patriotism, also leaves a foul taste in ones mouth.

Propaganda battles are commonplace in politics, but it should be done professionally, diplomatically and with dignity, without losing sight of its primary objective: to convince the masses.

On the other side of the fence, things do not appear to be very rosy either. The opposition forces seem to be clamouring under a similar PR drought.

More often than not, they criticise the ruling coalition for lacking transparency and accountability but when a crisis brews in any one of their parties, they fall prey to the very same malaise.

Immediately mobile phones are switched off and the transparency-championing politicians would slink into some dark crevasse, hoping that comment-hungry journalists would fail to locate them.

But when found, he or she, akin to their ruling counterparts, would snap at the media or even  better still  choose to comment and in doing so, utter an assortment of abuse against their detractors, hence transforming a party crisis into a personal one.

Cowering under a blanket and praying that a looming crisis would pass you is not one of the qualities that maketh a politician. Neither is abusing the media or ones nemesis.

Anwar example

The Anwar Ibrahim saga is a poignant example of how explosive insufficient diplomacy can be.

If Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had been more PR-ish about the whole crisis, things could have been a little different today.

Instead of sharing with the nation how sexually perverted and immoral his deputy was, Mahathir should have simply held his peace, saying that he would let the court decide the fate of his former heir apparent.

The premier should have sidestepped the whole controversy by responding diplomatically, not emotionally and vehemently.

Who knows, this approach could have prevented the once-hailed visionary from being compared to an Egyptian pharaoh and god knows what else.

Much of the despondency concerning Anwar, is not focused on his innocence but on the manner he was treated, that ranged from public chastising to physical abuse.

Police blunder

The wanton maltreatment of this immensely popular leader led the people to question the governments arrogance and this in turn fostered a sense of distrust and fear.

One state apparatus, whose lack of diplomacy contributed immensely to the peoples displeasure, was the police.

A fiery orator, a role model to students, a heartthrob to women and to top the list, a deputy prime minister had been sacked and the police did not anticipate protests?

So what if a few hundred people disrupt traffic and shout their lungs out? How long could they keep it up?

Unlike other countries, protestors in Malaysia have full-time jobs and hence dont enjoy the luxury of demonstrating round-the-clock.

Unfortunately, the police saw it fit to unleash their water cannons and tear gas on the crowd, more often than not made up of women and children, incensing the nation and drawing international flak.

Things could have been a little  if not completely  different if the police and the government had been more tolerant and patient, allowing these demonstrations to fizzle out over time.

Govt and NUTP gladiators

A more recent example of the absence of diplomacy and gladiator-like politics is the issue of racial segregation in schools  highlighted, much to its detriment, by the National Union of the Teaching Profession.

The moment NUTP secretary-general N Siva Subramaniam brought the matter to the medias attention, the education minister hit the panic button, paving the way for weeks of accusations and insults.

An independent committee was set up to probe the allegation. The committee dutifully probed and found that the allegation did not have strong evidence to support it.

Instead of handling the matter diplomatically, by thanking NUTP for raising it and at the same time announcing that investigations revealed that the practice was minimal and unintended, the minister and his cohorts berated the union and publicly solicited an apology from Siva.

In the ensuing days, the apology became a national agenda, occupying the coveted front-pages of the nations major dailies.

Finally Mahathir stepped into the foray and called for an end to the bickering; barely hours later the battle-scarred Siva apologised.

But this is not about the promptness of Sivas apology, but rather about the unnecessary fuss concerning the whole issue.

Tool to circumvent truth

In a multi-racial country, allegations such as this are bound to rear their ugly heads from time to time. If there is some truth in it, take the expected action and if not, let it be.

The only thing the minister achieved with his threats and public admonishing was to send out a message that those who raise controversial issues would be sorry.

Diplomacy is a tool which allows one to circumvent the truth or steer clear of a crisis in a dignified manner. It is a dynamic skill that can make, sustain or break political careers.

And possessing it will ensure that one does not become subject to the dreaded saint-to-sinner metamorphosis.

RK ANAND is a malaysiakini journalist.