Biro Tatanegara & Khidmat Negara

I'd have thought that any news beyond anal accusations and sodomy would be a welcome relief.

Evidently not.

These shenanigans by the Biro Tatanegara (BTN) have me more than just a little disheartened. In fact, it reminds me of why we need a change of government even more urgently.

Malaysians are a gullible bunch. They would like to believe that this BTN is a rogue programme, one that has not been monitored properly and allowed to spin out of control.

Take these two commenters on Malaysia Waves, for instance:

Khalid Hishamuddin says, "I hope the Ministry of Higher Education is taking note of your report."

Seriously, I doubt the government reads blogs, so don't flatter yourself or anyone else for that matter, dude.

Another anonymous commenter says, "..the PM's Dept or the Higher Educ Ministry must take immediate and drastic action either against the lecturer or to thoroughly review or axe the whole BTN program... Where's the National Unity Department ? Don't they monitor these courses ?"

This programme comes under the Prime Minister's department. I assure you, they know EXACTLY what they are doing. They just didn't expect to be caught at it.

I suppose they need to improve on their brain-washing skills because it didn't work on everyone and obviously, someone snitched and that is why we are all reading about this.

And the Khidmat Negara, or National Service? Is it any better?

Zorro asks, "Did the government set up the BTN and NS to combat our dismally flawed education system? Or were they set up to complement it and perpetuate the racism and hate?"

He certainly has a point.

The fact is, UMNO needs to keep the Malays under their thumbs. It needs to inflame a sense of entitlement from the world, so as to keep the Malays paralysed and incapable of competing. It needs to create fear and paranoia.

Of course, a lot of Malays (and I have to give them the credit) don't subscribe to these lame beliefs and have made it on their own, especially abroad.

But I don't want the smart Malays to go abroad and leave us with the bodoh piang bunch. It's the idiots who will fall for the racist crap like 'Christians don't like Muslims' and a classic one: 'Malays aren't racist, but everyone else discriminates against them'.

If I had a dollar everytime I heard a snivelling-moron-on-a-victimhood-drive spout that kind of crap, I'd be sipping a piña colada on the Copacabana beach right now.

This kind of psychological war isn't new. But it's shameful to think it can still be employed even in this day and age.

Sex Education For National Service Trainees

If sex education was really that important, why should only a select few receive it?

Not all school leavers are selected for National Service.

Or is this just an excuse to continue with the obviously flawed concept of National Service that we have?

Malaysia considers sex education in national service for high school graduates

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Malaysia's government may institute sex education for some high school graduates, a turnaround in this conservative Muslim-majority nation.

Authorities are considering teaching sex education to teenagers when they undergo national service after leaving school, Abdul Hadi Awang Kechil, director general of the National Service Department, said Wednesday.

Ng Yen Yen, the minister who announced the proposal, was quoted by the national news agency, Bernama, as saying that sex education, including lectures about preventing AIDS, could shield youngsters from unhealthy activities. Ng's aide confirmed the minister made the comments Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of boys and girls who are typically 17 or 18 years old are selected at random each year to participate in the government's national service training.

The three-month mandatory program aims to instill discipline and patriotism through community service, military-style physical training in jungle camps and other activities.

Sex is often a sensitive subject in Malaysia, where unmarried couples can be fined for kissing and hugging in public.

The Cabinet approved guidelines to teach sex education in schools two years ago, but activists say it has not been implemented. Officials had suggested teaching students how to protect themselves from sexual predators, reckless behavior and sexually transmitted diseases.

Adeeba Kamarulzaman, president of the Malaysian AIDS Council, said Wednesday that students receive inadequate information about sex in public schools, which generally only teach basic facts about reproduction during science courses.

Sex education classes in national service could prove useful because many school teachers are too embarrassed to expound on sex-related topics, she said.

"Better late than never," Adeeba told The Associated Press. "It's a good opportunity. They are at the right age to be receiving this kind of education."

Bear in mind that no village idiot should be teaching sex education. Least of all, trainers at the camps who have molested and sexually assaulted trainees before.

But if there aren't even qualified doctors on board, would it be reasonable to expect qualified teachers?

Terminate The National Service Programme

I first read about the death of the 18 year old trainee on Stevie's blog.

And like he says, it's pretty obvious they were administering copious amounts of Minyak Cap Kapak as a cure-all. It's highly unlikely there was even a qualified doctor present there.

Previously, my primary gripe with the National Service was the awfully crappy radio commercials exhorting the virtues of attending the programme, of which the English was so deplorable it made you cringe visibly.

But that's because I ain't nobody's mama. I don't know what it's like to raise a kid only to lose him or her to "National Service".

Like everything else in this blooming country the National Service is another way for politicians to make money. And so the safety and well-being of the participants are neglected.

And then what happens?

They die.

There are 15 children dead since the inception of this programme that supposedly "fosters better relations between the races".

Racial harmony should have been cultivated in school, you morons, not engineered among a small group of unlucky children who may experience fatal consequences before they graduate from the programme.