Asia-Pacific News
Malaysia to revamp patriotism course following racism charge
Nov 30, 2009, 10:44 GMT
Kuala Lumpur - The Malaysian government announced Monday it would revamp the syllabus for a patriotism course following charges by the opposition that it incited racial discord between the majority ethnic Malays and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians.
Nazri Aziz, minister in the Prime Minister's office, said the National Civics Bureau course would be amended as its current content was not in line with Prime Minister Najib Razak's racial unity policies.
'The co-curriculum will be brought in line with the Prime Minister's 1Malaysia [campaign], which means it will be more inclusive and will not divide Malaysians,' Nazri was quoted as saying by the Star online news portal.
The courses, conducted by an agency under by the Prime Minister's Department, are compulsory for government workers and students who obtain state scholarships at public universities.
Last week, the opposition-run administration of Selangor state barred its civil servants from attending the courses, claiming they encouraged racial divisions and were a form of propaganda against opposition parties.
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