Other News
November 30, 2009 15:40 PM
Selangor To Hold Forum On BTN Courses For Public Feedback
PETALING JAYA, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- The Selangor Government will organise a public forum on National Civics Bureau (BTN) courses to better understand its decision to ban the programme, said Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
He said he decided to initiate the forum after receiving criticisms from several quarters, namely Umno leaders and ministers, against the state's move to prevent its staff from attending BTN-run courses.
"Former participants, lecturers and also organisers of BTN programmes will be invited to give their point of view at the forum.
"We want to know whether the state's decision to ban BTN courses is wise or otherwise, or in line with a nationalistic need to reform or not.
"If the federal government tries to ban the forum, then it will be something wrong," he told reporters after opening the International Conference on Urban Regeneration near here Monday.
Last Wednesday, Selangor State Executive Councillor for Education, Higher Education and Human Capital Development Committee Dr Halimah Ali said, staff and students of its state-owned institutions were barred from attending BTN courses, with immediate effect.
The step was taken as it was perceived that the course was an indoctrination process by the Barisan Nasional (BN), created to allegedly draw up racist phenomena, divide races, cause religious tension and provoke hatred of the opposition.
Following the move, many ministers, namely Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, came out in defence of the BTN course.
They said, among others, the course was for all and not just for federal government supporters.
Khalid was happy that the discussion on the quality and value of BTN courses was now being discussed, and that he had never objected to programmes which instilled nationalistic and patriotic spirit among Malaysians.
"Our question is with regard to the content and delivery of this (BTN) programme and lately, the delivery of the programme had been said to be biased, as well as not achieving the objective of getting Malaysians together," he added.
On the suggestion by Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir that it was time for the government to make public the contents of the BTN syllabus to dispel suspicions by certain quarters about its objective, Khalid said:
"More than making the syallabus public, the lecturer should also be made public (in terms of their qualifications and background)."
Dr Zambry recently said the federal government should not be too worried about making public the BTN curriculum to allay suspicions that its aim was an attempt to "indoctrinate" public sector servants and students to serve the interests of the political groups in power.
-- BERNAMA
We provide
(subscription-based)
news coverage in our Newswire service.
