Kursus Tatanegara

[chenchow]

GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED students who wish to further their studies overseas will be required to pass the Kursus Tatanegara.

This is to enable them to increase their understanding about the inner self and the country's administration.

This is the quotation from newspaper, and to know more about it, check out the following links:-

http://www2.recom.org:8000/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=627&mode=&order=0&thold=0

Lets discuss this issue.

[iQing]

I have been to BTN (Biro Tatanegara) camp in Ulu Kenas, Kuala Kangsar, Perak...

I have experienced Malay's adat bercukut in a kampung..

an old man says that during his childhood time people have no chance even to go to secondary school.... they have to walk far away to a sekolah pondok, where tables and chairs are self-made.

and the Japanese armies were chopping people's head at the time..

so how lucky we are...

but somehow one or two speakers touched on sensitive issues...
hhmmm...

[Thirdshifter]

damn, the goverment is trying hard to make sure all the students come back and vote for them.

BTN should be scrapped. The govt is trying too hard to control ppl behavior.

the big brother is watching you.

crap, that was me from St. Louis. forgot to login.

__earth

[Schye]

I still remember that we had the same discussion in communityzero and my opinion is still the same.

:twisted: A BRAIN WASH CAMP :twisted:

[royston]

I am sorry to post this but can anyone explain to me what is Kursus Tatanegara? Is it something like Tatarakyat?

~ roy ~

[retroque]

hmn..my first post


I'm not sure whether the program known as KurSus tatanegara is the same with the currently Kursus BTN (Biro Tata Negara) .I dont know about u guys but the one i attended was tiring.its filled with ceramah..we sat listening to 10 hours of ceramah throughout 4 days.its better for them to adapt the OBS stye(Outbound School )like the pnb scholars attended to.

[silverblue]

I read the very brief article in Recom News about this Kursus Tatanegara thingy.... it just says that it's something sponsored students who are to be sent overseas have to pass this test before they are qualified to fly.... even if they got admittance into MIT or Cambridge or sth like that, and fail this test, they will not be allowed to go....

But it doesn't really say what kind of test this is (oral? interview? written? physical?) and what is its format. Doesn't give much information about what is going to be its content (patriotism? another Sejarah Malaysia kinda thing? ethics? self development???).

Would really appreciate it if someone could do some research and elucidate us on this new implementation.... Does anyone have a younger sister or brother who's currently being sponsored by JPA, Petronas, Mara, Tenaga or [sth sth](forgot the other one affected) ?

[silverblue]

Oh, by the way,

retroque!! Welcome to Recom and thank you for your first post. I'd like to invite you to proceed to the Intro Forum so that you can tell us a little more about yourself! THanks! :)

[theT]

BTN was hell lotsa fun!

i heard lotsa ppl complaining bout it. But it was a fun experience for me. I like those activities they had like the physical challenge and jungle tracking. the ceramah is actually good too. so tht we can sleep and get refreshed for the next activities. they food was actually good for a camp. very good indeed. they instructor also treated us with respect and no so-called army shouting.

btw, i think all the participants play a role to. to have fun throughout the course and dont think of it as a punishment or whtever.
:D

[iQing]

I still think the brainwashing lecture in BTN touches sensitive issue...

like...

they say USA is malaysia's external enemy
Christians try to influence the leader to gain more power
Malays are doing badly compare to chinese etc.

these sensitive topics makes me... errr... not feeling well...

I don't think such lectures should be given to students

[theT]

i dont really listen to the ceramah during btn.
so i dont really know if its touch a sensitive issue. but my btn was joined with non malay and non muslim. so i think thts why its less sensitive. but wht those ppl in the btn said is quite true. like some ppl forget where they come from. jpa who pays for their tution fee and they still cursing the governement. its like the malay saying something like "jilat ludah sendiri"
~~
whatever

[jiinjoo]

Can I also ask another related question (think I ask before, but forgot)

Why can't other NON-gov-sponsored students attend the kem too? Why must they only brainwash (if they are doing it well enough to earn that name) only the gov scholars? Why aren't the entire country or at least everyone who have the interest / aptitute to understand the ceramah be allowed to participate, on or offline (i mean attending it or just getting the material to study by yourself)?

Hmm, that's more than one question, but I guess you can summaries it as - what's the point of BTN? Brainwash scholars only, or brainwash the future leaders of the country?

(now i have a feeling that chen chow answered this before in c0, but i totally can't remember...)


And a seperate question: why can't this be incorporated into our regualr syllabus in schools? Something like a civics tutorial kind of class etc.?

Thanks for giving your opinion.

[retroque]

i dont really listen to the ceramah during btn.
so i dont really know if its touch a sensitive issue. but my btn was joined with non malay and non muslim. so i think thts why its less sensitive. ~~



mine had about 40% of non malays but thats not really the point i guess.

. like some ppl forget where they come from. jpa who pays for their tution fee and they still cursing the governement. its like the malay saying something like "jilat ludah sendiri"
~~
whatever


now this is the point.not saying I'm trying to bring pollitical elements into recom .but people have different views and students who "curse" or criticise the government doesnt mean that they are the ones who would like to see msia collapse eh?in fact it shows the how concern they are about this country.we have to remember that neither one of us that is "falseless" as in do no make mistakes and cannot escape critisicsm.

what i propose is how these critisicsm is use to evaluate and improve our ways of handling things.....in a much more positive mode.how we treat and accept people criticism shows how matured we are....dont u think so?


-towards a better malaysia-

[taufiq]

under along,
i think btn will be successful
keep him there
he's doing a very good job
ask everyone who know him
and they will agree

kitorang siap tubuhkan KMM lagi kan chop!
(Kelab Mandi Malam)

patriotik gak la rasa
no need to promote patriotisme sangat
we can develop the feeling ourselves
teach us how to survive, and we'll be thankful
(and there's a lot ways to show that we're thankful)

[Schye]

I can?t find any details on the tatanegara test but from the news above, it seems that they have implemented it. I think this is a good idea to make sure those who are sent by our countries know well about Malaysia.

About BTN,
I enjoyed it a lot as we had the camp together with those who are going to Australia, Korea, France and Japan. I have known a lot of great friends and their programme is nicely planned.
But most of their ceramah are biased. Comparing the numbers and the statistic shows nothing. To be frank, I was quite hurted when they still focus on the issues of Bumiputera are those who own the lands and Chinese and Indians are from other countries, SO it is fair that we are having the bumiputera status.
I am not against the Bumiputera status but the focus on that point seems to be unsuitable. I think many are being offended as I was born in Malaysia and I think that I shouldn?t be treated as a foreigner. Everyone should have the equal rights on the world and well, that is just my opinion and oh..It is out of topic...hehe

[chenchow]

I think one of the lessons I have learned from the activity at BTN, is that they ask us to reflect back since when we were born and how much our parents have spent on us.

In the calculation, we need to include from all the food that we have eaten, all the supplies that we had gotten from our parents, everything else... Although many of those can't possibly be calculated by using dollars and cents, it is a good reflection. If we want to include relative spending by our parents, then the tax money that our parents paid, partly came to us, the house and car that our parents had and we lived and used, it could be calculated into...

Just try to do that and you will be amazed by the number and this is still not including all the intangible love and care...

[silverblue]

HHmm... frankly speaking, I don't think I remember much on what they preached us during the BTN ceramahs but I did remember they fed us 5 meals-a-day 'better than expected' food.. hehe

And the whole camp turned out as a pretty fun experience too... no doubt it could have been better in some aspects but overall, I felt it gave us a sense of togetherness and stoked some pride for being Malaysians...

I still remember how we were awaken early dawn by the gruffy and croaky voice growling "bangggguuunn.... baannngguuunn...." until everyone was irritatedly awake!! I still remember how we had to berkawat and march as if we were in military school every morning. I still remember how we had to make our own team flags, and carry it everywhere we went. How we played those capture-the-flag games late at night. All those group sessions with our facilitator who gave us some mind boggling activities that helped potray how we have to work together towards a common goal to achieve something (although some of it were boring, some were not bad). I still remember how all of us had to stand up in btw ceramahs to perform the actions to the 'saya ada rumah' listening vs. action trick-game. Oh, not to forget the 'mcdonalds, kfc and pizza hut' action game too! haha (sorry if this is alien to some people). I also still remember embarrasing myself with my closing ceremony speech, when I represented the non-muslims group. And lotsa other memorable stuff that we did together... :)

Hehehe... anyway, aren't we supposed to talk about the Kursus Tatanegara instead of BTN?? Is this tata thingy supposed to replace the BTN camps?? [/b]

[theT]

we did the "mc donald, kfc, pizza hut" game too :D

[Thirdshifter]

Biro Tata Negara,A body administrated under the Jabatan perdana menteri is famously known for its role to spread the goverments doctrines to Public Servants/Worker, and Students.

A close friend of mine, if memory serves well; She spent a week at a newly built hostel a.k.a chalet in Pasir Panjang, Penang.

She sure did enjoy her time there. Great meal, nice view and of course FREE

From what i heard from her, The activities was mostly silly followed by typically once or twice a day goverment agenda of what is and what's not.

She guestimated that travelling to the location, Estimation of renting a Chalet for a week and anytime you want a meal-deal would cost at least 60 Ringgit (travel) + 60-65 Ringgit/person/perday. Multiply that to a group of 50 then think how many times do they d such thing a year?

So how can i say yeah, that all fine and dandy go ahead spent all that money, make sure those kids would vote for you and would love the country when they're living abroad?

what chalet? they stuffed us in a room filled with bunk beds with hardly room to walk between the beds. hated the physical stuff. hated the ceramah stuff. the most fun i had was the part where they walk you into the woods and left you alone; best sleep i had that whole weekend

[iQing]

talking about food...
My friends were having diarrere (cirit birit) in BTN
I got too... luckily it's after coming back from the camp...
the food is ... not clean...

[screw3d]

Is this Kursus Tatanegara the same thing that we ATU7 peeps attended in Klang? I thought that it was nothing more than just one huge ceramah spread in a few days (that, I daresay, no one listened to).

I also got an absolutely horrible facilitator that would take an entire essay to describe what was wrong with him. If any of you guys cared to remember, he was the one blowing the damn whistle non-stop before/after we did the flag thing.

Otherwise, it was a pretty good and fun experience.

[__earth]

i repeat, it sucks. the FCs are one of the most no-good-snobbering FCs. They think they are the best persons in the whole wide world.

[aida_ikmal]

looking forward..hahaha..

[aida_ikmal]

looking forward..hahaha..

[z]

hey... don't complain too much about the FCs lah... you think they really wanted to do that? the ones who're "forced" to do it obviously will be bitter.

one thing for sure is that we made their day by giving the standing ovation after their closing speech... haha :D you see.. it's so easy to make everyone happy!!

silverblue... what was your speech content? i forgot liao leh.. sorry :P recap plz.

flying fox thingy was pretty cool, too bad we can't do fancy moves.

[z]

hey... don't complain too much about the FCs lah... you think they really wanted to do that? the ones who're "forced" to do it obviously will be bitter.

one thing for sure is that we made their day by giving the standing ovation after their closing speech... haha :D you see.. it's so easy to make everyone happy!!

silverblue... what was your speech content? i forgot liao leh.. sorry :P recap plz.

flying fox thingy was pretty cool, too bad we can't do fancy moves.

[kelvinlym]

BTN was fun. Exception=the ceramahs

well, what can i say, the facilitators too seem forced to give the ceramahs

[kelvinlym]

BTN was fun. Exception=the ceramahs

well, what can i say, the facilitators too seem forced to give the ceramahs

[mercsinc]

btn...too much "ceramahs"...should have more fun activities that incorporate the intended messages...during the "ceramahs", people get sleepy and tired, only the speaker is getting a kick out of it...

[mercsinc]

btn...too much "ceramahs"...should have more fun activities that incorporate the intended messages...during the "ceramahs", people get sleepy and tired, only the speaker is getting a kick out of it...

[trishotiwuth]

I'm doing an overseas twinning program with a 100% scholarship from the gov and yes, my coursemates and I all have to attend the yearly kursus BTN. Last year we went to the Kem Bumi Jati in Kelang Lama and this year God knows where they're throwing us. Every camp you go you get the same stuff; talks, talks and more talks.

Essentially, kursus BTN serves many significant purposes. You learn more about teambuilding, effective communication, maintaining good human relationships, patriotism etc. The Government pays good money to trainers to help us become better people. (If you've attended the Outward Bound camp you'd know how much).

Unfortunately, kursus BTN still has its many flaws, despite the fact that the program has been running for many years. Most of the camps (according to my friends and my own experience) are usually in bad condition (but this could be done on purpose : to remove the city kids like me from the material comforts I have been spoilt with), the talks draggy and long-winded,lack of experienced facilitators and yes, course content that sometimes overlooks the racial composition of participants. In fact, in one of the motivational courses (organised by the Government)I attended, we were served with a beef-much to the horror of our Hindu friends. Surely we didn't expect that from a camp that preaches racial harmony.

[trishotiwuth]

I'm doing an overseas twinning program with a 100% scholarship from the gov and yes, my coursemates and I all have to attend the yearly kursus BTN. Last year we went to the Kem Bumi Jati in Kelang Lama and this year God knows where they're throwing us. Every camp you go you get the same stuff; talks, talks and more talks.

Essentially, kursus BTN serves many significant purposes. You learn more about teambuilding, effective communication, maintaining good human relationships, patriotism etc. The Government pays good money to trainers to help us become better people. (If you've attended the Outward Bound camp you'd know how much).

Unfortunately, kursus BTN still has its many flaws, despite the fact that the program has been running for many years. Most of the camps (according to my friends and my own experience) are usually in bad condition (but this could be done on purpose : to remove the city kids like me from the material comforts I have been spoilt with), the talks draggy and long-winded,lack of experienced facilitators and yes, course content that sometimes overlooks the racial composition of participants. In fact, in one of the motivational courses (organised by the Government)I attended, we were served with a beef-much to the horror of our Hindu friends. Surely we didn't expect that from a camp that preaches racial harmony.

[DecentMerson]

Heya guys....
ever wonder where is Elansargelmir, b_ronick, DecentMerson and bunch of ATU10ians were for the last five days??

yeah, the title says it all....

but dun get me wrong... BTN is B.E.A.U.Tiful.....it is very very nice....

the facilitators, the trainers, and the ppl.....

the only thing bad is the food.....

i think i should let elansargelmir to talk about the micro.....

[pandaboy]

So you're the first one back here in recom, DecentMerson? Hehe...welcome back.
What is BTN btw? Mind to explain? Why not share ur experience here?

[DecentMerson]

hehehe... i thought elansargelmir will be faster...

BTN is Biro TataNegara.... it is a 5 days 4 nights course... its main objective is to educate young minds about patriotism and the importance of unity....

at first, almost everyone of us curse BTN becoz it has caused our timetable chaotic and has added tremendous amount of stress becoz the lecturers have to speed up their lectures and have their test brought forward.... try to imagine calculus 2 final test and c++ programming final test on two consecutive days....

furthermore, some of our seniors told us that BTN is a NO-NO.....

so, we expect it to be a bad experience... but it really shocked us...BIG TIME...

[SpRInG]

BTN? u mean Bawa Telur Negara?
hahaha

well, overall, the facilitators are nice... and understanding... and blababla.... yea....

but then the facilities and the welfares are really bad lah.... i mean, well, it could be the wrong timing also lah....

especially the food.... that is not a way that a human in a right mind should prepare and consume

[gal_flower]

i definitely must say that the facilitators are an amazing bunch of ppl...they bend so many rules for us! i had so much fun on the bbq nite..

the food? oh! it made me miss akasia so so very much...imagine many many flies flying around ur food...even when they are preparin ur food....egad!

[gatecrasher]

The group activities at BTN were actually quite enjoyable. The only drawback is that some of them end with a long indoctrination (brainwashing) lecture from the faci (facilitator) - beware of the country's enemies, threats of racial disharmony if don't support govt etc etc...

[iQing]

HAha...

the worst is still the food.

many of us kena cirit birit for eating dunno what.. hehe

last time I got the chance to slide down a big + tall wall via a rope.

[pandaboy]

I found a link for BTN for those who dont know what it is.

Kursus Biro Tatanegara (http://agrolink.moa.my/did/pbls/kursus_biro_tatanegara.htm)

8)

[onehaz]

There are probably different BTN's for different groups of people, I guess.

My sis (who's under MARA) told me her BTN (pre-departure UK 2002) was about the greatness of being "malay", our responsibilities to our own "malay" race, you know, the usual racist hogwash.

Ironically, we're only technically malay. and whatabout the non-malay bumis who are also sponsored by MARA ?

This can't be healthy for the country can it? :?

[iQing]

that?s why the ceramah is well known as brainwashing session...
luckily thier brainwash tecnique is lousy...

[ElansarGelmir]

hehehe... i thought elansargelmir will be faster...

I can't get the access to the internet as far as u are wert... Juz reached BM. YAWN!

Oh yeah, BTN! Hate to admit it, but I really miss it. Maybe it's the timing. You know, pushing it on the last week of our time together in INTEC makes the moment there more precious (especially the KARAOKE part). Somemore most of us cleared our tests, so we have time to enjoy ourselves in lieu of bringing our calculus or C++ texts to the camp and mug there. Instead, all of us have our fun there. And no worries for our studies. Hurrah! :D

Well, i would rather say, we had our BTN at the wrong place. The facees apologized lots and lots of time about that. Obviously, we ATU 10 got the worst venue for BTN... Hot dorms, dirty and scarce food... But push them aside. The LDKs are the ones that drive me to look forward to the next day. And my FACEE is good enough to buy us KFC. I guess she understands that the food there is way too inedible, and amazingly, we survived 5 days there albeit I experienced the inevitable cirit-birit...

I dare to say that if BTN were to be held in Selayang, the place where we had our Psycho camp, i dun mind having a 10-day BTN. :wink:

[tree007]

man, can't believe i'm saying this but.. BTN rox man!

minus the perang biology part and scene of flies and cats surrounding ur food whne it's getting prepared.. whoa.. damn nice... :P

regarding the brainwashing ,hehe.. i dun think i mind lor.. ehh... patriotism mah.. make us hate s'pore.. muahahahahaha! s'pore sux!! muahahaha.... and this BTN camp... the facis all open minded lor....no "malay" greatness there... instead, it was the opposite.. i dunno tey did intentionally or wat lah.. but they showed the stats of the public examinations n uni grad stats in malaysia.. n i think they indirectly wan the bumis to err.. "fan xing" ?

anyway.. hehe.. to all juniors.. no need worry about BTN lah... but for bina insan, .... errrr.. find alasan to skip lah... haha... "who r u??!!!!!" :P

[chillout]

BTN.... I knew you, Mun Hua! :P sweet, lovely gal!

[ElansarGelmir]

Yeap, karaoke session rox! Hehe... but the BBQ was rather horrible though... and i enjoyed making Wei Jie cried that night... LOL! Got sheeps? Wanna go back to the future? LOL! Remember what's close and what's open.

hmm... hope that no one else will get their BTN in Banting, though i like our Pondok Lepak... hehehe

[kucingbiru]

btn should be about patriotism, but they mix it with the politics of bn. that sucks, no wonder some people think bashing the politicians (bn people) is unpatriotic.

[ElansarGelmir]

The first question for our BTN test was conspicuously RACIST. Hehe... dun wanna reveal it here... later break a dispute, then someone get upset, and pandaboy comes and lock this thread up... hehe....

Of course, during the LDK, our facee told us, "If other party is to rule Malaysia, then we won't have this developed Malaysia anymore". Something of that sort. What she was trying to tell us was when u come back, vote for BN.

[ElansarGelmir]

Just recalled the Karaoke night in BTN. Rainforest, u roqx! Chap kali chap kali chap chap chap! Scheisse, should have video cammed it!

[aida_ikmal]

i still remember the time when i joined the btn programme..
at first i felt that it was gonna be hell for me but in the end it wasn't.. it's a good programme for all malaysians..who can say anything when we were 'threwn' into the beautiful camp of ulu sepri?

[astraltruist]

i m one of those unlucky people who will be goin for btn end of aug(yea in Banting).. so any thing to warn or advice on how to survive there? thanks

[budakkerek]

BTN to me, was sthing scary until i got to go to the BTN camp in Ulu Sepri. It was fun, i enjoyed the camp. the accomodation was good, food was super delicious (i ate a LOT - you can ask my friends hehe) and the faci that i got was not so bad. The not so besh part was the exam, huh...knp laa kn study summore...i went to the camp right after i habis my finals..so i was a bit tension laa nearing the end..but the whole BTN camp experience was fun nonetheless

the mandi sungai part was extra nice :D

[kucingbiru]

i m one of those unlucky people who will be goin for btn end of aug(yea in Banting).. so any thing to warn or advice on how to survive there? thanks

i advise you not to believe everything that they say. use ur brain. take what's good, leave crap behind. and please, tell yourself that patriotism is not equal to supporting the governing party, because they might mix them up.

the one that i went to last 2 years was religiously unbalanced. some speakers talked too much about Islam to the audience which was 50% non-muslim. it's annoying.

[budakkerek]

well, like i said, disregard whutever they say, and you might just find your camp enjoyable. :D

Some things they say might be true, (e.g bout loyalty to our country etc) but some might not (eg patriotism equals supporting/voting for the ruling party)
Just think carefully, and dont believe everything they say (they're just normal ppl like us, who can stimes, get carried away w what they're supposed to do ) :lol:

Oh ya..be careful of what you say, esp to the facis. they might seem 'harmless' and open, but you nvr know. It'll nvr hurt you to be a tad more careful than usual :wink:

[Ic3b3rg]

BTN was a very educational experience for me... first, the test that we had to take made me relearn Bahasa Melayu!!! i did not know that i could revert so fast to fluent Bahasa Melayu under pressure... heehee i thought my command of tht language was lost after one year of speaking bahasa rojak..... second, sleeping next to the toilet among flies.... with some ppl stepping on your matresses..... wow tht taught me patience!!! it was a test of my patience and thankfully i managed to stay there for five days without losing my head...... third, the food was another test... i learnt to be thankful for every morsel of food... i learnt to be courageous enough to eat the food among FLIES!! now i understand and empathize with ppl in worse off conditions.... those who have to live in the dumps.. eating food from the rubbish bin... ppl who have flies with them 24/7..... fourth, i learnt to cherish my friendships.... i learnt that with happy and crazy friends to do crazy stuff with u, you can actually go through trying obstacles..... fifth... i was totall amazed with the facillitators...... from the young facilitators.. i saw amazing energy and enthusiasm... i dare say that they are sporting and idealistic ppl whom we can emulate.. and i have one facilitator who takes up half a dozen job... as a taxi driver, advertiser, lecturer, travel agent.... and many more.... his life is so interesting and he tells us that we have to grab any opportunity to gain experience in life.... tht was his only form of education .....

indeed i have learnt a lot in this five day camp from hell...;P

[gal_flower]

i agree tad i actually had more fun during the karaoke session in btn than atu nite...but then again, perhaps its bcoz i was sick during the dinner n we were all nicely dressed tad we din really go all out to haf fun... :lol: :lol:

btn...juz go there without expectations...as long as there are frens around, everything is bearable! we had singing sessions...chatting sessions...game sessions...we had fun! (albeit the food!)

[chiunlin]

Just recalled the Karaoke night in BTN. Rainforest, u roqx! Chap kali chap kali chap chap chap! Scheisse, should have video cammed it!
No one recorded it? What a waste!! That was once in a lifetime!! Sad, sad :cry: :cry:

[gal_flower]

well, actually i think some did recorded tad...

[taufiq]

Bachok or others who joined the BTN recently..
how was it this time?

[SpRInG]

wah,
take picture of me doing silly moves isit?
hahha

[ElansarGelmir]

i m one of those unlucky people who will be goin for btn end of aug(yea in Banting).. so any thing to warn or advice on how to survive there? thanks

Bring your own water (preferably that can last u for 5 days) and biscuits (that can provide u supper for 4 days as well)... You may prefer eating dry biscuits then eating flies...

Ermm... just enjoy urself. The facilities are bad, but the facilitators are the coolest! But do becareful though. Whatever you do is being graded. I was late for my LDK for about 20 seconds?, and the next thing, she threatened to deduct points from my group members (thanks to a BIG MOUTH member of mine...)

Oh yeah, the Facilitators are super lame! So, just laugh at their jokes lar (even if some are not funny, like the pantun naik bas).

[astraltruist]

ok.. thanks a lot for the advice.. very helpful indeed.. oh ya, what about the dressing.. must we all wear baju kurung all the time(for girls)? and formal shoes..? thanks.. :)

[gal_flower]

for the ceramahs, we r suppose to wear formal...meaning gals in baju kurung n guys in their shirts n pants...no slippers...during ur LDK (latihan dlm kump) sessions, it's up to ur facilitator whether u can wear casual or not...but definitely no shorts...no sleeveless...

[ElansarGelmir]

Uhm... bring extra clothes ler... dun be like me... only have one shirt. In the end, end up wearing the same white shirt for 2 - 3 days. Eeew!

[chenchow]

Hie people, i'm going for my BTN camp soon... Any tips before i leave for that? as in, what should i bring? Heard from a friend to bring bedsheets... any other stuff? Erm... please do share your experience too k? thanks! :)

I believe that bedsheet etc would be provided by BTN. I believe that BTN is a good place to learn and enjoy at the same time.

While it may not be as comfortable as your home, it is a good holiday place. If you are used to living outdoor (uniformed bodies camping), BTN is like heaven to you.... That's how I feel, when I went to BTN...

Enjoy~!

[gal_flower]

Haha...it's really depending on which camp site u r assigned to...if u get kem alim (if it's still there), the place's horrible. They provide bedsheets of course, but if u r a clean freak or cant stand sleeping on bedsheets tad u haf no idea wad they did wif it, go ahead n make urselves comfortable by bringin ur own...

[shimania]

Are you guys talking about the same Biro Tatanegara of Jabatan Perdana Menteri which threatened Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah not to insist in running for Umno Presidency, the BTN that tried to "buy" opposition candidates over with hard cash before election's nomination day, the BTN that collaborated with Umno-reform.com and Generasi Profesional & Pewaris Bangsa (Prowaris) to stage the "Melayu Dalam Bahaya" seminars and forced Malay students from IPTA to attend ? 8O

[petertok]

Old thread revisited.

For jpa scholars at kutpm going to india and indonesia, the BTN camp will commence from 12-16 April.

Indonesia bound scholars like me are going to Kem Bina Negara in Tanjung Rhu Sepang.

India bound scholars are going to Kem Bina Negara Meru, Klang.

Those who went for this camp before, care to share your experiences? Esp those who went to sepang camp, wanna know more abt the facilities they have there...

And also, pls give some advices on how to survive this 5-day-camp...

thank you.

[iQing]

we do not know if the ffood they provide is clean or not so bring some anti- cirit birit medication

[yen_05]

Students in public universities are required to attend BTN too as to fulfil the requirements before graduating. It is divided into two types; one is Seminar BTN and the other is a Kem BTN. The seminar is a one day talk whereas the kem is a whole week program that is held at selected location. Well, i have been selected for the Seminar BTN and nothing much about it but only talks(related more to pengajian Malaysia) and some question-answer session between students and the officers from Jabatan Perdana Menteri.

[YJ]

I had been to Kursus Biro Tatanegara :wink: :wink:

[vseehua]

i've been to somewhere in nowhere in Negeri sembilan last year...

and slept through the whole ceramah session...heh heh...

but the group activities are fun...esp the debate part...heh heh...,

[wth87]

can anyone who had gone to the btn camp in N.9 tell a bit about their experience??
How was the food?Accomodation?Bath?
Thanx

[misled_youth]

Why can't other NON-gov-sponsored students attend the kem too? Why must they only brainwash (if they are doing it well enough to earn that name) only the gov scholars?
They believe, that by using PUBLIC FUNDS to finance the studies of the chosen few, the chosen few would be indebted to BN. Hence the name, B(t)N.

If the reactions of ReCom'rs is anything to go by, it seems BTN ceramah's are counter-productive.

But it's unlikely people like chenchow vote for the opposition. He's the exception to the norm.

[skyrocket]

can anyone who had gone to the btn camp in N.9 tell a bit about their experience??
How was the food?Accomodation?Bath?
Thanx

Overall, the camp was quite enjoyable with the exception of the 8 hours of ceramah which was basically a revision of what we've studied in school. The LDK was the fun part, where all of us had the opportunity to voice out our opinion in various issues. The quality of food is good as none of us had food poisoning. The best part of the camp in N9 is that you can find all kinds of insects under the sun except for one, mosquitoes! So, sleep was good but quite lacking.

[petertok]

I went to the BTN camp in Tanjung Rhu, Sepang.

It is the newest camp in Malaysia and wow, i was impressed by the facitilies there. They have an fully air-conditioned auditorium to conduct the talks (4 talks abt negara, rakyat, kenegaraan and tanah air, 2-3 hours each) and the theatre seats are so comfortable to... doze off esp when the talks are boring. I slept twice during each ceramah, caught once since i was the group leader and sitting at the first seat, second row, bad luck..

Apart from talks, u have the LDK part about 16 hours, 8 slots each. A group of about 12 ppl will be assigned a facilitators and during LDK, u'll have discussions, debates, all those usual stuff.. about our nation of course.

Physical activities are not stressed in BTN. You just have to kawad a little first thing in the morning and during evening. Then you'll have some tests like pumping, holding your breath, spin and walk, balancing act etc etc. And also, the 2km run which you'll have to complete within a range of time... Besides, if the facilities are available and the weather appropriate, you might do some flying fox and abseiling. We didn't managed to do it though, it rained during that evening, to my utmost relief.

Basically to pass this BTN, you'll have to pass three parts... the LDK, the physical part and a "TEST" conducted during the end of the program. You'll be given four books to study for the test, and it turned out to be quite hard. Luckily for us, the facilitators are there, and they gave us hints. Like for one question i was split between tanjung malim and parit buntar, when i asked him, he said " i cant tell u the answer, but its definitely not parit buntar " lol, funny.

Accomodation part is okay, usual dormitory style, 20 students in a block/room. The toilet and bathroom is not communal either. There are cubicles, as well as "kolam" and the malays especially in my camp simply loved to bathe together in the kolam and shout together as if a water festival was going on every evening.

A vital part to surviving this program would be to catch enough sleep, i think... especially for muslims who have to wake up at 5 something to perform subuh prayers.

Food was okay, at least for my camp but do bring along some medication like iQing advised. You get served 6 times daily, but it's not enough!!! Because three servings are actually minum pagi, minum petang and minum malam where you get to eat only two tiny pieces of kuih and a cup of either coffee or tea.

That's all i think, what I can recall of my experience in BTN.
Hope it helps :P

[batelle]

i went to btn ulu kenas, kuala kangsar last year...
the programe's wasting time and no point there especially the ldk part. it's not serious at all, they dont like to do serious things but told jokes. the food's quite good.

_________________________
as you think, so you are; as you imagine, so you become

[wth87]

skyrocket,thanks for the info....what about the tests that we have to pass???and regarding the attire..can you mention a little for both gender??

[bush]

You'll guys will get brainwashed there.......

JEWS ARE EBIL!!!! MUSUH NEGARA!!!

oh, NGOs are also EBIL!!!!!!!!

[batelle]

skyrocket,thanks for the info....what about the tests that we have to pass???and regarding the attire..can you mention a little for both gender??


the test's nothing, but yr attitude must be good during the LDK.

______________________
as you think, so you are; as you imagine, so you become.

[skyrocket]

skyrocket,thanks for the info....what about the tests that we have to pass???and regarding the attire..can you mention a little for both gender??

don't worry about the test, it's just like spm sejarah. focus more on the LDK, where most marks come from. do participate in the discussion and talk a lot. as for the attire, during ceramah and LDK; for guys, white shirt, black slacks; for gals, white and black baju kurung or white blouse and black slacks...

[beautiful_soul]

i went for my BTN in june.. 1st june till 5th.. in kem bina negara maran pahang..
let's see.. none of us were happy cuz 1st of all it took up 5 days of our very precious and rare 2 week semester break which totally spoiled our holiday mood! and to top it off, to go into some jungle in pahang, it was quite obvious that none of us took that quite well.. but oh well, we did go and we survived..

our bus was late.. actually no. it wasn't but we left late. we were told to report at like 9am [first they told us 10] but eventually we only left at 11am. typically malaysian timing! and we realised that we were going to be with those juniors who leaving direct to US, seniors going to UK and imu & indon ppl as well. the rest of us? well, we're all aussie bound.. which was actually why we were shocked since we though we'll not have to go for btn till like end of the year right before we fly. but anyway..

during our great experience, we were "blessed" with days with no electricity and water! yes! on our 2nd or was it 3rd day i can't remember, we had NO water and we had to rely on deodorants and stuff. the next day, no ELECTRICITY! the only good thing? we slept and slept.. cuz there was no need to wake up for our 6am moral classes!

food was urm.. typical i'd say. i dun think any1 of us ended up with food poisoning or watsoever but you get hungry! haha.. i noe my frens and i did.. :wink:

we had the usual ceramahs which i can say was an absolute bore!! sighs.. totally slept thru them.. then LDK.. somewhat better i guess. cause u get to mix around with other people, get to know them, things like that and discuss bout nation related stuff. so yeahs.. and my group was somewhat good too cuz we were blessed wif a good faci unlike some of my other not so lucky friends..

physical stuff.. haha! sillyness.. we had to kawad, do the 2km thing, and those other stuff. but we did do abseiling.. fun fun! :)

the place was alright i guess. minus those 2 days. cuz the place we had our ceramah was air conditioned.. the rooms for LDK weren't that bad.. our dorms were okay.. cooling to a certain extent since we were staying next to the jungle.. lol!

the test? haha.. none of us studied.. the only time we did was the night before when we stayed up till 12.30 or so studying.. and we just went and played our luck! all of us left early.. :) just simply shading A,B,C or D doesn't take much time! hehe..

so my verdict : if it wasn;t during my holidays, i could have enjoyed it more. but well, i went and i came back. i honestly don't think it serves its purpose.. but well, different people will have different views. =)

[ayjk]

Has anyone heard of anyone failing the Kem BTN?

[petertok]

Has anyone heard of anyone failing the Kem BTN?

yes. and u have to repeat it.

[nertynenny]

hey peter! I failed my BTN la... I went to JPA yeterday and met with En. Azman and Cik Akma there. They told me that they're going to have this meeting/discussion with BTN about my BTN resit. I don't know if its an "allow-resit-BTN-or-not" discussion or "give-a-date-and-place-for-resit-BTN" discussion.

I am not sure b/c they tend to response with unintellectual remarks when asked... Like they are hiding something... Whatever it is, I hope everything'll be settled before August.

The morality here, do not EVER make eye and/or physical contact w/ ur faci! hah.... :(

[janewai]

first time heard of there is someone failed the camp.
how could fail a camp? :/

[petertok]

hey peter! I failed my BTN la... I went to JPA yeterday and met with En. Azman and Cik Akma there. They told me that they're going to have this meeting/discussion with BTN about my BTN resit. I don't know if its an "allow-resit-BTN-or-not" discussion or "give-a-date-and-place-for-resit-BTN" discussion.

I am not sure b/c they tend to response with unintellectual remarks when asked... Like they are hiding something... Whatever it is, I hope everything'll be settled before August.

The morality here, do not EVER make eye and/or physical contact w/ ur faci! hah.... :(

hey nenny! i've heard of it.
well, btn's abit subjective so the results can be unpredictable..
anyway, gd luck for ur btn!
*oh, and u muz be the first scholar ever from kutpm to have the honour to meet en azman, =.="*

[DecentMerson]

about the 2km thing, no worries, as long as you are capable of walking for 2km without stopping, then, you will pass (that was the case for my BTN, which the facilitators decided to extend the time again and again.

However, come to think about it, that's just plain silly. The least all of you should do, is to run a 2.4km under 12 minutes, that simple. (don't you guys run 2.4km/ or 1.5km for PE test in high school?)... (go to ASEAN and you will die of physical exhaustion...)

And about passing the exam, there will be a couple of 'nice' facilitators giving out a list or discuss some same questions, so, just stay 'alert', and have big ears, you will be able to catch wind, and stay in the loop. :)

[megannsf]

I'm a petronas scholar who recently attended the biro tatanegara kem, so I can answer to the fact that other scholars do attend the camp as well or they are not able to fly. What I don?t understand is with the recent fuss about the seditious book in UPM, they should consider revamping the textbook used in UPM, as it do differentiate between the races. Some comments are a little overboard when a friend put up a comment about the globalization issue, she was shot down on the spot, very uncouthly. Nevertheless, it was fun getting to know other scholars from JPA and MARA. And I?m new here, so I need help finding a forum about students leaving for UK. Anyone, please help?

[meselsohnstahl]

just got back from btn!! It was great!!
Mine was in MSN Asahan, Melaka...The place is really nice. apparently we were very lucky cause we originally were supposed to go to pahang, but somehow they had to change the venue..

basically, we had

-airconditioned rooms
-only had two or three ppl a room.. the guys had to share up to 6 people in a room, i think..
-hot water

the only thing it lacked was a tv!!:lol:

and as for the activities, its not that bad.. quite easy.. running, push ups.. the hardest for me was the fireman's lift. u basically have to carry ur friends like a fireman would in case of fire..

as for the ldk, it depends on ur faci s...
There were 117 of us and we were divided to 9 groups for ldk and 10 groups for any other activities cause there werent enough facilitators.

my faci was very pro bn. He was praising the government so much, and it got a bit boring la.. but another group had a really nice faci. he explained to them bout the dewan rakyat, dewan negara and stuff and bout all the kementerians in malaysia. He even gave tips for the exam!! :lol:

[pangping1510]

I actually love BTN...right from the start till the end... :lol:

[bananaboat]

HELP !hey. im new here.. pet scholar from intec, uitm.
anyway, juz wanna ask for u guy's help
im going for btn .. in 3 wks time
n i need to know about the accomodation at
ulu kenas, kuala kangsar, perak.
pls help! thanks.

[vseehua]

HELP !The rules of the internet states that if people uses GIANT LETTERS, they will most probably won't get any help from anyone...

[slumber]

is there many outdoor activities such as sports or jungle trekking?

[kintaro_kun]

i agree tad i actually had more fun during the karaoke session in btn than atu nite...but then again, perhaps its bcoz i was sick during the dinner n we were all nicely dressed tad we din really go all out to haf fun... :lol: :lol:

btn...juz go there without expectations...as long as there are frens around, everything is bearable! we had singing sessions...chatting sessions...game sessions...we had fun! (albeit the food!)

the nazi youth had similar programmes, with excellent food too, glad that msia implements such inspiring activities for our young. hitler couldnt be prouder.

[Fourthshifter]

is there many outdoor activities such as sports or jungle trekking?

yes there is
on one condition : good weather

[slumber]

thats mean everyday we will have outdoor activities is it?
:roll:

[Fourthshifter]

thats mean everyday we will have outdoor activities is it?
:roll:

if everyday is sunny...

[chiachean]

for those who have gone through the BTN, mind to share the latest information here?

Tq

[slumber]

yeah !! share with us .. i need those informations so that i can prepare myself ... :D huhu.. so scared actually...

[kintaro_kun]

yeah !! share with us .. i need those informations so that i can prepare myself ... :D huhu.. so scared actually...

you should be scared. many of the youths who grew up were purged by the allies for commiting crimes against humanity.

[chiachean]

*sweat*

[yeng]

can i hv the schedule for ur activities?

[vseehua]

can i hv the schedule for ur activities?you will be getting it when you got there...

!. enjoy the physical activities there
2. and prepare to sleep during lecture...

[Miracle_seed]

My friend told me, in the recent BTN she went to, jungle trekking was cancelled.....

[slumber]

yeah yeah!
it was canceled
hahah
we were so lucky!!

[kintaro_kun]

to all IPTA recommers. please read this educationmalaysia article, and confirm with us whether what is being described in it is true:

http://educationmalaysia.blogspot.com/2008/07/btn-brainwashing.html

[youngyew]

All JPA scholars have to go to a BTN too, and although there were some pro-BN/UMNO elements, it wasn't any where near as bad as described in the above article. I guess this serious case was just the particular speaker's problem.

[davidchak]

Malay Supremist Talk
Anti-Zionism
Anti-Opposition Party
NEP-is-Good Talk
Other-races-are-greedy talk
Anti-American, SIngaporean and everything else-talk

Basically, thats all abt btn. Period.

[kintaro_kun]

if there was any truth in the abuse of the BTN, why hasnt any politician expressed this in parliament, or the media reported on this, or even the participants complained about it? what i see from the previous posts in this thread, are karaoke, food, and how fun jungle trekking is, when the core of the programme is NOT AT ALL geared to "nation building", instead, its inciting racial hatred and anti-whatever not BN. this apathy among the cream of the crop is getting dangerous.

i'm not all that angry on the speakers who are paid by taxpayers to say these things. i'm just disappointed with the reaction (or lack of reaction) by the politicians, media, and ESPECIALLY the participants.

[davidchak]

Gomen has their hand on our throat. Period.

[kintaro_kun]

Gomen has their hand on our throat. Period.

the saddest part is the students subject themselves to this voluntarily. "i dun care if the speeches will cause my grandchildren harm in msia, as long as i get good karaoke sessions and food i'm happy". and these are the same students who got 4 flat in their STPM and screaming for JPA sships.

[davidchak]

I do care. We all care. Just our way of caring is different than what you think.


They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up.

Martin Niem?ller's poem which tells the story of inactivity of German intellectuals which lead to the mass murder of Jewish.

[kintaro_kun]

I do care. We all care. Just our way of caring is different than what you think.


Martin Niem?ller's poem which tells the story of inactivity of German intellectuals which lead to the mass murder of Jewish.

i know of this poem. its got many versions though, but they're all the same msg. good that ppl are caring. i hope more recommers would comment more bout the BTN apart from the karaoke sessions. history does repeat itself. sigh...

[Yvette]

I enjoyed my BTN! haha..yup, my module was a new one though. Anyone of you attending the next batch of BTN camps will go through the same module as I did.

It involved a LOT of analogies and fun activities. In fact, almost every LDK was an analogy to something in real life! According to our group ethics, I am not supposed to reveal anything here but what I can say is that at least BTN was an eye-opener to me about the perspective of the gov. They administrate the country and find difficulties pleasing every single party. So we can't expect to get every thing we demand for. BTN has instilled a sense of gratefulness in me.. I am not brainwashed or anything. I was just introduced intensively into another perspective...

[youngyew]

I enjoyed my BTN! haha..yup, my module was a new one though. Anyone of you attending the next batch of BTN camps will go through the same module as I did.

It involved a LOT of analogies and fun activities. In fact, almost every LDK was an analogy to something in real life! According to our group ethics, I am not supposed to reveal anything here but what I can say is that at least BTN was an eye-opener to me about the perspective of the gov. They administrate the country and find difficulties pleasing every single party. So we can't expect to get every thing we demand for. BTN has instilled a sense of gratefulness in me.. I am not brainwashed or anything. I was just introduced intensively into another perspective...
But you are not supposed to tell us anything about it?

[capablanca]

Haha, I enjoyed my BTN too. Not so much for the content because they're definitely pro-government and anti (you-name-it). Mostly like what davidchak put it. But I like the facilitator and the food there though.

Enough said, in BTN, shut up and you'll be fine. Too radical and you're the target of the adults there. Some how, I don't know how they chose the speakers there. I remember asking a question about AFTA and the speaker promptly reply to it with a very lengthy speech. Just that he never understand what AFTA is and didn't truly answer my question.

[Miracle_seed]

If you go to BTN without adequate knowledge of Malaysian history, politics and current affairs, I can tell you, you could be brainwashed... Or rather, some biased stories will be imparted...

[davidchak]

I enjoyed my BTN! haha..yup, my module was a new one though. Anyone of you attending the next batch of BTN camps will go through the same module as I did.

It involved a LOT of analogies and fun activities. In fact, almost every LDK was an analogy to something in real life! According to our group ethics, I am not supposed to reveal anything here but what I can say is that at least BTN was an eye-opener to me about the perspective of the gov. They administrate the country and find difficulties pleasing every single party. So we can't expect to get every thing we demand for. BTN has instilled a sense of gratefulness in me.. I am not brainwashed or anything. I was just introduced intensively into another perspective...

My BTN is over 3 days ago. If mine is a new module, its not much different...

Same problem, same message, same old tale.

[kintaro_kun]

re: yvette

so you are sworn under oath of secrecy about the dealings in the camp? whats there that cant be seen in the light?

the very fact that "BTN has instilled a sense of gratefulness in me" shows that you are brainwashed.

re: capablanca

i think you should memorise Martin Niem?ller's poem by heart. even if students are afraid of offending the uni, i dont see GRADUATES complaining about BTN. i wouldnt care about the food if the speeches are like:

-Explained how the Malays aren't racist but others are racist towards us.
-Bahasa Malaysia does not exist, it is Bahasa Melayu.
-Nothing wrong with waving the Keris.
-Blogs are "berdosa" or sinful.
-Christians will not like Muslims.

i'm afraid of the DAMAGE this is doing to impressionable msian IPTA youths. and i would not be like yvette expected to be grateful for anything mentioned above.

i'm more afraid of the participants who are tidak apa to these. again, read the Martin Niem?ller poem. and these are the same ppl who would be our future parliamentarians. haih, no eye see. when there is a "mass murder of Jewish", you know who is at fault.

[youngyew]

kintaro, I don't think you could generalise that much about brainwashing from yvette's post alone. Gratefulness and awareness of national / political issues are not mutually exclusive. I can be grateful towards pak lah for the increased freedom in media and protest against his other actions, all at the same time.

[Yvette]

re: yvette

so you are sworn under oath of secrecy about the dealings in the camp? whats there that cant be seen in the light?

the very fact that "BTN has instilled a sense of gratefulness in me" shows that you are brainwashed.

i didn't swear anything =P. I was just told about the group ethics and I don't want to be a spoiler for anybody. Experiencing the BTN first hand is better I would say.

And as for the brainwashed comment, erm, i think that's pretty much a sweeping statement. I am grateful as I realised the good things that the gov did for me. I'm not saying that I am totally their Pak Turut or that they are a perfect goverment. I just realised the difficulties they face and the challenges they have to cope with. Of course I have also experienced being sidelined b4 but I have also been blessed in many ways. Yin and Yang. 2 or more sides to any argument.. I heard so many things from other non-gov perspectives. Now I got to hear their side. So..the thing is, I am left to my own judgement now and I am grateful for that.
The irony is when I tell ppl BTN brainwashed me. For a person to say that, it means their minds are not brainwashed at all. =P

But you are not supposed to tell us anything about it?

i'm not supposed to tell the content
..they even took back all the material they gave us. Anyway, most of the content has already been mentioned by various recommers...so no worries about that for anyone going to BTN next.

contrary to what my seniors told me, the facillitators did not really provoke the non-malays. They were more inclined to explaining our questions..

[Miracle_seed]

i'm not supposed to tell the content
..they even took back all the material they gave us. Anyway, most of the content has already been mentioned by various recommers...so no worries about that for anyone going to BTN next.

contrary to what my seniors told me, the facillitators did not really provoke the non-malays. They were more inclined to explaining our questions..Is it? I don't really know they requested us to do so... Somehow my friend even told me what question came out in the test, and that particular question she, and now me too can remember well...

Anyway, perhaps you meet a good facilitator. During pembentangan kertas kerja, I've some speakers who said something provoking non-bumis, then at the end put the fire off with some words... At the end, you can't say they are biased, but then in the first place why do they have to say that?

[Yvette]

ah..i should have clarified more. there was minimal provocations during the LDK sessions. But yup, during the 'pembentangan kertas kerja' or ceramah, some of us participants felt that some hurtful things were said..
those sessions are the ones to look out for especially because the penceramah keeps throwing questions at random participants in the hall. be careful.

[davidchak]

Pembentangan Kertas Kerja:
1)Quotas are there to help Indians cuz Indians are too stupid to go into University esp Local one
2)WHy Indian population didnt grow much? Cuz Indians are MANDUL, unable to reproduce
3)PErempuan nampak baik di luar, tapi dalam miang sangat.
4)More but I couldnt remember much

LDK:
1)Malaysia bagaikan Rumah Pusaka, Melayu tuan rumah, kita guest saja
2)Malaysia, MALAYSIA, nama pun sudah tahu, tanah milik siapa.
3) Orang penang tidak guna akal, sudah undi DAP, bila projek cancel, buat bising pulak

Exam:
1)Bukan Melayu hutang budi
2)Opposition party tak berniat membentuk kerajaan kerana tidak menanding 111 tempat MP.

Provocative or not? You tell me!

[bluez_aspic]

This is fascism. How can anyone defend this? Those who are familiar with Nazi propaganda can easily point out the parallels - and I'm not embellishing here.

Hail F?hrer! And the sheeple are slowly led to the slaughter.

[vseehua]

It does not help that all participants of BTN are bound to contract that will bring the goverment officers knocking your door in no time should you choose to break it...

[WatermelonSeed]

Anyone knows how I can get to Kem Bumi Jati, Seksyen 30, Shah Alam? I need to attend my BTN there. Assuming that I will start my journey from Pudu bus station??

[davidchak]

Its a very sakai place. Doubt u would get there via public transport. Call your sponsor perhaps?

[kintaro_kun]

finally, a politician is bringing the issue of BTN up!

http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2008/09/04/any-najib-apology-for-the-rank-racism-of-btn-indoctrination-courses/

will the apologist najib going to apologise on behalf of the biro tatanegara under the prime minister's department? i hope something is done to abolish the entire meaningless BTN ala nazi operation. there can be nothing to justify the continuation of the programme no matter the perceived goodness that it might bring. this is like defending nazi labour camps for the jews with excuses like "they give good physical exercises to the jewish ppl".

[youngyew]

BTN is just the tip of the iceberg of racism in the country. We need so much more than the abolishment of BTN brainwashing if we are to deal with the deeply seated racial sentiment in the country. Even Marina Mahathir pointed out the fact that her daughter started to use racial-toned language due to the indoctrination with racial supremacy in her national school.

http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com/2008/09/communing-over-cupcakes.html

[vseehua]

BTN? The one that I've been through was even worse then her experience. Talk about using fear to keep people at bay. But their fear propagandas are hollow ones. It's like fear of the monster under the bed...

[Xon]

^ VSeeHua,can share out what you gone through? ^____^

[vikraman]

Sadly the BTN camp reveals that the scholars picked by the government (esp. JPA/MARA) are not really knowledgeable in as far as local issues and malaysian history is concerned. Among my friends, most of which went for BTN recently (within the last 2 years), the response from JPA scholars when I asked what they thought of the camp is markedly different from other scholars (khazanah, PNB, Petronas, BNM etc). Most JPA/MARA scholars are well, I think brainwashed is a very strong word but to an extent "affected" by the bullshit that is dished out in BTN. However other scholars (as mentioned above) are well aware of what BTN is all about.
Quote a certain PNB scholar (PNB scholarship is for malay only btw.) who went for BTN this year :
" They think they can brainwash us, but they don't realise that because we're scholars we're probably quite a bit smarter then them and we can see right through their rubbish".

However this is not to imply that all JPA scholars are not knowledgeable but to reflect what JPA looks for in awarding scholarships.. (obedience & subservience to BN agenda). If you are a JPA scholar who saw right through BTN's rubbish, then I salute you because you successfully passed right through JPA's idelogical filter :)

[kintaro_kun]

you could start your research by viewing how many JPA sship applicants who throng recom actually go further than the education threads.

rubbish in, rubbish out. of course, we do occasionally have a trinkle of gold dusts amidst the dirt. ;)

[Leen]

I had personally interviewed a couple of my friends who had gone to the camp this July. They are all from UiTM.

Besides from the obvious "ular-indian" story, there are other stories too.

One facilitator said that he is only half malays (half chinese) and yet he is so passionate about protecting his BANGSA, what more should the PURE Malays do in order to protect their BANGSA.

And of course, there are tonnes of mocking on anything non-government.

As usual, my friends, being scholars, decide that it is not worth the while to refute anything since they are going to fly soon and do not wish to see their scholarship been denied. So none said anything, but all felt something.

Moreover, the camp is not for them, it's for the Malays. BTN is meant to brainwash the Malays into thinking that they should protect their bangsa/race/culture or whatever that the BTN is there for. The other races are there to make it seems as though this is something for Malaysians.

So I guess if I were a Chinese, I would just sit there and agree with whatever that they say since this program is never meant for me anyway.

Oh ya, by the way, one Malay girl did say that she now wanted to protect her bangsa after the BTN. Congratulations, one brainwash success!!

I still don't get the bangsa thing. There is only one bangsa Malaysia. No bangsa saya, bangsa lain, bangsa cina, bangsa india ... etc....

SO WHAT'S THE DEAL about this bangsa thing?

[youngyew]

Nationalism, Racism, or whatever -ism that provokes the "pride" of a target community are all proven tools to win you a fair bit of political mileage.

[Miracle_seed]

Apart from those mentioned above, BTN is also a BN propaganda camp... When the facilitator wanted us to summarise what we have learned in the camp, one student from my group ended his summary with: "Kesimpulannya, undilah BN!" How sarcastic he is...

[youngyew]

But also how accurate. :P

By the way, two of the recent columns in SinChew revealed some chilling anecdotes from people who went recent BTNs. This is the google automaic translation for the benefit of those who do not read Chinese. I made some corrections where the meaning is totally distorted by the machine translation; but due to time constraint I did not make the effort to correct the grammars in those weird sentences that are still comprehensible.

http://opinions.sinchew-i.com/node/6913
Zheng Dingxian ‧ Hundreds of Ahmad
2008-09-04 19:10

Two weeks ago, I received a mother's phone call.

Her daughter who's teaching in government schools has recently been arranged for a training course.

In the classroom, a lecturer in flagrant denial of non-Malay's citizenship, says that they are outsiders, then, pointing to ethnic Chinese students, said: "This country is owned by the Malaysian, you have no right to ask for anything."

I need not repeat other words of insult and disparagement.

Listening to all these, the Chinese and Indian felt angry and awful, but as the lecturers held the power, all of them did not dare to refute it on the spot.

By evening, her daughter rang the mother. She was in tears.

From the way the mother relayed her daughter, I could emphatize her anger deep within. She hung up the phone a while later.

Yesterday, Lim Kit Siang revealed another letter written by a parent.

His daughter, who got the JPA scholarships, was made to attend the course.

The lecturers were from Biro Tata Negara under the Prime Minister's Department. I am sure everyone knew about this institution's reputation.

The parents relate, this lecturer claimed that non-Malays should not be questioned Malay privileges, but would like to thank the Malaysian citizens to the status and the residence by.

He also instructed the other Malaysian students, and non-Malays should not hang out with each others.

Non-Malay students by the psychological impact, we can imagine. Even some Malay students have also been frightened, crying out.

The two events are so similar. I do not know, does it involve the same lecturer? Or are they two similar but separate incidents?

I believe there are not just two but hundreds of them.

Various courses, and schools at all levels of the classroom, have repeatedly appeared in such extreme racial remarks, discrimination education.

How many young souls are harmed, how many learning minds are poisoned.

UMNO make an apology on behalf of Ahmad Ismail.

Hundreds of Ahmad Ismail are still around sowing the seeds of division and hatred between ethnic groups.

Over the past decades of ethnic politics, education unit, has created numerous Ahmad, X lecturers and their followers.

Before the country is destroyed, please be kind and do not let this situation continue. What we need is understanding of tolerance, not hatred and confrontation.

(I hope that the abovementioned mother forward the details of the characters names, the organizers, and other information to me, so I can forward them to the relevant agencies, for investigation. We can not just lament and feel sad, but must take positive action and make changes. )

http://opinions.sinchew-i.com/node/6926
Zheng Dingxian ‧ For God's Sake, Close It!
2008-09-05 20:12

The "Heartbroken mother" had not yet contacted me; but unexpectedly I received many of the same experiences of readers, e-mail to me.

We all point to the same target: the Biro Tatanegara.

If I reprint every piece of e-mail, I don't think I could print them all in one week's columns. Therefore, I can only share some of the contents of two emails.

A Disheartened Chinese civil servants:

"My five days of participation in Biro Tatanegara are the angriest of my life. In this period, non-Malays were humiliated every day;

"Lecturers have repeatedly stressed that the non-Malays are outsiders, not even are they not grateful, but after being given certain advantage they are asking for more, and ask us to recognize who the boss is the country (I don't really quite understand what's meant by the last part of the sentence);

"I tried to refute, the lecturer said: you are very angry? If you are angry just go back to Tangshan (China)!"

Patriotic houseman wrote:

"This year I participated in the Kem XXX on X/X??, What made me and other non-indigenous angry are the following:

"Chinese and Tamil primary schools are illegal organizations? ...

"513 incident, lecturers say is a good thing, it makes Malays unite? ...

"Malays are not citizens (Warganegara), but the masters of the country (Tuan Negara);

"Suqiu is the national enemy number one;

"Chinese and Indian are the stumbling block to the process of national independence;

Advocate racism and censure non-Malays for insensible requests

"Malays can not vote for the PR, as it would pawn Malay privileges, the Sultan status will be repealed and the Malays will become slaves.

"Malay students in the classroom reading of the patriotic declaration, and I and a Kadazan were ordered to the streets shouting 'I love Malaysia' 10 times until lecturer was satisfied.

God, these thrilling speech were not from the zealous and ambitious leaders, but from a government agency.

On the surface, under the banner of "cultivating patriotism", BTN receives funding from the government annually, and organise courses and camps, and made it compulsory for undergraduate students, civil servants, and youth organizations to participate in its activities.

In fact, it is spreading ethnic division and inciting racial hatred. Young thoughts would engender inexplicable hatred; young blood would boil inexplicably.

More frightening is that via the state machinery and institution, it is chronically inculcating wrong and extreme ideas to the younger generation.

Do we really want to see people killing each other?

This is 100 more frightening than Ahmad Ismail.

Political figures talk about national unity, but government agencies continue to divide the nation, what is the logic!

In the long existence of BTN, all kinds of sensational rumors, has repeatedly been proven to be fact. "Leaders", please do not be indifferent, or pretend not to know anymore.

For God's sake, for the country's future, when we still have time, let's take action to close it!

(All the e-mail, will be forwarded to the relevant authorities)

[Smilehoe]

BTN = biro teaching nazism

[Miracle_seed]

After reading the columns, I realised that the BTN I went is still a better one, at least the racist remarks were not carried out openly...

[youngyew]

Sadly the BTN camp reveals that the scholars picked by the government (esp. JPA/MARA) are not really knowledgeable in as far as local issues and malaysian history is concerned. Among my friends, most of which went for BTN recently (within the last 2 years), the response from JPA scholars when I asked what they thought of the camp is markedly different from other scholars (khazanah, PNB, Petronas, BNM etc). Most JPA/MARA scholars are well, I think brainwashed is a very strong word but to an extent "affected" by the bullshit that is dished out in BTN. However other scholars (as mentioned above) are well aware of what BTN is all about.
Quote a certain PNB scholar (PNB scholarship is for malay only btw.) who went for BTN this year :
" They think they can brainwash us, but they don't realise that because we're scholars we're probably quite a bit smarter then them and we can see right through their rubbish".

However this is not to imply that all JPA scholars are not knowledgeable but to reflect what JPA looks for in awarding scholarships.. (obedience & subservience to BN agenda). If you are a JPA scholar who saw right through BTN's rubbish, then I salute you because you successfully passed right through JPA's idelogical filter :)

you could start your research by viewing how many JPA sship applicants who throng recom actually go further than the education threads.

rubbish in, rubbish out. of course, we do occasionally have a trinkle of gold dusts amidst the dirt. ;)
While I agree that some JPA scholars aren't sufficiently knowledgeable and critical, I don't think that you guys can generalise, or even say "most JPA scholars" are like that. I am not sure about what's happening to the current batches; but when I had mine back in 2002, they didn't really try to find out anyone's political allegiance or "brainwash-ibility". And among people that I know, not many at all were brainwashed by BTN, although admittedly BTN wasn't this bad during my time.

[nhling]

I had my BTN back in 2002 too and it wasn't that bad as the people are claiming how the BTN is now. The gov officials just gave us the facts about our country and promote unity among us. I have to say I enjoyed my time there.

However I'm not sure how the gov officials carry out the BTN nowadays.

[vikraman]

well youngyew maybe in your time it was different. Nowadays it just worse. Part of the problem is (sorry digressing) JPA's insistence in super high flyer academic achievement especially in non-malays case. Of course I don't begrudge any of these people who score 12A1's etc but I think they threw away a valuable part of the learning and growing experience in their pursuit for A's. It's not their fault but here we are. Without that learning and growing experience, that exposure to ideas and critical thinking many JPA scholars are just not knowledgeable enough to filter the wheat from the chaff. Not denigrating anybody who did score 12A1's etc but don't you think you spend too much of your life in front of that damned Moral textbook?

[youngyew]

I am not sure about others but what you said didn't apply to many people that I know.

[WinnieWong]

Does anyone knows what are the dates of the camp if it is in Dec? Would it be near christmas or otherwise?

[liangfuhan]

I will be succint and frank in my message (also because I have to run for bubble tea):

I DO NOT LIKE THE KURSUS KENEGARAAN.

I was subjected to biased views on the countries political system. I was forced to believe that as a non-bumiputera citizen, I am therefore a less-deserving citizen. I felt as if I was being threatened because I do not possess a certain skin color, or conform to the norms of others.

The people behind this attempted to instill fear in all of us, that if we do not think in line with the government, grave consequences will occur. They showed us gruesome pictures of riots and the War in Iraq and correlated this with what may seem "the outcome of citizens rebelling the leader (Saddam Hussein's execution, for that matter), and video clips of a man's scalp being sliced because he was in a racial dispute.

They were demeaning to the Malays too. I quote from my blog "...a Malay girl was questioned if she believed that her race deserves special rights in our country. She disagreed with it, for obvious reasons. The person who posed the question immediately replied, "Jadi, kalau tak ada hak-hak keistimewaan Orang Melayu, kamu akan dapat scholarship tak? (So, if the Malays did not have special rights, would you have gotten your scholarship?)"""

Take whatever they say with a grain of salt. Sure, I must say I've learned to learn my country more. But that's only because i think we aren't on the right track.

[kintaro_kun]

why didnt the moderators merge this with the BTN thread? arent they the same thing?

[youngyew]

why didnt the moderators merge this with the BTN thread? arent they the same thing?
Merged them. Thanks for your notification.

[samgoh10]

When you want to wash your hair, you go to a hair salon
When you want to wash your clothes, you go to a laundry
When you want to wash your brains, you go to a camp that's hungry and angry
When you want to wash your mouth, you go to the coolest grand hotel saloon

[duke23]

well youngyew maybe in your time it was different. Nowadays it just worse. Part of the problem is (sorry digressing) JPA's insistence in super high flyer academic achievement especially in non-malays case. Of course I don't begrudge any of these people who score 12A1's etc but I think they threw away a valuable part of the learning and growing experience in their pursuit for A's. It's not their fault but here we are. Without that learning and growing experience, that exposure to ideas and critical thinking many JPA scholars are just not knowledgeable enough to filter the wheat from the chaff. Not denigrating anybody who did score 12A1's etc but don't you think you spend too much of your life in front of that damned Moral textbook?

Well JpA has no choice but to do so.IT would be a bullshitter's charter if they value student;ss academic achievements too little and give more emphasis on the ability to tell a good story.Many empty vessels can tell good stories and have lucked out with scholarships in the past only to fail in the pre-u exams prior to flying off for undergrad studies, though i have to agree that if u missed an a1 in moral or something,JPA should still consider these students but it will be crap for example to offer a student with a string of a2's in the sciences and maybe even b's a scholarship to study engineering in the US or something.Im sure JPA wants as many students as possible to gain entry into the ivy league schools so they have to chose students who exhibit competency in exams as all these schools look for the brains FIRST before anything else.so in order for student to be seen as potential candidate for an interview ,they need to have the RESULTS in ROCK AND PAPER and then then you would be given a chance to tell your "story" to the interviewers and sell yourself..

[yeng]

i would like to ask what is the dress code to BTN camp for females non bumi?
and is long black skirt compulsory or can accept black long slacks?
if this is posted before can you kindly post the link for me?

p/s: i am on9ing in cyber, cant have much time to browse through every page, thx.

[AppryL89]

and the muslims have to wear white baju kurung? is it the one like school uniform?

[bean89]

are they very particular about dresscodes and you have to follow exactly what they want as in totally white and black and for outdoors, have to wear white long sleeve collared t-shirts for girls?

[kintaro_kun]

finally an MP officially raised the question of the various abuses committed by the BTN to the PM.

read this entry here:
http://educationmalaysia.blogspot.com/2008/12/biro-tatanegara-prime-ministers-reply.html

so the PM is asking for solid evidence. if any recommer is going for the BTN, its up to you to affect change.

[davidchak]

BTN materials are all protected under OSA, you give it out and you will be "protected" under ISA. Who dares to defy that?

[HiddenEyes]

i would like to ask what is the dress code to BTN camp for females non bumi?
and is long black skirt compulsory or can accept black long slacks?
if this is posted before can you kindly post the link for me?

p/s: i am on9ing in cyber, cant have much time to browse through every page, thx.

Yeah, my friend wore black long slacks. =)

[smile!]

hey seniors or anyone who had been to a BTN camp before..

Is it compulsory to get a formal wear PLAIN white? If got black stripes on it can?

[herm]

when will u go for this Kursus?

[smile!]

oh herm.. i will be going in april..

[castle]

i came back from btn.over all,i didnt sucked as much as the seniors exaggerated.damn you seniors.scare us like what...

[capablanca]

As far as I recalled you guys were not put into the same camp as your seniors. And from what I heard, your facilities and activities were fairly decent.

[Miracle_seed]

Kem Bumi Jati in Shah Alam has horrible mosquitoes, they will attack your face even if you cover your whole body and limbs under blanket, so for whoever going their in the future, please bring mosquito repellents...
As far as I recalled you guys were not put into the same camp as your seniors. And from what I heard, your facilities and activities were fairly decent.Some of my college juniors went to Langkawi for BTN and they stayed in... hotel..!

[davidchak]

Kem Bumi Jati has sooo many mosquittos, you can basically wave your blanket and find 30+ mosquittos flying out :S Scary...

[hrixenz]

seniors, how about the kem at meru? got many mosquitoes or not? :P

[nemosmknimh]

seniors, how about the kem at meru? got many mosquitoes or not? :P

meru???
it's great!!!
you'll be living in dorm....
mosquito,not quite sure....
but the facilities are not bad.....
the food also good and i guess you also will have group...
eat in group,almost everything in group....
got flying fox there....

[hrixenz]

meru???
it's great!!!
you'll be living in dorm....
mosquito,not quite sure....
but the facilities are not bad.....
the food also good and i guess you also will have group...
eat in group,almost everything in group....
got flying fox there....

oh ok..ur sis previously had her btn there ke?

[nemosmknimh]

oh ok..ur sis previously had her btn there ke?

my school organize btn camp fro preparation of SPM....
and we went there....
kinda great!!!
all my frens and i were sad that we only spent 2 days there instead 5/4 days

[invinciblebunny]

?Participants are indoctrinated with propaganda about ?Ketuanan Melayu? (Malay supremacy) and external threats,? he said.

THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER

When Hafidz Baharom, a freelance writer, entered a public university in 2002, he was sent with his classmates to a government camp for a week.
It was the usual jungle trekking and other team-building activities, but interspersed with these were lectures. Some of the content was disturbing, he said.

?We were 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,? he recalled.

The segment on Malay betrayal was in reference to the 1998 sacking of deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim which caused many Malays to vote for the opposition in the general election a year later. ?It was brainwashing propaganda,? Hafidz, 26, told The Straits Times.

These courses have been running for years, and are intended to instil nationalistic values and patriotism. Conducted by the National Civics Bureau ? better known as BTN (Biro Tatanegara) ? the courses are for university students on public scholarships and civil servants. BTN is under the Prime Minister?s Department.

Last week, seven young Pakatan Rakyat Selangor assemblymen handed over a letter to the Selangor government, urging it to stop allowing students of state- owned universities and colleges to attend these courses.

The Selangor government, which is now controlled by the opposition Pakatan Rakyat, owns three universities and colleges.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/ (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/44127-kl-patriotism-camps-racist-and-political)

[vikraman]

mod please merge to BTN thread

[youngyew]

Merged per request.

[kintaro_kun]

how is the BTN, really? many posts in this thread nvr mention about the racist nature of the BTN. all i read is about how fun this jungle trekking is, how cool that flying fox game is... i have nvr joined any of the BTN programmes, but based on the responses from the those who went, in this thread, BTN seems harmless, very different from the responses i read from the alternative media like msiakini, msianinsider, etc. now the selangor gov is putting a blanket ban on all BTN activities. can ppl give some testimonies on what is so good/bad bout BTN, whether or not those alleged racist lectures did occur? preferably by those who commented how good and fun BTN was for them in this thread.

[youngyew]

It probably depends on the particular "lecturer" people get in their respective camps. I went to one, and it wasn't quite that bad.

That was quite a while ago though.

[vseehua]

how is the BTN, really? many posts in this thread nvr mention about the racist nature of the BTN. all i read is about how fun this jungle trekking is, how cool that flying fox game is... i have nvr joined any of the BTN programmes, but based on the responses from the those who went, in this thread, BTN seems harmless, very different from the responses i read from the alternative media like msiakini, msianinsider, etc. now the selangor gov is putting a blanket ban on all BTN activities. can ppl give some testimonies on what is so good/bad bout BTN, whether or not those alleged racist lectures did occur? preferably by those who commented how good and fun BTN was for them in this thread.The physical activities are fun, but the lectures are terrible. It is the racist nature of the lectures that the opposition are using as flak against the government.

[blessusall]

I recently went for a BTN course in Sungai Pelek, Tanjung Rhu. It was definitely not as bad as I expected. They were mostly saying stuff that's anti-opposition(all-PAS,PKR,DAP etc). And anti-westerners. Sometimes they are a little racist, like when they blamed the Jews for Sept 11, saying that there was not one Jew in the WTC at that moment of tragedy(i know outrageous right), though i dunno if it's ignorance or not (see http://majorityrights.com/index.php/weblog/comments/how_many_jews_died_at_the_world_trade_center_on_911/). They went into the Gaza incidents. At times saying, 'ini negara Islam dan bumi Melayu'. Though of course legally speaking this is NOT a Muslim country.
Maybe i expected much worse. Or maybe we were plain lucky of getting a not-too-horribly-racist facis. Also, the faci head said it is very rare for them to get so many non-Muslim in one camp(about 30plus). So maybe that's why.
It was very political for sure.

[misled_youth]

Hi guys... Is BTN really as bad as what Nik Nazmi, DAP, PKR Selangor and Malaysian Insider claim?

- To the 2K4 peeps... hello... I can't believe I still remember my username and password

[henry_yew]

Well, there must be a reason why the PR-led Selangor government decided to ban civil servants from attending the BTN. If it promotes racist lectures, it's totally not in line with what the government is preaching, i.e. racial harmony. Wait, have they been putting it into practice anyway?

So in the end BTN stands for "Boh Tao Nao" (read in Hokkien/Teochew) to mean "No brains".

[vseehua]

Hi guys... Is BTN really as bad as what Nik Nazmi, DAP, PKR Selangor and Malaysian Insider claim?

- To the 2K4 peeps... hello... I can't believe I still remember my username and password

Welcome back! :P

It depends on the camp and the supervisors themselves. Mine was pretty bad, others enjoyed it...

[Miracle_seed]

how is the BTN, really? many posts in this thread nvr mention about the racist nature of the BTN. all i read is about how fun this jungle trekking is, how cool that flying fox game is... i have nvr joined any of the BTN programmes, but based on the responses from the those who went, in this thread, BTN seems harmless, very different from the responses i read from the alternative media like msiakini, msianinsider, etc. now the selangor gov is putting a blanket ban on all BTN activities. can ppl give some testimonies on what is so good/bad bout BTN, whether or not those alleged racist lectures did occur? preferably by those who commented how good and fun BTN was for them in this thread.
I think I've seen some negative comments with respect to racism imparted in BTN, in other thread. I'm sure there are more than one thread on BTN in ReCom, another one with title "BTN" if I remember correctly.

[vikraman]

Personally I'm completely against and deeply suspicious of any kind of patriotism and "nation-building" camps. Organic social processes cannot be replaced by the government, no matter how well-intentioned. It all sounds like Hitler's Socialist Youth and SS to me! Anyway I wouldn't trust Najib's govt with teaching my dog how to take a crap much less teach anyone about patriotism O.O

[davidchak]

I think they should continue BTN....its a way to instill hatred for BN for young people -- and i can say, its the best way to do it :)

[kiat12]

who are required to join BTN courses actually?i know those IPTA student are compulsory,but what about private college student?

[Boyz_Zoo]

who are required to join BTN courses actually?i know those IPTA student are compulsory,but what about private college student?
no sure but i also know that JPA scholars also have to go as I hv go to it for 4 months b4 I can go to overseas.

[yanno_yamster]

no sure but i also know that JPA scholars also have to go as I hv go to it for 4 months b4 I can go to overseas.

Ya, JPA scholars have to. Hence, I won't comment anything about the BTN until I have experienced the courses myself (though I won't put high expectations on it).

[eve88]

And now they're gonna attempt to make it more politically correct (in line with current national propaganda...)


BTN to change curriculum because not in line with 1Malaysia

BTN courses still on

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Civics Bureau (BTN) will overhaul its courses in line with the 1Malaysia spirit following accusations that they incite racial discord besides being government propaganda.

Minister in the Prime Minister?s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said the Cabinet had agreed to the revamp with Chief Secretary to the Government overseeing the task.

?The curriculum will be brought in line with the Prime Minister?s 1Malaysia concept, which means it will be more inclusive and will not divide Malaysians.

?If we have a course for only one racial group, then that is not 1Malaysia,? he said at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

The BTN courses have been criticised of late after allegations surfaced that they were a form of

> TURN TO PAGE 8

political indoctrination and that participants were taught racial hatred.

Last week, Selangor barred all state civil servants, students in state-run institutions of higher learning and employees of state government-linked companies from attending the courses.

State Education and Higher Education Committee chairman Dr Halimah Ali had reportedly said feedback from the participants indicated that the programmes were marred by racist remarks.

Penang Deputy Chief Minister (I) Mansor Othman had declared that the state government was considering a similar ban.

When it was first set up in 1974, BTN was known as the Youth Research Unit under the Culture, Youth and Sports Ministry.

It was moved to the Prime Minister?s Department in 1981 and renamed BTN in June the following year.

Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said BTN must be transparent about the course content so that it could be assessed by the people.

?We should not participate in any course that promotes racism and hatred,? he said at the Parliament lobby.

When BTN was established, he said there was no question about it being set up to inculcate national awareness, understanding of the Constitution and for the Malays to enhance their confidence.

He also said the Opposition did not have issues with any courses organised by the state or Federal Government to create motivation. However, he said objection must be made against those which carried racist tones.

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang said he had raised the problem in his blog last year on how participants suffered ?communal poison and racial hatred? from the ?brainwashing courses?.

Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong of the DAP said the BTN was given a budget of RM62mil next year. It received RM74mil last year,

Gerakan Youth welcomed the proposed review by the Cabinet, saying that the move was consistent with Gerakan?s stand as well as public sentiment.

?If this unhealthy practice in BTN were to continue, it would undermine the Prime Minister?s vision of 1Malaysia,? secretary-general Dr Dominic Lau said.

?BTN?s objectives are good and even noble, that is to create a national identity and enhance unity. But the problem arises when some overzealous facilitators deviate from the objectives,? he said in a statement.


Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/12/1/nation/5213565&sec=nation

[vseehua]

If it is motivation course, it should be conducted as such. There is no way a course that highlights racial supremacist ideals should be allowed to exist anywhere in the world.

It is in the people's best interests that the curricular of the course be revealed for the public to scrutinize. Based on the feedback given in this thread alone, I believe that there is no standard curriculum in existence, as everyone seemed to have different experiences in their camps.

[henry_yew]

BTN to change curriculum because not in line with 1Malaysia


It has never been in line with anything, even with 1Malaysia, except that it has been in line with some racist agenda some part, somewhere, somehow.

Now they want to change the curriculum? Then all this while what have they really been promoting through BTN? A culture that promotes "Boh Tao Nao" attitude?

I really like this acronym. :amuse

[Miracle_seed]

So, finally they admit there is a need to "adjust" the curriculum of BTN to be in line with 1Malaysia. Okay, before this, why it wasn't in line with 1Malaysia? Because it emphasized 1'Malay'sia.

[Boyz_Zoo]

However, why is this whole BTN not good coming out now? BTN has existed for many years, why now only it has a problem?

[Glassylicious]

However, why is this whole BTN not good coming out now? BTN has existed for many years, why now only it has a problem?

You need to consider a few things.

1. Many BTN participants are scholars who are afraid of getting their scholarships revoked if they make a public protest/complaint.

2. The other group of BTN participants were government servants, who feared repercussions for complaining about the BTN, career-wise.

3. The usage of the Internet to spread information was not so prevalent back in BTN's earlier years.

4. Now with the Internet being so readily available, anonymity can easily be ensured.

5. Who would have dared to speak up with Dr. M in power?

[youngyew]

However, why is this whole BTN not good coming out now? BTN has existed for many years, why now only it has a problem?
I thought there's always been complaints about it. But somehow DAP managed to make it big this time.

Proof #1: Just look at how old this thread is.

[kintaro_kun]

It was definitely not as bad as I expected.

They were mostly saying stuff that's anti-opposition(all-PAS,PKR,DAP etc). And anti-westerners.

Sometimes they are a little racist.

At times saying, 'ini negara Islam dan bumi Melayu'.

It was very political for sure.

in my opinion this is already very bad for a 1Malaysia programme.

[oden]

I did participate in BTN last year and it's quit fun.I learned a lot of things. Question is, will I have to participate a second time during my study in university or before going oversea?

Thanks in advance....

[yanno_yamster]

I did participate in BTN last year and it's quit fun.I learned a lot of things. Question is, will I have to participate a second time during my study in university or before going oversea?

Thanks in advance....

Yes, you have to go for another time even if you have participated during secondary school.

[keanieweanie]

anyone has been to the n9 camp recently?

[Dominic]

Kem Bina Negara Kuaters KLIA, Nilai Negeri Sembilan 2011

Anyone going?

[bekann]

Kem Bina Negara Kuaters KLIA, Nilai Negeri Sembilan 2011

Anyone going?

I think it's just us la.

[Dominic]

I think it's just us la.

damn, how sad....

[sugarspice]

Kem Bina Negara Kuaters KLIA, Nilai Negeri Sembilan 2011

Anyone going?

Your lucky. I had been to this camp before and it was like heaven. :))

[Dominic]

Your lucky. I had been to this camp before and it was like heaven. :))

OH, thank God for that! I was afraid that it would be some decrepit and rundown place with no signs of life....

I think it's just us la.

From what I've read in this thread and in blogs, it seems that we are mixed together with scholars from other courses, as well as government servants.

[sugarspice]

OH, thank God for that! I was afraid that it would be some decrepit and rundown place with no signs of life....


This camp is used for training MAS air hostesses...so it's really clean and 'normal'. You get to sleep in a concrete building, not tents. All rooms are en-suites, and you are only sharing with one person. Like heaven, isn't? :P

...and you get fed until you swell up. Don't skip their 'minum pagi' and 'minum petang'. Their kuih-muihs are superb. :)) I miss the curry-puffffssssss!!! >.<

You MUST look forward to the camp!!

[Dominic]

This camp is used for training MAS air hostesses...so it's really clean and 'normal'. You get to sleep in a concrete building, not tents. All rooms are en-suites, and you are only sharing with one person. Like heaven, isn't? :P

...and you get fed until you swell up. Don't skip their 'minum pagi' and 'minum petang'. Their kuih-muihs are superb. :)) I miss the curry-puffffssssss!!! >.<

You MUST look forward to the camp!!

Yay, that means I'll be able to enjoy myself there then! :laugh

[jaekame]

err.. but can someone tell me list of things, like some compulsory things or attires or something?

[yanno_yamster]

For girls,
Formal wear: White baju kurung or white long-sleeved blouse; black or dark-coloured skirt/slacks (below knee level); black shoes (no sandals); veil for Muslims
Outdoor wear: Track-bottom, long-sleeved t-shirt, socks, sport shoes

Bring enough clothes, towel, slippers, toiletries, medicine, hangers, etc...