COMMENT I was once a member of a group of government servants forced to attend a Biro Tatanegara (BTN, or National Civics Bureau) "nationhood" course.

This Orwellian department began life as a 'Youth Research Unit' in 1974, under the Youth Ministry. It was re-invented as the BTN in the Prime Minister's Department, under Dr Mahathir Mohamad, prime minister at the time.