Kit Siang wants Najib to close down BTN

Lim says BTN is used to brainwash people to hate the opposition.

KUALA LUMPUR - 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.

Kursus bercanggah 1 Malaysia, DAP mahu Najib tutup BTN

PETALING JAYA, Nov 27 — Penasihat DAP Lim Kit Siang menggesa Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Razak mengambil tindakan drastik menutup Biro Tatanegara (BTN) atas alasan ia menjadi halangan kepada usaha pembinaan negara, sekali gus bercanggah dengan gagasan 1Malaysia.

"BTN merupakan ujian litmus ke atas gagasan 1 Malaysia yang diperkenalkan oleh Najib sama ada ia hanya satu retorik kosong ataupun sama ada beliau benar-benar bersedia untuk mewujudkan sebuah negara Malaysia yang bersatu, harmoni dan progresif," katanya lagi.

"Kursus-kursus BTN kini diselubungi dengan rahsia besar. Bukan sahaja para peserta tidak dibenarkan membawa telefon bimbit dan peralatan media eletronik yang lain, nota kuliah dan kursus juga tidak dibenarkan dibhawa keluar selepas indoktinasi," kata beliau dalam kenyataan dikeluarkan hari ini.

Najib memperkenalkan gagasan 1 Malaysia apabila mengambil alih kepimpinan kerajaan awal April lalu.

Sehubungan itu, Lim yang juga Ahli Parlimen Ipoh Timor menyoal sama ada Kabinet bersedia untuk mengarahkan agar diadakan satu inkuiri yang menyeluruh berhubung perjalanan BTN bagi membolehkan rakyat mengetahui keadaan sebenar di biro itu, yang terletak di bawah Jabatan Perdana Menteri.

Semalam, Timbalan Perdana Menteri Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin mempertahankan peranan BTN sambil menegaskan ia tidak bermotifkan doktrinasi politik sebaliknya ia menerapkan semangat kenegaraan dan perpaduan masyarakat selaras dengan konsep 1 Malaysia.

"Kursus BTN tidak bertujuan untuk membawa peserta-peserta kepada Umno dan Barisan Nasional. Ia tidak mempunyai niat yang jahat, ia mempunyai tujuan-tujuan yang baik," kata Muhyiddin mengulas tindakan kerajaan Selangor kelmarin yang memutuskan untuk melarang kakitangannya dan pelajar institusi pengajian tinggi milik kerajaan negeri itu daripada menghadiri kursus BTN berkuat kuasa serta-merta dengan alasan kononnya kursus BTN adalah satu proses doktrinasi oleh kerajaan Barisan Nasional.

Muhyiddin yang juga Timbalan Presiden Umno berkata kerajaan negeri Selangor dan Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim telah diberi gambaran yang salah tentang BTN.

"Masyarakat dan syarikat-syarikat swasta tidak sepatutnya dihalang daripada menghadiri kursus-kursus yang dianjurkan BTN," kata Muhyiddin.

Kerajaan persekutuan, kata Muhyiddin, tetap akan meneruskan kursus-kursus BTN walaupun Selangor mengambil tindakan sedemikian.