KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — The Lawyers for Liberty group demanded for the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court to explain an alleged order for Sessions Court judges to attend a National Civics Bureau (BTN) course in March.

Citing a copy of the letter with the instructions, LFL advisor N. Surendran questioned why judges should be forced to attend any course conducted by the controversial agency.

Accusing the BTN of fomenting racism and disunity as well as being an alleged propaganda machine of the former Barisan Nasional (BN) administration, Surendran expressed shock that members of the judiciary were compelled to attend one of its courses.

“Judges must be impartial and independent in their conduct and judgments; this is fundamental to uphold the rule of law and maintain the separation of powers.

“To forcibly send every Sessions Court judge in the country for the BTN course is a serious threat to judicial independence,” he said in a statement.

He demanded to know how the BTN course, ostensibly to promote patriotism, was related to the functions of the judiciary and what was specifically presented to the judges then.

The former Padang Serai MP then asked who authorised the order for the subordinate court’s judges to attend.

“Chief Registrar Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar, whose office issued the instructions for the programme, must explain why she did so and what was the purpose of the BTN course,” he added,

In the letter, the course’s objectives were stated as inculcating patriotism and “noble values”, but did not elaborate on what these may include.

The training was held from March 16 to 18 at the Akademi Kenegaraan Biro Tatanegara at Jalan Bellamy in Kuala Lumpur.

The letter made it clear that attendance was compulsory, with only the Chief Registrar’s Office authorised to excuse those unable to attend.

Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman claimed earlier this month that the agency will be abolished, but did not disclose further details.

The BTN is an agency under the Prime Minister’s Department established in 1974 and tasked with promoting patriotism, but has repeatedly been accused of inculcating racism.

Despite denials by the BN government and the agency itself, sporadic leaks of closed-door events conducted by the BTN or featuring its staff have continued to entrench suspicions that the bureau is a hotbed of racism and “brainwashing”.

In 2015, a set of slides titled “Rasis” and uploaded to the BTN website claimed that racism could have a “good purpose” and was only given “negative connotation” by unnamed groups supposedly trying to topple the government.