WITH reference to “Hate mongers still at it” (Dec 28), I would advise DRHS’s young doctor nephew to make an intelligent diagnosis of the BTN course he attended in totality before making any conclusion.

This reminds me of the story of a young English doctor who was posted to Malaya (during pre-Merdeka days). His first patient was an old Malay farmer who complained about fungus growth in his toe. The doctor had no previous experience in tropical diseases, diagnosed the case as cancer and recommended the farmer’s toe be amputated.

I don’t want the same to happen to the BTN course … a case of wrong diagnosis by an inexperienced doctor.

I’ve gone through the course and I find the focus is to instil racial harmony and patriotism among participants. The course comprised nine modules altogether, including the ice breaking and the close which were held in mass groups, whilst seven modules were in small group discussions in classrooms, led by well-trained and experienced facilitators.

The classroom sessions discussed the importance of cooperation among the races, the history of the fight for independence by our founding fathers, decision-making exercises, what is meant by a fair society and the importance of preserving peace and stability in the country.

The only time the word “pendatang” was mentioned (if at all) was during the first module (the introduction) and was to explain the origins of the three main races, and the explanation hardly takes the whole module which is two hours in all. Nothing racist about it.

A.L. KAR
Shah Alam

Source: The Sun – December 30, 2009