BTN will be rebranded to instil unity, says deputy minister

PARLIAMENT | National Civics Bureau (BTN) will be rebranded as an agency to instil unity, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Md Farid Md Rafik.

The move, however, goes against the Pakatan Harapan manifesto which pledged to do away with it.

"BTN is undergoing a rebranding process and the modules will be studied to focus on the noble value in daily lives and return it to its original objective and function," he said.

"The BTN today is no longer the BTN of the past. We wish to take the approach of making it an agency to instil unity and patriotism," he told the Dewan Rakyat during winding-up of the royal decree debate.

Farid added that the government will use the agency to improve the understanding of government policies and current issues among the civil servants, and promote noble values among the attendees.

The government is fine-tuning the modules and programmes while the matter is discussed in the cabinet, he said.

"The BTN modules are very much different now compared to three or four years ago. We encourage the involvement of all ethnicities."

Promise 28 of the manifesto states that Harapan "will dissolve the National Civics Bureau, which over the years actively become a cheap political agent for Umno".

The BTN, which is under the purview of the Prime Minister's Department, has long courted controversy, with allegations that it was being used by the previous BN regime to brainwash civil servants with government propaganda.

It was previously reported that members of judiciary, magistrates and sessions court judges were made to attend BTN programmes before the 14th general election.

In his winding-up speech, Farid said BTN programmes were meant for civil servants and the judges are classified as civil servants under Article 132 of the Federal Constitution.

The circulars and rules which govern civil servants required them to attend such courses, he added. -Mkini