MY NEIGHBOUR’S daughter who is a fresh medical graduate from a local public university, together with 80 plus medical graduates from Indonesia, the Melaka Medical College and Russia attended the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) induction programme held at a hotel in Port Dickson from Dec 19 to 24.

She came home on the evening of Dec 24 and has not got over the sadness and frustration of seeing and experiencing for herself the blatant and insidious racism, insinuations and insults which were continuously directed at her fellow Malaysians of Chinese and Indian descent, especially by the BTN instructor who lectured on the night of Dec 23.

There has been so much of discussion and criticism of the BTN in the local media over the last three months and yet the BTN, which is part of the Prime Minister’s Department, has chosen to be deaf and blind to it and continue with its racist and divisive approach in content and methodology. They continue to label the very Malaysians who were born in Malaysia as immigrants and an ungrateful lot. They open up old wounds and stoke racial discord by evoking Hindraf at every turn and opportunity.

In spite of the fact that we attained our independence from the British some 52 years ago, it is indeed sad and frustrating to note that some people are so intent on dividing and ruling just like the colonial masters. And our race relations is not going anywhere.

I pray that the prime minister will take this matter very seriously and address and resolve the BTN issue expeditiously as it is certainly not in line with his One Malaysia, People First, Performance Now.

MA
Shah Alam

Source: The Sun – December 29, 2009