THE Selangor government’s November 2009 announcement banning state employees from attending Biro Tatanegara (BTN) courses due to racist elements triggered a flurry of public testimonies. Many former BTN participants shared their own encounters with racism during the course, including on The Nut Graph. The government was quick to defend the BTN programme while agreeing that […]
Search Results for: BTN
Losing the BTN plot
By Shanon ShahHOW have Malaysians been discussing the recent controversy over the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) programmes? Let us count the ways. There are those who defend the BTN courses, such as Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein. Then there are the critics. Some, like de facto Law Minister […]
BTN’s stolen Malaysians
By Shanon ShahI NEVER attended a Biro Tata Negara (BTN) programme. But I, too, sat in a darkened room while the facilitator taught the song Warisan, which ended with the line Melayu kan gagah di Nusantara and some participants crying. I, too, was made to carry an egg and then reprimanded for letting a mischievous trainer defile […]
BTN’s flaws beyond racism
By Wong Chin HuatTHE Biro Tata Negara (BTN) saga has taken yet another twist. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has called former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad “bloody racist” for defending the BTN training modules. Most right-thinking members of the public would agree with Nazri that the BTN is ethnic-centric. However, would […]
BTN promotes racial unity?
By Ding Jo-Ann“The courses promote racism and my own children who have attended BTN have been given booklets that encourage hate towards the opposition.” “The programmes are not positive to young minds, and are a waste of money which could have been used to foster real unity.” SELANGOR executive council member Dr Halimah Ali, announcing the state […]
Building Malaysia in London
By Shanon ShahIS the Federal Constitution secular or Islamic? Are the prime minister’s New Economic Model and Government Transformation Programme all they are cracked up to be? And what about corruption in Malaysia? Big questions, these, with discussions amongst politicians often ending up bitter, polemical and unyielding. Not to mention the name-calling, character assassinations and government muzzling […]
Pluralism and public policy
Sideways by Deborah LohWHAT’S wrong with a Muslim saying that religious pluralism is harmful to Muslims? Or for a believer of any faith to say that his or her religion is the true one? Or even for an atheist to be adamant that there is no God? Nothing. As personal statements of belief, most persons of faith would […]
Assessing Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor
By Ding Jo-AnnWHAT has the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Selangor government achieved after two and a half years in power? If one relied on traditional media reports or Umno’s “Save Selangor” roadshow, the answer may well be, “Not very much”. But the reality is much more nuanced, as demonstrated in the book The Road to Reform: Pakatan Rakyat […]
The secretive Malaysian government
By Ding Jo-AnnA SHOW-CAUSE letter sent to whistleblower Dr Selva Vathany Kanapathi Pillai, who has been highlighting mismanagement at the Orang Asli hospital in Gombak, cites rule 19 of the Peraturan-Peraturan Pegawai Awam (Kelakuan dan Tatatertib) 1993. It states, amongst other things, that a civil servant cannot make any public statement or provide factual information about the […]
The Nut Graph needs your support
Updated 12.20pm on 5 March 2014: The Nut Graph is no longer seeking financial contributions from the public. See further update under An update about donations made to The Nut Graph AS part of The Nut Graph‘s continuing efforts to raise funds for our operations, we are selling the remaining copies of my book, Shape of a […]