Government to look into proposed abolition of BTN: Dr Mahathir

PETALING JAYA: The government will look into the call made by several quarters for the abolition of the National Civics Bureau (BTN), according to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Mahathir, who is also Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), said this was because the BTN and several other organisations were found to have been formed for the benefit of the Barisan Nasional (BN).
"We found many organisations that were formed not for the government, but merely for BN, but using the government money to pay staff salaries," he told a press conference after chairing PPBM Supreme Leadership Council meeting at Menara Yayasan Selangor here today.
Yesterday, Setiawangsa Member of Parliament Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad called for the BTN to be closed down, saying that it was highly partisan and toxic to genuine national unity and still operating on a Cold War framework even though the world had moved on.
PPBM Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman also supported the call, saying that the bureau had deviated from the principles on which it was set up.
Meanwhile, when about the demands made by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) today, Mahathir briefly said: "We will consider."
Reportedly, Hindraf chairman P. Uthayakumar had earlier submitted a memorandum to government's Institutional Reform Committee, listing 25 proposals to redress the issue of the bottom 75% (B75) of the Indian community, including land ownership scheme similar to Felda and Felcra, and opportunities to study at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).
The memorandum was handed over by Uthayakumar to the Secretariat of the Institutional Reform Committee under the Council of Eminent Persons, Zawiyah Mohammad Yusof, at Menara Ilham here. — Bernama