Get rid of racist BTN, urges DAP’s Kasthuri

The Batu Kawan MP says Najib’s statement that BTN will help BN stay in power is unbefitting of a statesman.

PETALING JAYA: A DAP legislator has challenged Prime Minister Najib Razak to disband the National Civics Bureau (Biro Tatanegara or BTN) to show that the 1Malaysia slogan used by the ruling BN in the last general election was not a hollow act.

Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto said the bureau, which comes under the Prime Minister’s Department, had been used as a political tool by Umno and BN at the expense of taxpayers.

“Disbanding the BTN that is racist and regressive in nature will be a priority of Pakatan Harapan (PH) when Malaysians mandate PH as the federal government after the 14th general election (GE14),” she said.

“Malaysians do not need the BTN to educate them on patriotism.

“Malaysians love Malaysia and love it enough to reject BTN,” she said in a statement today.

Najib had said yesterday that BTN would help the government remain in power for the sake of religion, race and country, as well as to enable the government to survive.

Speaking at the Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house, organised by BTN in Kuala Lumpur, he said the current generation of Malaysians had been lucky as it was more educated and lived comfortably due to the struggles of the BN-led government.

“This is why all of us must continue with our struggle … until the 14th, 15th, 16th general elections so that we will continue to win,” Najib, who is BN chairman and Umno president, said.

Kasthuri said Najib’s remarks were unbefitting of a statesman.

She accused him of riding on the politics of fear and emotion without intellectual discourse.

She added that there was nothing on BTN’s website stating that its objective was to help the government of the day to continue to be in power.

Kasthuri also said there was concrete evidence in the form of educational slides found on BTN’s own website in 2015 that suggested that the agency was disruptive to the harmony in the country.

“Is the BTN now an Umno weapon? A potent dagger to be used to divide patriotic Malaysians who love their country so that Umno can remain in power, ‘dulu, kini dan selamanya’ (then, now and forever)?” -FMT