BTN: the bureau that bids ta-ta to the country

In my childhood, I was a big fan of TV Pendidikan (ETV). Those were the days when we were not a self-conscious nation.

Not worried if the dressing of the children or teachers on TV Pendidikan covered the “aurat” let alone, showed the outline of their private areas.

We were an easy going nation back then. ETV had some classic elements which people my age still remember until today.

There were the clowns Bing, Bong and Brooke who taught us English and of course, two of my favourite series, Pendidikan Sivik and Pendidikan Tatarakyat, which were basically about how to be a good person and citizen.

These two programmes were inimitable in the way they taught us morals or universal values.

I actually remember an episode made in collaboration with my primary school back in 1986.

My classmate, a Sikh boy, was drafted to play a kind soul who offered a lift in his dad’s car to his classmates rather than walking home in the sun.

I remember we made fun of him for “faking it” as he wore a turban in that episode, something he did not normally do. As I said, things were a lot more laid-back in those days!

Nearly 30 years later, the innocuous Pendidikan Sivik and Pendidikan Tatarakyat are long gone and what we have, not quite in its place, is the now infamous Biro Tata Negara (BTN).

The anecdotes about the BTN are indeed scary. For years, I have been asking BTN “graduates” about their experiences and cautiously they have recounted their stories.

The contents are nearly all the same – they are told about the hidden agenda of the non-Malay minorities and how they hope to undermine Malay privilege and consequently, the supremacy of Islam in the nation.

The action by BTN of taking down the now infamous slides is a testament that even they know it was a wrong thing to propagate.

The question I would like to pose is this – who stands to benefit from this factory of racist indoctrination?

It is easy to build fear in any group if we only give selective information but who are the real beneficiaries from inculcating such fears?

The answer would be none other than Umno itself. For almost two decades now, possibly since the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim trials back in the late 1990s, Umno has been haemorrhaging support from the grassroots Malays.

I remember meeting Anwar mini-me’s back then. They spoke passionately about his imprisonment and in his particular mode of speech, no less.

It had occurred to me back then that Umno was in steep decline and would struggle to find support among the Malay youth.

Little wonder then that the BTN’s brainwashing echoes Umno’s racist philosophy.

I am not sure if everyone who has been through BTN’s programmes buys into their indoctrination but even if half of them do, it would be enough to make them think that the only solution would Barisan National’s race based on politics.

This is due to the contents of the BTN’s programmes, which depict the races in Malaysia to be like warring tribes, each needing representatives.

The key to disabling these programmes would be for participants themselves to challenge what is being taught when they are being taught in front of other participants.

For example, when the trainers or propagandists tell you that the “sepet” or “kaki botol” are waiting to loot Malay owned wealth, ask them this – for the last 60 years, only one party can be said to dominate Malaysian politics.

Has that party had episodes of corruption, nepotism, cronyism and every other type of negative incidents under the sun?

Has that party protected the Malay race so much so that they can now stand tall with other Malaysians and be confident in their contributions to the nation’s growth and development?

If the answer is no, then ask them why is that not the case? Is 60 years or not enough for that party to do this? How much more time do they need?

Also ask them, under the laws of traditional Islam, is it allowed to have institutional racism?

Is it allowed to denigrate the religion of others (see Quran Chapter 6 Vs 104 to get the answer)?

Is it allowed to use racist terms like “sepet” and “kaki botol” (see Quran 49/12-13)? Can we deny others the right to build their churches and temples simply because we disagree with their theologies?

And ultimately, can the doctrine of Ketuanan Melayu and Islam mix? Was Prophet Muhammad a racist? Ask the convenors these questions so they know that Malays are not unthinking cattle whose empty brains wait for any rubbish doctrine.

The tactics, which are employed by the BTN, go directly against the shambolic programme of 1Malaysia.

Little wonder then when the prime minister announced 1Malaysia before, we had the thuggish Umno Youth come forward to ensure their parasitic friends that 1Malaysia did not signal the end of their gravy train.

And that what the BTN is for – to ensure that those in power remain so. This is the bureau which effective kisses the nation goodbye. The “biro” which bids ta-ta to the “negara”. – June 24, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.