Man, I don't even know what to write. I fear that I shan't do justice by it. Let's begin a note of thanks:
I thank you facilitators of BTN Tanjung Rhu, Sepand (17th May 2010 - 21st May 2010) for the wisdom you all have imparted.
Er yeah, I've been reading Palahniuk's Pygmy. *shrug*
Now, I hate to sound cheesy or anything like that. I'll just stick to the bare minimum then. So, what I learned in those five days and four nights are:
- The Federal Constitution.
We learned a lot about 'Perlembagaan Persekutuan' (Federal Constitution). How it has 183 perkara, and 20 bahagian. Specifically, we studied selected perkara's (3, 10, 14, 38, 43, 151, 152, 153, 160, 161..etc. etc.) and how they're inter related. About the constitution's soul, how it protects us citizen of Malaysia. We were also exposed to the political issues related to it and how a majority of people in Malaysia misinterpret the Federal Constitution or are completely ignorant of its importance (Just as how most of us students are pre-BTN).
It's actually pretty fun getting to talk like lawyers haha. Y'know stuff like, "Di bawah Perkara 10 kurungan 4, Perlembagaan menyatakan bahawa...etc. etc." All of us can talk like that now haha. The method BTN taught us these is also pretty unique. We had to find the 5 stations where facilitators will give us the Perlembagaan book and instruct us to read up and try to understand specific Perkara s and then present to the groups. Then we'd have an open discussion relating to the Perkara s and all.
Damn, forgive my rojak English.
- The Goverment
The usual, like in Sejarah textbook. The government, the parliament, Dewan Negara, Dewan Rakyat, Mahkamah etc etc. Mainly about the kerusis (222) and DUN and stuff like that. Also about NGOs and political parties and such. Issues relating to these and more. And oh, how there's 'toleransi politik' in Malaysia .
- Current issues
Current issues, both local and international. The emergence of U.S as a unilateral power, China's exponential growth, then local things relating to racial issues. And something about the Zionist Protocol and all. I dunno, I don't dare delve into these too much. I might write something inappropriate. =.='
- Malaysia
Well, generally everything about Malaysia. The people, culture and infrastructure. The meaning of independence, the prime ministers and everything in between. In short the history of Malaysia. From the pelanduk kicking Parameswara's dog, the Malacca channel, invasions (Portugese, Dutch, British and Japanese) to Independence Day.
Oh oh! I really like the bit where they showed us slides about the people who contributed for the Modal Insan thing :D
In essence, I believe that BTN is a good programme that our Malaysian government is investing in. Me and my peers who took part in BTN now understand the soul of the constitution, and to love our home soil Malaysia. We've learn to truly appreciate and love Malaysia and are now completely aware of our responsibility as future leaders and citizen of Malaysia. How crucial unity is.
There's actually a lot of things I'd still like to write but I doubt I'd be able to harness their importance in words to do them justice. Especially what my peers said when our Head facillitator, En. Mohd Kamal asked some of us to speak our mind in front of everyone. What they said, came from their heart.
What I wish now, is that BTN is made available for ALL students in Malaysia. The youth is the country's lifeline. Us, youth of Malaysia needs to learn these things. Only then can the future of Malaysia be brighter. May the legacy of our Independence survive and live on forever.
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P.S: Now I know that some people thing this BTN is a brainwashing thing to make us love our country. Maybe it is. Who ever says that all kinds brainwashing is a bad thing? Our brains are infested by all kinds of thoughts. A bit of 'washing' WILL do it some good.
I too, was HIGHLY suspicious of BTN. Thought it'd be some kind of communist like camp tryin' to brainwash us into loving our country and stuff. I listened to the talks and discussions and treated the activities with reservation. There's no harm in treating things with a degree of apprehension y'know. And VWALLA! What do you know. At the end of BTN I am enlightened :)
I'd like to think of it as re-engineering our perception and misconceptions about some things. Besides, you can't MAKE anybody love anything if they don't want to. You simply can't. BTN does not indoctrinate us, it is more of a crash course in Sejarah and with it, the seeds of love for Malaysia.
P.P.S: The French programme juniors are a DELIGHTFUL bunch haha. :D Us NZ bound AUSMATians are glad to have been acquainted with them.
2 comments:
wah u went there? chosen or volunteer (haha is there any?).
by the way, juz wondering... instead of listening to the talk, is there any other activities there like group work or else? =D
i never been there but yep i heard it is like 'brainwash' to love our country .
is it interesting? =D
BTN is compulsory for all students who're on scholarship to study overseas. But there's BTN for other people too, like teachers and government servants and stuff. For us scholar students, the BTN cert only lasts for 2 years. Meaning if we don't fly within 2 years after receiving the cert we gotta go for BTN again.
Yeah. There's only 4 talks. Each lasts for a duration of 2 hours. They're title: Tanah Air, Rakyat, Kerajaan and Kedaulatan & Rumusan.
Then there's LDK (Latihan Dinamika Kumpulan) for the rest of BTN.
Then there's daily stuff like tazkirah subuh and maghrib for muslims. And something like PJK every morning before breakfast after subuh. And also in the evening. Y'know, like kawad and running 2km. Stuff like that.
There's also this KEMBARA thing where you get to walk around and see the mangrove and all but we didn't get to do that cuz it rained real bad. Some of the PJK slots got cancelled due to rain also. THANK GOD.
The schedule's really packed =.=
And yes. It is very very interesting. Enlightening actually. I suppose it is a sort of brainwashing thing but it's not like they indoctrinate you into being anti NGO or anything like that. :) For me and my peers who went for BTN last week, it is a valuable learning experience.
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