| Thumbs up - or thumbs down for Biro Tata Negara? |  |  |  |
| Posted by admin | ||||
| Thursday, 24 April 2008 14:43 | ||||
| On the problem of "Ketuanan Melayu" and an urgent message to parliamentarians by Dr. Azly Rahman However, there are flaws in his argument we need to reflect upon. This concerns the nature of history and the structure of propaganda and mass indoctrination disguised as "patriotism". I agree we must give credit to those working hard to "improve the psychological well-being of the Malays" and for that matter for any race to improve its mental wellness. This is important. This is a noble act. The question is: in doing so, do we want to plant the seeds of cooperation and trust-- or racial discrimination and deep hatred? Herein lies the difference between indoctrination and education. These days, the idea of Ketuanan Melayu is going bankrupt, sinking with the bahtera merdeka. It works only for Malay robber barons who wish to plunder the nation by silencing the masses and using the ideological state apparatuses at their disposal. In the case of the BTN it is the work of controlling the minds of the youth. The work of BTN should be stopped and should not be allowed anymore in our educational institutions. It is time our universities especially are spared of counter-educational activities, especially when they yearned to be free from the shackles of domination. Look at what has happened and what is still happening to our institutions with the University and University Colleges Act and the Akujanji Pledge. Over decades, many millions of Malays and non-Malays have not been getting the right information on our nation's history, political-economy, and race relations. History that is being shoved to us or filter-funneled down the labyrinth of our consciousness is one that is already packaged, biased, and propagandized by our historians that became text-books writers. History need not be "Malay-centric". Special rights for all Malaysians should be the goal of distributive and regulative justice of this nation, not the "special rights of a few Malays". History must be presented as the history of the marginalized, the oppressed, the dispossessed -- of all races. We toil for this nation, as the humanist Paramoedya Ananta Toer would say, by virtue of our existence as "anak semua bangsa ... di bumi manusia". Malaysia is a land of immigrants. In this regard we can learn from the former British colony called America. Whatever the shortcomings may be, America is a land of immigrants and still evolving. Even a black man or a woman can become president. This is what America conceives itself to be and this is what Malaysian can learn from. Can a non-Malay become a Prime Minster is he/she is the most ethical of all politicians in the country? No one particular race should stake claim to Malaysia. That is an idea from the old school of thought, fast being abandoned. Each citizen is born, bred, and brought to school to become a good law-abiding and productive Malaysian citizen is accorded the fullest rights and privileges and will carry his/her responsibility as a good citizen. That is what "surrendering one's natural rights to the State" means. One must read Rousseau, Locke, Voltaire, and Jefferson to understand this philosophy. A bad government will not honor this -- and will fall, or will sink like the bahtera merdeka. The history of civilizations provides enough examples of devastation and genocide as a consequence of violent claims to the right of this or that land based upon some idea of "imagined communities." We must teach our children to make history -- a history of peace amongst nations. This must be made into a new school of thought: of "new Bumiputeraism" that encompasses all and do not alienate any -- because life is too brief for each generation to fight over greed. The eleventh hour of human existence and our emergence in this world has brought about destruction as a consequence of our inability to mediate differences based on race, color, creed, class, and national origin. Each ethnic group thinks that it is more socially-dominant than the other. Each does not know the basis of its "self". Each failed to realize its own DNA-make up or gene map. Life is an existential state of beingness, so must history be conceived as such. Nationalism can evolve into a dangerous concept-- that was what happened to Europe at the brink of the two World Wars. It happened in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Indonesia when Suharto fell. I argue that we must live evolvingly in the "historical presence of historical constructions". The past and the future is in the present. Back to BTN. Courses devoid of critical treatment and sensibility and ones that retard student thinking -- such as "Kenegaraan" -- in our universities are designed to tell our mind to live in an imagined past. BTN is playing this dangerous game of blind nationalism still passing down packaged information that do not take into consideration the complexities of globalization and the promise of multiculturalism. We need to offer courses such as Multiethnic Malaysia that will have students aspire to think like muticulturalists and help this nation evolve better. The ministry of education higher education combined has hundreds of experts -- many overseas trained and have tasted the "spirit of multiculturalism " and the "beauty of intellectual freedom" in their classrooms abroad -- who ought to have engineered a paradigm shift to help dismantle indoctrination agencies such as Biro Tata Negara. But where are the voices in the wilderness of our public universities -- those who should be speaking up against 'ketuanan melayu or ketuanan this or that race'? Why are many of these experts, instead of fighting for radical changes to affect radical-peaceful structural changes, are making big decisions to further advance the cause of racism? One-dimensional thinking prevails -- the thinking that does not allow diversity of ideas and failed to develop cross-cultural perspectives. Ideas move nations but indoctrinations remove intelligence. Political masters-- however corrupt to the core they are -- dictates the work of our academicians. Whoever writes history and turn that into say, BTN propaganda, controls the future (or at least they think they do). We must question what is taught during the sessions or during any history lesson; fundamentally: -- Whose history are we studying? -- Is it meaningful to me? -- Who wrote this history? Why? Who benefits? -- Who gets included and excluded in this history textbooks? -- Who's the hero -- who's the villain? The author "whackthembugger said this: "...I also do not share Dr Azly's many desperate wants ("I want this lah and that lah, no not that lah, should be like this lah etc"), it reflects something horrible must have happened him; he sounds really confused, frustrated and very much sickly. He should have more Faith; if the pleadings are too many or too unrealistic, He may not grant want any at all. Be reasonable, accept that we are merely human and have limitations on what can we achieve." This comment does not add value to the core of his argument, although what "I want.." is what teh rakyat wanted as evident in the results of March 8 Elections. What I want to see is a stop to the systematic and ongoing stupefication of the Malays and the non-Malays and to let them be free from being run-down emotionally by boot camp facilitators who make a living humiliating people. We have a new generation of best and brightest Malaysians to educate. As an educator I have worked with thousands of them. These are extremely creative individuals who enjoy being challenged at the most respectable and intellectual levels -- not through indoctrination methods such as those used in BTN camps. They want to be fed with more questions and not be shoved with BTN-type of answers. We cannot afford to turn term them into docile beings while at the same time we holler the slogan "human capital" or modal insan the world over. It will be a "modularly insane" human condition if we continue to capitalize on human docility. The Biro Tata Negara as an indoctrinating institution was conceived by "intellectuals" who themselves are trapped in their own cocoon or glass coconut shell of "wrongly-defined" Malay-ness and in a paradigm that teaches a poor understanding of Malaysian history. These intellectuals are running around in our public universities promoting a more sophisticated and pseudo-intellectual version of racism. Inciting racial sentiments in classroom and boot camps is big business nowadays -- profits made in the name of patriotism. But who's monitoring the trainers? Education is not about insulting one's intelligence and instilling fear in our children. This is what the creators of BTN need to learn. In short, the indoctrinators need a good education on how not to indoctrinate. "Melayu 'kan hilang di nusantara ... " if we allow the dumbing down of Malaysians to continue. Progressive parliamentarians must discuss this serious matter concerning the organization's deliberate attempt to promote disunity and to further fertilize the seeds of racism, at a time when we need to come together as Malaysians in order to face humanity's greater problem such as the food, oil, and water crisis that will plague us as human beings -- at a time when we must focus on constructing a new republic of virtue that will be founded on transcultural ethics, responsive and reflective politics, and a social-democratic-based economic system that do not tempt and feed human greed of the things they do not need. Our Asian despotic brand of capitalism continues to destroy the very foundation of our existence and our moral fibre. It is greed -- big time -- that brought down the National Front. Through the work of the Rakyat, Divine intervention helped speed up the process of removal of Greed disguised as political parties in power. That's the metaphysical interpretation of March 8, 2008. The author "wackthembugger" however did a decent job putting forth some substantiated, supporting points. I think this is a learning experience for all of us in dealing with a subject matter as delicate as "Ketuanan Melayu" and in discussing challenging issues in an open public forum. Let us now do a compare and contrast activity. Which argument for and against the fate and survival of Biro Tata Negara is stronger, you think? We can next write to our elected representatives to raise the issue of Biro Tata Negara in Parliament for the programs to either be monitored, reconstructed or discontinued: His/her argument: Thumbs up for BTN THUMBS UP FOR BTN(in response to the article "Refection of a singking Bahtera Merdeka" by Dr. Azly Rahman in Malaysia today) Astonishing! From his article, Dr Azly Rahman claims - an educator and of an astute stature having given a speech at Harvard University on "ambiguities of freedom" in post-March 8 revolution in Malaysia. - "the BTN is the chief institution that disseminates the idea of Malay supremacy, makes Malays docile, wages nDoc germ warfare on Malays, breeds inter-racial hatred, destroys the possibility of inter-race dialogue, makes Malays afraid of themselves and their own shadow, and psyches Malays into believing that only UMNO is their true saviour" - "his own personal experience with BTN in1980's that BTM programs turning the Malay participants into leaders to hate especially the Chinese". I also did attended and found, unlike Dr Azly, that the BTN course satisfactorily achieved its objectives of inculcating the sense of Ketuanan Melayu (for my definition of Ketuanan Melayu see my blog at www.whackthembugger.blogspot.com), an alien concept to me then. Backgrounder Living among the Chinese communities in Ipoh during my entire schooling days, many of trusted friends were non Malays. Somehow after the infamous May 13 incident perhaps out of inherent fear, suspicion and sense of security, I got acquainted with more Malay friends but still never aside my friendship with the non-Malays. Through out my professional career, I believed I have worked well and fairly easy with all races. Living in this blessed country, mutual respect is mighty crucial for business as well as for the peace and harmony to prevail within a multiracial and religious society. My exposure to "Ketuanan Melayu" was practically absent then. Akurjanji Culture Maybe I am not as educated or qualified as Dr Azly Rahman .I confess I am no political scientist to be able to analyze and envisage the kind of extensive 'carpet bombing, systematic mental genocide of Malays, the nDoc virus etc" to conclude vis a vis the Malays in general are "mentally subdued, docile etc contributing them extensively a few people. But this I know, the bulk of the Malays are engaged in the public sector and not the private sector. I would believe that being relatively immobile, they have a natural phobia "not to bite the hand that feeds them" (ie the Government) in the open. But when came 12 GE where the ballots were deemed secret, this set of people whom Dr Azly referred to could have been among those who gave a good swing of votes to the opposition. In Islam, if you see some wrong act, first use your hand to remedy the wrong, if you can't then use mouth, even if that you cannot do that, then say it in your heart, Almighty understands. Indeed during the GE 12, these people being fully assured their 'periok nasi' is safe, finally used their hand on the ballot papers in demonstrating their perception of what's right or wrong. Bonda senyum riang (Mother smiled with joy) Now there's this national call for Ketuanan Melayu getting stronger and louder by the day. Many Malay NGO's and prominent individuals are in togetherness in looking forward for some favorable outcome. The Malay electorates are genuinely concern as they feel insecure about their future, about their children's welfare, about their race and religion and so the call for Ketuanan Melayu reverberate.. A newly designed ship, the Bahtera Merdeka with its Ketuanan Rakyat's flag hosted up high, is in the docks of mainland West Malaysia, appears not quite ready to be launched to set sail for a long tough journey in search of the land of many promises. This new ship has 3 different able captains but each is clumsily learning to steer the wheels of the newly designed ship. Learning to pilot on still waters is never that simple especially when there some really big holes to plug. These 3 captains could sense from their most sophisticated radar system that an unexpected storm is approaching. The radar also indicates that a 50 year old junk of battle ship once perceived as sinking seemed opportune to capitalize on the stormy weather. This old junk flies several flags but the "despicable" Ketuanan Melayu flag seemed prominently hosted at the center. The 3 captains being skillful politicians, fearing their many of newly recruited passengers (of protest voters) may jump ship even before its official launch, takes on a common ploy - putting the blame elsewhere and this time to hit BTN and UMNO, the prime mover of Ketuanan Melayu. Respect for Ketuanans During my primary school days some 45 years ago, the sekolah rendah kebangsaan I attended was packed with non Malay students. At the sekolah rendah kebangsaan (just walking distance from my house) where all my children go for their primary education, one can hardly find Chinese students there. I was informed that the Chinese preferred to send their kids to Chinese primary schools. I would take it that the Chinese have their individual "indoctrination" programs to sustain their wishes and I have no qualms about it. Certain nights as I just drive around the Chinese part of the new villages, I see frequent Chinese cultural happenings; Malaysia is truly a magnificent country endowed with wonderfully rich and diverse cultures. I respect the many cultures of the Chinese as they respect mine and so similarly with the Indians and others. The BTN programs have purpose. Now back to BTM programs, sometime during the last couple of months of TDM' retirement, upon invitation, I attended a 3-4 day "national service" program organized by BTN. We, the "chosen ones", comprise mostly very senior executives and top heads from the private as well as government corporations and institutions. "Chosen" because we were given the absolute discretion to choose whether we wish to attend or not; on my part there was absolutely no compulsion. I was glad I made the correct choice to attend. Those who participated included several of my clients and friends, so I wasn't without company nor felt lonely being away from my family at a secluded location about 11/2 hours drive from home. Unlike Dr. Azly Rahman, I found the BTN course - an shocking eye opener; the facts and statistics laid bare before us demonstrated the status and achievements and the economic well being of the Malays in relation to the others; - pressures and forces, both national and international, that continues 'threatening' the Malay community especially teenagers were highlighted and focused (generally applicable to other races too). These included the supposedly bad influences of the entertainment world, the channels of communication (media), drugs, etc - analysis and factors that influence the performance of Malay students and the inability of some to response appropriately upon exposure to the world ie once they are detached from the family - historical development of our country, etc, etc. Perhaps appreciating the make up and seniority of the participants, the BTN program was conducted in a most open environment with none of the junk Dr Azli referred earlier. If my memory serves me correct, the indoctrination program reminded us a lot about the poor state of our "roots" ie Malay race and as I reflected, I felt most sad, who shouldn't be but that's life as preordained by our creator, the Almighty, the most Beneficent and Compassionate. If we have the will to change our lives (fate), He will change it. So if we failed, we should not put the blame others except ourselves FULL STOP. The Government continues to spent substantial amounts for the development of Malay students (amid instances of favoritism). Somehow Malay youths seemed very susceptible to the luring of worldly temptations and that is a genuine concern. Thus for its teen programs, BTN's message of Ketuanan Melayu has to be hammered hard and in right into their brains to remind them who they are and what their responsibilities are. I would not disagree with that approach because even during my time, there were many students (financed by the Government or their institutions) who strayed from their studies and flopped. By the way, my daughter did her national service last year after her form 5 and she really enjoyed it. I also do not share Dr Azly's many desperate wants ("I want this lah and that lah, no not that lah, should be like this lah etc"), it reflects something horrible must have happened him; he sounds really confused, frustrated and very much sickly. He should have more Faith; if the pleadings are too many or too unrealistic, He may not grant want any at all. Be reasonable, accept that we are merely human and have limitations on what can we achieve. Finally I categorically refute Dr Azly's many baseless accusations on BTN and the effects of their programs. The programs themselves are beneficial for the Malays within the context of Ketuanan Melayu. As to the organization itself, it's just natural for the organizers to want the programs to achieve as many aims as possible. Of course some educators are better than others in their approach and communication skills. For me and I believe too for most participants, we are matured enough to make up our own mind on what's good or bad, what's reasonable, illogical, unreasonable or fictitious; we take from the program what we like and discard those we think are rubbish and as we reflect, we move on in life searching for the manifold bounties out there. I am just a simple minded Melayu (like a lazy big fat berok) who stay up on the tree top and from that vantage point, I dreamily watch the many opportunities slip way. I see no reason to compare with the Spartans or Athenians for examples, the Malays too has a long history with many examples and if anyone that the Malays should wish to emulate or compare, it's the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) END Some data on BTN Below I reproduce some primary sources on BTN for readers to analyze: -Lyric of Warisan composed by BTN Warisan (Versi asal)Anak kecil main api Nenek moyang kaya raya Indahnya bumi kita ini Masa depan sungguh kelam Kini kita cuma tinggal kuasa Kita sudah tiada masa -Mission statement of BTN: http://www.btn.gov.my/ "WAWASAN Menjadi sebuah organisasi awam yang unggul dalam memupuk semangat patriotisme serta menjadikan rakyat setia kepada Kerajaan." -Sample recent speech on "Ketuanan Melayu": PERHIMPUNAN BULANAN BIRO TATANEGARA BULAN MAC 2008 Penulis: webmaster@btn.gov.my, Apr 18, 2008 10:26:52 AM "Bagi menyelamatkan ketuanan Melayu di bumi sendiri, orang Melayu terutamanya penjawat awam perlu menginsafi kesilapan lalu dan bertindak untuk membetulkannya dengan segera." BTN seringkali menyampaikan mesej kepada rakyat, penjawat awam dan tokoh politik melalui lirik lagu Warisan iaitu ``kini kita cuma tinggal kuasa yang akan menentukan bangsa'' kerana sering terjadi perebutan kuasa sesama kaum dalam sesebuah pertubuhan, jabatan dan masyarakat, misalnya akibat perebutan kuasa sesama orang Melayu dalam parti politik akhirnya mewujudkan tiga buah parti iaitu UMNO, PAS dan PKR. Akibat membenci sesama orang Melayu, kuasa pentadbiran beralih tangan. Perkara ini juga berlaku dalam perkhidmatan awam sehinggakan orang awam hilang pertimbangan lalu memilih kuasa lain untuk memerintah. My argument: Thumbs down for BTN Below is my response to "whackthembugger" on the meaning of "ketuanan Melayu"
What data and answers we need from trainees to further understand this issue: -- narratives/stories of your experiences in this mind training camps, especially re:BTN -- what were you told in these camps? -- how were you taught (in what mental state of mind?) -- were you allowed to argue? disagree? ask critical questions? -- who were the guest speakers? why do you think they and not others were invited? -- how are leaders outside of Barisan Nasional represented--- were they demonized? -- how did you feel when you came out of the camp-- angry at non-Malays? -- why didn't you argue about "ketuanan Melayu" with the trainers? Sample narrative from a reader/commentator: I want to share an informative comment posted re: Reflections on a Sinking Bahtera Merdeka: "... written by hiryu, April 19, 2008 | 14:21:23 I'm one of those people who had to attend the BTN course a couple of years back. In the whole batch of 3-4 days of course there're only a sprinkle of chinese and indians. The modus operandi there was quite simple. The so called facilitators will play the bad cop-good cop scenario as was seen on TV. They'll put on scenarios of what will happened if you get strayed from the traditional values and status quo. Then they'll remind you of the so called 'peace and prosperity' brought and maintain if you cooperate/submit the their values. I'm a Malay and I was offended on how these people trying to use Kelantan as example (it was the only state under opposition then). The whole class given a scenario of how Kelantanese are in the brink of famine and chaos for exercising their constitutional rights. We were told it was an unpatriotic choice and a selfish act. As Dr Azli mentioned, they shoved the idea of ketuanan Melayu as the most important part of Malaysia and it's the only thing which hold this country together, not justice and tolerance. If I as a Malay felt offended, I can't even imagine how those few non-Malay would feel at that time. I see there were 2 groups in the class. Ones who secretly despise the idea of MALAYSIA=GOVERNMENT=UMNO and another who was willing to swallow anything for fear of being transfered to a remote part and out of ignorance. It's really shocking to how many rolled over and lapped it up. Even for those who don't we too have to veil our different opinions (for those facilitators also act as Gestapo). This kind of fear tactic was and still crippling thousand of minds each year. It must be put to stop for it's a breeding ground for a disunite Malaysia. The ignorant and the naive will succumb to the idea and the enlightened will be subdued. We are talking about educated young people being subjected to brainwash by the worst kind in Malaysia. Help save them all! " Below is a statement made in Parliament by Teresa Kok in 2005 regarding BTN: Biro Tatanegara Spread Racist TeachingWednesday, 26-10-2005I have delivered a speech in Parliament on the allocation given to the PM's department yesterday, 25th October 2005. In the ten minutes speech (we were only allowed to speak for ten mins), I have mentioned about the teaching of Biro Tatanegara, settlement for squatters of KL Linear City, issues related to Parliament and Elections Commission. Part 1 of my speech is as follow: Biro Tatanegara Datuk yang diPertua, saya ingin minta Menteri di JPM untuk memberitahu dewan yang mulia ini tentang isikandungan latihan yang dianjurkan oleh Biro Tatanegara. Saya terima aduan daripada sesetengah peserta yang pernah menyertai latihan atau kursus Biro Tatanegara, mereka berkata pelatih di Biro Tatanegara itu menyebarkan ajaran atau fikiran yang melampau mengenai agama dan perkauman kepada para pelajar. Mereka diberi ajaran yang hanya mengagung-agungkan sesuatu kaum dan agama tetapi menyisih kaum dan agama yang lain di negara kita. Datuk yang diPertua, saya ingin minta Menteri untuk menjelaskan tentang objektif dan tujuan asal kerajaan menubuhkan Biro Tatanegara dan samada kerajaan memantau kurikulum dan pelatih dalam biro ini? Saya difahamkan latihan Biro Tatanegara ini hanya diberi kepada pelajar kaum Melayu di kampus universiti dan ia tidak terbuka kepada kaum lain. Para pelajar ini dipilih untuk "cuci otak" selama seminggu di luar kampus supaya mereka dijadikan "budak baik" atau "pak turut" kepada kerajaan. --- source: http://teresakok.blogsome.com/2005/10/26/biro-tatanegara-spread-teaching/ Let us talk about what to do with these types of indoctrination program, including of the National Service that has claimed many lives. Parliamentarians, take note -- we voted you in power to help make the life of our children happier. We will vote you out if you do not do the job. [REMINDER: As usual, please leave comments that educate and that will bring our level of discussion to a higher intellectual plane. We are all learning to propose avenues to build a new republic upon the ruins of the old. Deconstruct paradigms, not people. People are as good as the politics and paradigm that produce them. Let us continue to be ethical and gentle yet deeply critical in our writings. Malaysia-Today is a privilege for what we are trying to achieve. Your contributions continue to be much appreciated.] Comments (16)  ... written by cruzeiro, April 24, 2008 17:20:32 "I am just a simple minded Melayu (like a lazy big fat berok) who stay up on the tree top and from that vantage point, I dreamily watch the many opportunities slip way. I see no reason to compare with the Spartans or Athenians for examples, ..." ======================== Doc, Seeing the confession of the man (as above), why would anyone wanna dispute anything with a self-confessed "lazy big fat berok" in awed by the BTN? Obviously, no thinking human worth his salt could've come up with the arguments presented by this "whackthembugger" character ..... Could it be that the footnote was the punchline in the whole argument for a "Thumbs-up to BTN"? I would choose to think so ..... report abuse disagree 1 agree 10 ... written by cruzeiro, April 24, 2008 17:28:39 typo ..... "..........berok" report abuse disagree 0 agree 5 ... written by RitchieLow, April 24, 2008 17:35:37 Wa, where to begin, nothing short of a full article will do justice. I see this as the beginning of our own "age of enlightenment and reason", something the West had gone through a few centuries or so ago. It is a necessary mindset change that will transcend the "ketuanan" mentality or rather baggage for real progress, both spiritually and economically for a nation and its people. It is an age where the intellect are exercised to its fullest as against being indoctrinated. It is an attitude change to be able to critically think through issues facing human existence in general but specifically to quote from Wiki: "The main figures of the enlightenment are fairly well known: Descartes, Pascal, Bayle, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot, and Rousseau. There were others whom we could call antagonists to the dominant note, people like Rousseau, Zinzendorf, Wesley, Vico, and Hume. The pervasive appeal, as expressed by Voltaire, was to the 1. autonomy of reason 2. perfectibility and progress 3. confidence in the ability to discover causality 4. principles governing nature, man and society 5. assault on authority 6. cosmopolitan solidarity of enlightened intellectuals 7. disgust with nationalism. For lack of such giants amongst our own populace, we can always learn from history and such works before us. Here we have the advantage of hindsight too to be more specific to our needs. In light of the above and Dr. Azly's argument, I support whole heartily that the BTN ought to be enlightened to take into account a more eclectic view in the Malaysian context of being a nation of immigrants with diverse cultures. report abuse disagree 0 agree 18 ... written by Bunda, April 24, 2008 19:26:13 Dear Dr Azly, Another erudite article from you, as can be always expected.  I wonder, what do your students think of the BTN? Would they equate it to some fantasy KKK or Nazi organization? Or would they think that you are pulling their leg that such a government agency apparently exists in the world? If this wasn't so tragic, it would make a good plot for a movie. Now we just need a saviour, like the hotel manager in the movie "Hotel Rwanda", or any of the other inspiring anti-racist movies about apartheid in South Africa. It is an unmitigated disaster that we have our own Nazis, Gestapo, and KKK wannabes in our government agencies.   report abuse disagree 0 agree 13 ... written by oster, April 24, 2008 22:33:34 Having attended one of the BTN camps, I've already assembled a bevy of reasons as to why they shouldn't be continued, but only a few are really needed to discredit them, mostly to with the attributes of the camp from a student's perspective: 1) they make these camp compulsory for students going overseas, so the element of freedom of choice in selecting one's guiding force in relation to the nation is gone. 2)they expound partisan political views on a student audience, a group that in Malaysia they define as not ready for politics and force them to stay off it. cheers report abuse disagree 0 agree 8 ... written by Milo, April 24, 2008 23:45:41 To cut the discussion short, perhaps we can ask these 5 questions: If we start all over again from zero: 1. What are the learnings important to malaysians that cannot exist without the BTN? 2. If we need such an org, what should be the objectives of the organisation that will be really meaningful and useful for developming real intellectuals? 3. Are there a better way of running such an organisation to meet these stated objectives? 4. How can we ensure selecting the right set of people for the task? 5. Who is BTN serving - the rakyat or the Government? Comparing the answers to these 4 simple questions to what the BTN has been doing will determine if BTN is relevant at all in the past or will be so in the future. It will also help us determine why we are wasting resources on a useless organisation or one that is actually harmful to the development of Malaysian leaders. From the discussions seen here, I say just get rid of BTN or start one afresh. report abuse disagree 0 agree 5 ... written by Milo, April 24, 2008 23:46:31 ....these 5 simple questions..... report abuse disagree 0 agree 1 ... written by little dragon, April 25, 2008 00:05:15 d BTN's mission over d years is to sensitize d malays into a compliant n reliable mass support base to perpetuate umno's continued rule. to this end, they hv bent truths n presented lies about d true nature of our country n preyed on d malays' natural human fear responses to perceived threats. malays r instilled with d belief they r different n superior n r thus rightful to possess dominion over others. non-malays, especially d chinese, r dehumanized n made out to b d enemies, never to b trusted but b treated with disgust n condescendence. malays shud only trust fellow malays n umno should b entrusted to lead d charge to ensure "ketuanan melayu" is fully realized n malays do not lose their place in their own land to "outsiders". any malay who disputes this will endanger d whole n must b regarded as a traitor. generations hv grown up fed by such propaganda n "ketuanan melayu" is now a fixture into d mainstream malay mind. daily actions n responses r guided by n constructs formed through these distorted lenses. in reaction, an equal n opposite pole is formed by d non-malays, thus playing hand in glove to umno's hegemonic desires by divide n rule. d state of our society is one with deep fissures along racial lines. i fully agree with dr. azly that btn shud be stopped from doing any further damage to this country. don't even bother to reform or reorganize it. SHUT IT DOWN. report abuse disagree 0 agree 6 ... written by Leon, April 25, 2008 04:51:19 No doubt many events, characters, in fact entire chapters were systemically deleted from the history syllabus in Malaysian schools. This was to suit the propaganda of the government-of-the-day. What can we do to salvage these precious and crucial bits of Malaysian consciousness? Where do we start? report abuse disagree 0 agree 5 ... written by Loong, April 25, 2008 06:03:28 BTN is nasty and it did only one good thing to me: IT GIVES ME THE INSPIRATION TO TOPPLE THE BN GOVERNMENT ONCE I RETURN TO THE MALAYSIAN SOIL. report abuse disagree 0 agree 3 ... written by teo siew chin, April 25, 2008 09:04:26 so, how many years of 'indoctrination' by BTN has occurred? what are its results now? 80,000 unemployed grads? what-the-for? to these grads i tellya - go back to BTN and get your money back! heck, get your lost years back! where ARE these unemployed grads now? please voice out and tell us your views. report abuse disagree 0 agree 3 ... written by antares, April 25, 2008 16:11:46 Dear Dr. Azly, In the current social and economic context of Malaysian society a plain and simple layman’s terms, ‘ketuanan melayu” jargon is nothing more than UMNO’s ideology of incessant propaganda of sustaining itself in power. Its persistence message to the malays, are to instill the perception that malays must be cohesive in ideology as such nobody else can defend the malay rights, but UMNO. The phrase for “ketuan melayu” is very confusing predicate and deceitful for what it stands for, a better word replacement for it is UMNOism. It’s the perfect descriptive vocabulary for its intend and purposes. For those watchful eyes and ears, the general perception of BTN is nothing more than just another indirect UNMO brain washing machine to achieve its objectives. Translate the preaching of the UMNO “ketuan melayu” into reality statements – is nothing more and nothing less but indirect indoctrination of “memperbodohkan bangsa melayu”. Melayu mesti akur! Akur kepada siapa? Kepada kepimpinan “ketuanan melayu”. Walhal kepimpinan “ketuan melayu” itu yang lebih cenderung bersikap curang kepada bangsanya sendiri! Thousands of thoughtful recite can be mention here, but one cannot help wondering, what has happened to the malays after 51 of UMNO “ketuan melayu” supremacy, other than elite clones of “bodoh sombong melayu”? Cakap orang kedai kopi lebih baik, “kalau semua kedai cina tutup melayu tak makan”, UNMO nak buat apa? Just don’t mention it, UMNOism cult suckers, the Bangsa Malaysia is not going to be taken for another ride to nowhere to be seen bolehland. Mechanism of change is the only mean of moving forward. BTN ought to be given the thumb (thump) down. report abuse disagree 0 agree 5 ... written by NRR, April 26, 2008 09:56:55 The only success of the BTN can be seen in the form of little napoleans in the civil service who give the runaround to the citizens approaching them, especially the ones they were taught were subservient to them. Till today I have had no immediate resolution to any problems or questions posed to any civil servant who are the front line in the many departments. There is always different forms to be filled in, see people who are never there or have gone for tea or on leave etc. The majority of the graduates who have gone through the BTN indoctrination are now jobless and waiting for handouts. report abuse disagree 0 agree 6 ... written by Countach, April 26, 2008 18:22:05 Dr Azly, Racism was used by Mahathir to cling on to power at all costs. Now the country is suffering from the Dictatorship of a power cracy Pm.Put Mahathit in jail for all the sufferuing done to Malaysians. report abuse disagree 1 agree 3 ... written by Eskay Lim, April 28, 2008 11:31:36 Well, UMNO in trying to create a "Master Race" out of the Malays had resorted to mass-produce university graduates as a first step. Using the quota system and depriving the elligible non-Malays an opportunity to higher education, many, many underqualified Malays were offered university places. Many non-Malays suffered and cried on losing a chance to this important education. For the rich, this is no big deal, they can go overseas, but for the poor, they had to work doubly hard, in finding training & employment, having to begin from the lowest level. It was good training though and many succeeded to become trained employees and even become empoyers themselves in business & service industries. Whereas at our local universities, to get quantity, with the flood of under-qualified students, many graduated too and many become today's thousands of unemployed graduates.Many had to balik kampung to be farmers, fishermen or do business selling nasi-lemak and hotdogs. So now we believethat " politicians (humans) boleh buat ranchangan tetapi Tuhan yang menentukan" report abuse disagree 0 agree 3 Write comment This content has been locked. You can no longer post any comment. You must be logged in to a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet. | ||||
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Precisely Dr. And this was reflected in the March 8 2008 GE results.
Btw, when making comparisons, can you pls do not take US as a benchmark. They have been independent for a couple of hundred years, only now they are where they are(racial wise). I am all for for democracy in every sense of the word, couldn't you take any country that achieved their independence sometime around ours as comparison?
Truly a good article.
Cheerio