'Shut down BTN, revamp Intan'

The Penang Backbenchers Club has demanded that the federal government shut down the National Civics Bureau or Biro Tata Negara (BTN), given the allegedly contentious content of its courses.

The Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers also want Putrajaya to revamp the National Public Administration Institute (Intan by its Malay acronym).

Spokesperson Sim Tze Tzin, the PKR Pantai Jerejak assemblyperson, said both BTN and Intan have rapidly degenerated into Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) propaganda machinery to incite political hatred and racial disharmony.

BTN "disseminates wrong information and incites hatred against Pakatan and its leaders, especially the likes of Anwar Ibrahim, Abdul Hadi Awang and Lim Kit Siang", he told a press conference today.

As such, backbenchers will table an emergency motion at the Penang legislative assembly sitting on Friday, calling on the federal government to close down BTN and revamp Intan.

Sim said the BTN must be "abolished altogether for conducting courses that incite racial hatred and condemn opposition political parties".

"Based on feedback from a female participant, women at BTN courses have also been subjected to sexist remarks by certain lecturers," he said.

"She said lecturers have told women to wear make-up and dress well to remain attractive to their husbands. Single women were told to look beautiful so that they (get) good husbands, while bachelors were told to look for beautiful women for conjugal happiness."

Ban in Penang, too

Earlier today, Deputy Chief Minister 1 Mansor Othman announced that all civil servants working in state-level departments, agencies and statutory bodies are now banned from attending BTN courses.

However, this does not cover personnel working in federal departments, agencies and statutory bodies in the state.

Mansor ( right ) said the ban has been imposed because BTN courses are "opposition-bashing sessions rather than training programmes to improve performance, the delivery system and decision-making processes in the public service sector".

Penang's move emulates the Selangor government's ba n on attendance at BTN courses.