Chief Registrar: BTN courses for judges not political indoctrination

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Civics Bureau (BTN) courses for judges were not political indoctrination, says the office of the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court.

In a two-page statement yesterday, it denied that the courses were political in nature.

The modules, it said, were supervised by the Chief Registrar’s office itself and were not fully under BTN.

“The modules are on team-building and are generic to spur patriotism and instil team spirit and good values among our staff.

“They are not politically based and are not meant to indoctrinate the judges’ thinking as alleged in the statement,” it said.

The courses were planned earlier and the date before the general election was coincidental, it added.

Three courses have been held with the first at Akademi Kenegaraan, Jalan Bellamy, between March 16 and 18.

The second was held at Kem Bina Negara in Tanjung Rhu, Sepang, between March 23 and 25, while the last course took place at Kem Bina Negara in Kulim, Kedah, between April 6 and 8.

“Only three courses were held, while the remaining ones have been put on hold by BTN in line with the government’s aspiration to study BTN’s functions,” the Chief Registrar’s office said.

Judges from the Sessions Courts and magistrate’s courts, as well as supporting staff had attended the courses, it added.

On July 28, Lawyers for Liberty had raised a red flag over a written instruction to all Sessions Court judges to attend a BTN course, claiming that it had been “notorious” for promoting racism and being a propaganda tool for the former Barisan Nasional administration.