Washing the Brains (updated)

Something is not right. Minister Nazri says the Cabinet has agreed to revamp Biro Tata Negara (BTN) courses but his superior DPM Muhyiddin continues to defend the programme that allegedly promotes hate while the minister in-charge of BTN, YB Ahmad Maslan says there is nothing wrong with the modules and it will not be revamped, only upgraded (whatever that means!). Nazri, however, defended Muhyiddin, saying the media had misquoted the learned DPM. Nazri insisted that the Cabinet wants to overhaul BTN and admitted it has been used to promote certain government leaders (The Malaysian Insider).

I attended (not by choice) the BTN programme back in the early 90s before going overseas for my tertiary education. All I remember is the course was held in some remote hostel in Sungai Ramal near Kajang, we ate a lot, played football a lot and slept through the qiamullail. And yes, there were speeches on being Malay and not losing our Malay-ness. Not remembering much probably indicates that ‘they’ failed to brainwash me.

The fact that Nazri confirmed that the KSN had been instructed to oversee BTN’s revamp and publicly announced at a press conference that the Cabinet saw it necessary to do away with BTN co-curriculum as it is against Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1 Malaysia concept shows that the programme is flawed and does promote racial hatred as alleged by those opposed to it.

I suppose there is nothing wrong with nation building courses to promote a sense of belonging and love for the nation. But the contents must be directed towards that objective. Such courses however would not instil patriotism if policies instituted by the government discriminate against some sections of the society. Having policies that are fair towards all citizens regardless of racial background would be IMHO a more effective way of promoting loyalty and love for the country.

On the issue of loyalty, The Dewan Rakyat was today told that 304,358 Malaysians migrated from March 2008 till August 2009. Deputy Foreign Minister Senator A. Kohilan Pillay said among the factors for their migration were because of education, brighter career or business prospects as well following their spouses for Malaysians who married foreigners.

My guess is one of the main reasons for their migration is lack of equal opportunities. Then again, how could we blame those who migrated in search of better education, brighter career or business prospects because their own country failed to provide them such opportunities? Having said that, a migration consultant observed that there has been an increase in Malays looking to migrate to Australia. According to Robert Chelliah, these are educated Malays who feel frustrated with the system of governance and they have a global frame of reference to make comparisons. These people feel pushed away and alienated and they feel that their prospects are limited by factors that they have no control over, he added.

When the so-called beneficiaries of the NEP feels that way, what more the rest of the country?