THE National Civics Bureau (BTN) is an agency under the Prime Minister’s Department that was established in 1974 and tasked with promoting patriotism. However, it has drawn criticism for allegedly spreading racism.
There have been allegations of closed-door events conducted by BTN, which have aroused suspicions that the bureau is a hotbed for racism and brainwashing, despite assurances by the government and the agency that it is not.
Hence, there is a need to refresh and rebrand BTN to achieve the actual goals for its initial creation.
Now, BTN is going to be revived after Hari Raya Aidilfitri, as stated by Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, by sending 20,293 teachers nationwide to attend a three-day nation-building course.
The “Teachers: The Nation’s Builders” course is aimed at instilling the spirit of nation-building among teachers so that they can pass along their knowledge to students based on the Rukun Negara, Malaysia’s five fundamental principles.
According to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said the joint venture with the ministry was part of BTN’s “rebranding” to change the perception that BTN is a racist organisation.
As the key performance indicators have not been identified to keep track of BTN’s success rate in instilling patriotism in the past, we hope this time, it is identified and the success rate is made public.
BTN was supposed to have instilled patriotism, but, at present, it does not reflect the situation. BTN will have to be more transparent so that people know what it is doing.
As we are all aware, participants are not supposed to divulge to others on what happens during the course as they are under oath.
If that is the case, why not the ministry concerned release video clips of the course, the interaction, deliberation and consultation so that the public can learn from it as not all are given the opportunity to attend a BTN course. It is only for civil servants.
A BTN course should include all Malaysians. I hope this time around, it benefits all Malaysians. The government must look into decentralising the BTN structure to save costs. Emphasis on just patriotism is not sufficient, it must go beyond that.
TAMIL MARAN, Seremban, Negri Sembilan