National Civics Bureau

The National Civics Bureau (Malay: Biro Tatanegara), abbreviated BTN, is an agency of the Malaysian government in the Prime Minister's Department. It was established in 1974 as the Youth Research Unit (Unit Penyelidikan Belia) under the Youth Ministry, but was renamed and transferred in 1981. BTN's stated objective is to nurture the spirit of patriotism and commitment to excellence among Malaysians, and train leaders and future leaders to support the nation's development efforts. BTN's programmes are controversial, and many accuse them of explicitly promoting ketuanan Melayu and the governing Barisan Nasional. On 25 November 2009, the Selangor state government issued a ban prohibiting state civil servants, employees of state subsidiaries, and students at state-owned institutions from attending BTN courses. On 2 December 2009, the Penang state government followed suit and banned all state civil servants from attending the controversial courses.

Although BTN has been the subject of various allegations over the years, in late 2009, it became the subject of greater controversy, when many allegations of racism and political propaganda appeared in quick succession. One BTN alumnus claimed that he was "taught a song with lyrics like 'the land that you walk upon is owned by others'. Lecturers told us the Malays were forced to depend on the Chinese for support after 1998 because some Malays had betrayed their own race," in reference to Malays voting against the Barisan Nasional in 1999 general election. Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, another alumnus and assemblyman for Seri Setia in the State Legislative Assembly of Selangor, claimed that the BTN camp he attended was "racial and political in nature," with trainers telling attendees that Malays require affirmative action and criticising the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) as "deviationist". Amirudin Shari, assemblyman for Batu Caves, claimed that "participants are indoctrinated with propaganda about 'Ketuanan Melayu' and external threats". Another alumnus claims he was taught that the Chinese were "the Jews of Asia," and part of a conspiracy to topple the government. Another alumnus alleged she was "told that the Malays were the most supreme race in the world, we were God's chosen few, that the others were insignificant. We were warned about certain elements in our society and abroad, determined to undermine Malay excellence."

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