Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on Saturday, 28^th November 2009: 

Call on Cabinet to set up an independent public inquiry into the BTN “brainwashing” to have public airing of its racist, anti-national and anti-1Malaysia courses over the years

Pretender Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir hit today’s New Straits Times front-page headline: “'Disclose BTN course syllabus' – Perak MB: This will allay doubts about its objective”.

Zambry said it is time for the government to make public the contents of the Biro Tatanegara syllabus to dispel suspicions by certain quarters about its objective.

Claiming that he had himself attended BTN or National Civics Bureau courses, Zambry said these courses were about educating public servants, students and other participating groups on their roles and responsibilities towards the country.

Zamry is creating a red herring. The issue is not so much the BTN syllabus, but the more than ample evidence that BTN courses pump communal poison and incite hatred in plural Malaysia.

In Malaysian Insider yesterday, a former BTN participant who was a student from a local public university Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani testified that he “learned the meaning of hate” from the BTN course he attended.

Asrul wrote that BTN brought in “intellectual” speakers who were supposed to enlighten the students about the meaning of being a Malaysian but instead it felt more like a communist propaganda camp brainwashing those attending about the importance of “Ketuanan Melayu”.

He wrote:

One speaker began with the history of Malaysia and how much the country had gone through, always emphasising the May 13 riots.

He stressed the point of how much the Malays had sacrificed and how the community should be united especially from outside threat — the Chinese community.

“He said that the Chinese community were “the Jews of Asia” and were just itching to take over when Malays were disunited and broken.

The speaker also revealed a greater Chinese conspiracy where the Chinese Malaysians were working together with Singapore to topple the Malay government.

“Do you want to become like the Malays in Singapore?” he asked.

He also went so far as to criticise Malay girls for dating boys from other races.

He added that they should not be cheap and embarrass their families.

The Cabinet should take a stand at its next meeting by setting up an independent public inquiry into the BTN “brainwashing” to have a public airing its racist, anti-national and anti-1Malaysia courses over the years.

Public outrage at the defence of the racist BTN courses by the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin is matched by the thunderous silence of 1Malaysia PKI Minister, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon, the four MCA Ministers and other Umno/BN Ministers on this issue.

The Cabinet should either close down the BTN or the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak should publicly acknowledge and announce the failure and abandonment of his 1Malaysia slogan and programme, which becomes a total mockery with the continuation of the racist, anti-national and anti-1Malaysia BTN indoctrination courses.

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor