POLITICS is often said to be the art of negotiation and diplomacy. If so, then certain segments of Malaysians practice the worst sort of politics possible.

An elected MP and his team were rather roughly barred from distributing dates at a Ramadan bazaar in Johor. The viral video of the incident did not really seem to surprise its viewers, who have somehow come to expect this kind of behaviour by people who are supposed to be grassroots and community leaders; figures of authority to their respective wards.

In truth, it is unacceptable that this kind of violence has become commonplace in our society, and even more unacceptable that a Member of Parliament is being denied access to his constituents in a public area.

On the surface, at least, this appears to be a worsening trend. Previously, opposition election campaigners have only routinely reported that they are denied access to voters, especially in rural areas and outside the big cities in Sabah and Sarawak.

Last week’s incident is the second incident involving the DAP elected representative, and will probably not be the last. It follows a sporadic, yet consistent, series of incidents that only seemed to steadily worsen after the 2008 election, the 2013 election and the Pakatan split from PAS.

Just weeks ago, a group of demonstrators who claim PAS membership vowed to stop the chief minister of Penang from attending any buka puasa event. Their reason was that Lim Guan Eng does not deserve to break fast because he was anti-Muslim and went against hudud law. When an aide to the CM, a former military personnel, asked the demonstrators for proof of their allegations, he was slapped.

Prior to these cases, several other MPs from the opposition have been confronted in a less-than-friendly way before. In November last year, youth and women were among those accused of roughing up the Member of Parliament for Shah Alam Khalid Samad, and on Parliament grounds no less.

The late Karpal Singh, even though confined to a wheelchair, wasn’t spared when he was attacked while heading into Parliament in 2009. It took several fellow MPs  to intervene.

Other than to stir up controversy or make headlines, it is hard to see the need for such confrontations. After all, the aggressors in both the above cases claimed to come from the party that has the most seats in Parliament, and many of their leaders could easily raise any dissatisfaction in a Parliament session.

Is such intimidation really necessary to make a point?

Political disagreements should remain civil and keeping their members and supporters in check are what politicians should be doing on either side of the divide.

This of course, also applies to the opposition as well.

When members make racist and bigoted statements, or remarks insensitive to culture or religion, or overstep the bounds of civility when demonstrating a point, such members should be called out and reprimanded.

For example, dressing up like an Arab, or saying something stupid about Muslims or Lee Chong Wei or the national anthem. Or stepping on other leader’s pictures at a party conference.

Though obviously less criminal than shoving someone in the chest, it ferments no less ill-feeling and only provokes unnecessary response in an increasingly sensitive country riddled with insensitive problem- makers.

When top party leaders do not make clear that such behaviour is unacceptable, that silence is often mistaken as tolerance, or worse, encouragement.

Thuggish antics will win you cheers of your follower for a while, but polite engagement wins you the respect of your enemies. And it’s only when we have mutual respect that proper dialogue can happen. – June 13, 2017.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.