By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 27 — DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang wants the Najib administration to close down the controversial Biro Tata Negara (BTN) under the Prime Minister’s Department, saying its courses is a major factor for the failure of nation-building.
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders including Lim have accused the ruling Barisan Nasional federal government of using BTN to brainwash civil servants and tertiary students to hate the opposition.
“If Najib is serious, sincere and genuine about the 1 Malaysia concept, the first thing he must do is to close down the BTN as it is the biggest obstacle to 1 Malaysia nation-building," the Ipoh Timur MP said in a statement today.
“The BTN is the litmus test whether Najib’s 1 Malaysia slogan is just empty rhetoric or whether he is really prepared to ‘walk the talk’ of creating a united, harmonious and progressive Malaysia,” he added.
Lim also asked why BTN is not open to public and conducted in secrecy.
“The BTN courses have been shrouded in great secrecy. Not only are participants not allowed their mobile phones and other electronic media gadgets, lectures and course notes are also not allowed to be taken away after the indoctrination,” he added.
PR lawmakers had condemned the BTN for the “brainwashing propaganda” programmes conducted in the course.
According to the lawmakers, BTN courses — compulsory for local university students and civil servants — taught students to hate and was contrary to its original purpose as well as the Constitution.
The Selangor government had recently moved to ban its civil servants, employees of state subsidiaries and students at state-owned education institutions from attending any BTN courses with immediate effect.
Lim was shocked when Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin defended BTN yesterday and claimed that it was not racist but is line with the 1 Malaysia concept.
“It is most shocking that the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, could defend such communal poison in BTN courses,” he said.
The DAP veteran also challenged the government to launch a public inquiry into BTN.
“Is the Cabinet prepared to order a full public inquiry into running of the BTN so that Malaysians can know the truth about the BTN courses and how it deviated from its original purpose to foster nationalism to become a great obstacle to national unity by pumping communal poison and promoting racial ill-will and hatred?” he asked.
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START 1Malaysia Camp which are also open to the public.
So that members from the public can also attend 1Malaysia Camp and benefit from it.
thank you.