“Why are Chinese [Malaysians] dangerous?”

BTN Blues, Part 3

During one of the lectures, one of the external speakers asked us, “Do you know why Chinese (Malaysians) are dangerous?” He continued, “The Chinese (Malaysians) in Melaka bury their weapons in one of their cemeteries, and are waiting for the day when they can gali these weapons and lawan ‘us’ for real.”

By Shanon Shah, The Nut Graph

ARIF Johny Abdullah, 34, attended his Biro Tata Negara (BTN) programme back in the 1990s when he was in secondary school. He has blogged about his experiences at the camp, including an escape from camp grounds to find replacements for participants who had broken their eggs.

Arif is a Sino-Kadazan from Sabah and officially converted to Islam in his early teens. He tells The Nut Graph that his interesting position as an East Malaysian bumiputera might be why he resisted most of what was taught during the BTN programme. He is now an operation manager at a company that manages cybercafés.

The Nut Graph sat down with Arif in Cheras on 21 Dec 2009 for this final instalment, for 2009, in our series of interviews on the BTN blues.

TNG: When and where did you attend your BTN programme?

Arif Johny Abdullah: I know it was in Perak, and I know we passed by Kellie’s Castle to get there. Tapi nama penuh kem saya tak ingat. I think it was in 1994. I was in Sekolah Menengah Seri Perak, Parit Buntar, and I think I was in Form Four.

How long did the programme last?

Itulah, saya pun tak ingat sangat. It was definitely not longer than five days. I think it was four days and three nights.

How many participants went for the programme?

I would say 150 to 200 students, boys and girls, from secondary schools throughout the Kerian district. Sebenarnya, the programme was meant for students from Institut Teknologi Mara (ITM), now Universiti Teknologi Mara, Manjung. I remember this because (former Prime Minister Tun Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad) was supposed to come and speak to them. But then Mahathir had something to do in Langkawi at that time.

READ MORE HERE: http://www.thenutgraph.com/why-are-chinese-malaysians-dangerous