Call for immediate dissolution of Biro Tatanegara (BTN) as the country has wasted over RM1.1 billion on the BTN in the past 30 years as it continued to incite racism, disunity, bigotry and intolerance instead of fostering patriotism, unity, inter-racial and inter-religious understanding and goodwill

Recently, the latest evidence was uncovered that the Biro Tatanegara (BTN) under the Prime Minister’s Department had continued its negative, divisive and anti-national activity of inciting racism, disunity, bigotry and intolerance instead of fostering patriotism, unity, inter-racial and inter-religious understanding and goodwill.

Even for former top Malay civil servants in G25 have condemned BTN of being “ultra Malay-racist”.

Former diplomat and spokesperson of G25 Datuk Farida Ariffin also joined the growing chorus demanding that the Najib government should dissolve the “anti-national” BTN forthwith.

Five years ago, the Najib administration had promised a revamp and Malaysianisation of BTN after a nation-wide furore when a senior BTN official had used the terms “si mata sepet” and “si botol” at a closed-door Puteri Umno gathering to describe the Chinese and Indians respectively, but clearly nothing had changed and BTN remains the bulwark of brainwashing and hotbed of racism, opposing the concept of Malaysianisation as a whole and Najib’s 1Malaysia policy in particular in the Malaysian civil service.

Although the National Civics Bureau had pulled down a folder on its website which contained several presentation slides, including very racist ones glorifying racism, the time has come for firm and uncompromising action agaisnt anti-national and racist outfits in the Malaysian civil service which are paid and maintained at Malaysian taxpayers’ expense.

I find it most regrettable that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has not yet said a single word about such national betrayal by civil servants in BTN.

Two days ago, Najib pleaded with civil servants to keep their lips sealed with regard to government secrets.

Speaking at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC), Najib said:

“In the past few days, many secrets have been exposed. Please safeguard the government’s secrets.

“If a (department or ministry) is not ready to make an announcement, do not expose it because the decision later may be different.

“Look at what has happened with the toll charges, before anything is finalised, it has been leaked to the public.”

Najib was referring to the controversy over impending increase in highway toll charges, saying leaks about likely increase in toll charges “betrayed” the trust of the Cabinet and would prevent Malaysia from becoming a great nation.

What about the national betrayal by Biro Tatanegara in the last three decades inciting racism, disunity, bigotry and intolerance instead of fostering patriotism, unity, inter-racial and inter-religious understanding and goodwill?

I join the call by growing number of concerned and patriotic Malaysians for the immediate dissolution of Biro Tatanegara (BTN) as the country has wasted over RM1.1 billion on the BTN in the past 30 years as it continued to incite racism, disunity, bigotry and intolerance instead of fostering patriotism, unity, inter-racial and inter-religious understanding and goodwill.

The increasing racial and religious polarisation in the country, with the country experiencing the worst state of national unity in the nation’s history, is an indictment of the abject failures of BTN in the past three decades.

The budgets for BTN multiplied ten-fold in the eighties compared to the nineties, multiplying from some RM20 million in the eighties to RM200 million in the nineties, which continued to increase, in fact more than double to over RM550 million in the first decade of the 21st century. From 2010 to 2015, the budgets for BTN totalled some RM365 million.

This means that for the last three decades, the BTN had cost the taxpayers over RM1,130 million.

There can be no doubt that the RM 1.1 billion spent by BTN in the past three decades can be better utilised in promoting national unity and harmony.

The over RM1.1 billion would also be better spent to help the poor, needy and disadvantaged, regardless of race and religion, in the past three decades instead of running and maintaining an anti-national agency under the cover of promoting patriotism in the very bosom of the government civil service, mushrooming from a staff of a handful in the early eighties to some 300 public servants at present.

I call on the Cabinet to put this item of dissolution of the BTN at the top of its agenda in the next meeting and all Ministers must take a stand whether they support that the BTN should be dissolved because of its racist and anti-national character, causing a gross waste of public funds.