Ranjit Singh Malhi

1. THE ISLAMIC AND MALAY-CENTRIC NATURE OF OUR HISTORY TEXTBOOKS Ranjit Singh Malhi

2. PRESENTATION OUTLINE 1.Objectives of History Teaching. • Biased History Textbooks. • Half-Truths and Factual Errors in Our History Textbooks. • “Historical Death” of Yap Ah Loy and Malaysian Freedom Fighters. 5.KetuananMelayu and Special Position of Malays. 6.Recommendations.

3. “We lie to our students. We lie to them by omitting parts of our history; by reinventing other parts; by glamourising aspects of it at the expense of other aspects. Our youth are not given the whole picture; not told the true story.” Ms. Johnson Nga(ex-principal of Methodist Girls Secondary School, Malacca)

4. OBJECTIVES OF HISTORY TEACHING ●Provide an objective, truthful and balanced account of Malaysian and World History ● Promote inter-ethnic relations and forge greater national unity ● Develop a sense of national identity and instil patriotism ● Promote critical thinking among students

5. GOOD HISTORY TEXTBOOKS ● Factually accurate ● Generally objective ● Well-balanced ● Devoid of value judgements

6. “All serious historical writing must respect all nations, ethnic groups, religions and cultures. ... The historian’s role is not to make value judgements about historical facts but to try to establish them more accurately ...” Muhammad AdnanBakhit History of Humanity, Vol.4, UNESCO,2000

7. OUR HISTORY TEXTBOOKS ● Islamic and Malay-centric biased ● Some half-truths ● Numerous factual errors and contradictions ● Politically motivated

8. BIASED HISTORY TEXTBOOKS • Downplay the roles of the non-Malays in the development of our nation and its independence. • Scant attention given to the contribution of the Chinese and Indians in the development of the tin mining and rubber industries.

9. Lopsided emphasis on Islamic Civilization. • Five out of ten chapters (116 out of 284 pages or 41%)of the current Form Four history textbook deal with Islamic history • Earlier Form 4 history textbook had only one chapter (39 out of 231 pages or 17%)on Islamic history

10. Quotation from the Quran (page 101) besides Islamic teachings and religious terms • Undue emphasis given to trivial matters and unimportant personalities which are of no historical significance (e.g. Hanifreligion, al-Basus War, Abu Lahab and Bilal bin Rafah)

11. Do not tell the whole truth. • Omits the fact that the founder of Malacca (Parameswara) was a Hindu prince from Palembang who died a Hindu • Gives wrong impression that • Indian-Gurkha, Australian and British soldiers did not fight courageously in defending Malaya during the Japanese onslaught, unlike the Malay Regiment

12. HALF-TRUTH “Tentera British di Tanah Melayu yang terdiridaripadaaskar-askar India-Gurkha, Australia dan British tidakmampumenyekatkemaraantenteraJepun. Mereka terpaksaberundurkeselatan. Bandar-bandarutamadariutarakeselatanjatuhsatu per satuketangantenteraJepun. Di sampingitu, tentera British sememangnyatidakberhasratmempertahankan Tanah Melayudenganbersungguh-sungguhkecualiSingapura. Tumpuanmerekaialahmempertahankannegara Britain daripadaserangantenteraPaksidiEropah. Sebaliknya, RejimenAskarMelayupimpinanLeftenan Adnan telahberjuangbermati-matianmempertahankanTanah Melayu.” Form 3 History Textbook, page 11

13. HISTORICAL TRUTH ●Thousands of Punjabi (mainly Sikhs), Gurkha, British and Australian soldiers died defending Malaya during the Japanese onslaught ●In the Battle of Kampar, Indian-Gurkha and British soldiers fought courageously and temporarily halted the advance of Japanese ●33 out of 232 names on Tugu Negara are Sikhs

14. 5. Current Form Four textbook has reduced more than 25% the amount of text related to Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism as compared to the earlier textbook (from about 1115 words to about 832 words).

16. 6.No coverage of some famous Malaysian freedom fighters such as Gurchan Singh (“Lion of Malaya”) and Sybil Karthigesuwho resisted the Japanese Occupation of Malaya.

17. GURCHAN SINGH ● Gurchan wrote and secretly distributed a newspaper during the Japanese Occupation of Malaya ●His wartime exploits were contained in a textbook, Heroes of Malaya, widely used in Malayan schools (1950s)

18. SYBIL KARTHIGESU ●Sybil Karthigesu and her husband treated wounded guerrillas of the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army ●Although tortured by the Japanese, she did not give up ● A woman of principle with tremendous courage

19. YAP AH LOY • Current Form 2 history textbook (page 153) has downplayed the role of Yap Ah Loy in developing Kuala Lumpur. It has just one sentence (not even in the main text) on Yap Ah Loy: • “Yap Ah Loy antaraorang yang bertanggungjawabmembangunkanKuala Lumpur.”

20. HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE OF YAP AH LOY “ ... his [Yap Ah Loy] perseverance alone, I believe, has kept the Chinese in the country [Malaya].” Frank Swettenham “Down to 1879, Yap Ah Loy was Mr. Kuala Lumpur.” J. M. Gullick

21. “Yap Ah Loy did more than anyone to establish the little township destined to become Malaya’s capital.” J. Kennedy “Kuala Lumpur was another town created by the enterprise of the Chinese.”  Margaret Shennan

22. FACTUAL ERRORS IN HISTORY TEXTBOOKS

23. VALUE JUDGEMENTS IN OUR FORM FOUR HISTORY TEXTBOOK ●Bagindamerupakanketuakeluarga yang patutdicontohikeranakepimpinannyasertasifatpengasihnyadantimbangrasanya. ●Kemunculantamadun Islam memberirahmatkepadaseluruhmanusia …. ●…unsur-unsurIslam bolehdipraktikkandalamsesebuahnegara yang terdiridaripadaberbilangbangsadanagama.

24. CHRISTIANITY IN HISTORY TEXTBOOK ●BagipenganutKristian, agama ini dikatakantelahdiasaskanoleh Jesus Christ yang berasaldari Jerusalem ●No main teachings of Christianity, unlike earlier textbook ● Coverage reduced by about 10% Form 4 History Textbook, page 66

25. KETUANAN MELAYU ● Concept introduced in current Form 3 textbook (page 45) ● KetuananMelayuditakrifkansebagai semangatcintaakanapasaja yang berkaitandenganbangsaMelayu sepertihakpolitik, bahasa, kebudayaan, warisan, adatistiadatdantanah air

26. IMPLICATIONS OF KETUANAN MELAYU ●Malay dominance ●Malays are the “masters” ●Non-Malays are “pendatang”

27. Ringkasnya, kemajuandankemakmuran Tanah Melayutelahberjayamenarikminatimigranuntuk datangkesinidankeadaaniniberterusanhinggakini. Kita seharusnyaberbanggadengannegarakita yang menjaditumpuanpendatangasingkeranakekayaan dankemakmurannya. Di satusudut yang lain pula, masyarakattempatanseharusnyalebihgiat, berinisiatifdanbersediamengusahakansendiri kekayaannegara, terutamanyabagimereka yang tidakbermodalbesar. Jikatidak, orangasingyang sentiasamengintaipeluanguntukmengambilruang tersebut, akanmengambilalihperanankita, seperti yang berlakupadahariini. Form Five History Textbook, page 255

28. SPECIAL POSITION OF MALAYS ●A temporary measure to ensure their [Malay] survival in the modern competitive world ● A temporary “handicap” as in golf ● Should not apply in perpetuity Tun Dr. Ismail bin Abdul Rahman

29. RECOMMENDATIONS The Form 1-5 History textbooks should be reviewed to ensure factual accuracy and consistency, objectivity and a balanced account of our nation's history. 2. The advisory panel and writers should be drawn from various ethnic groups. 3. History textbooks should be devoid of value judgements.

30. 4. Writers chosen should be those who have content mastery, are meticulous (pay attention to details) and with a proven track record. 5. The teaching and learning of History should be geared towards enhancing deep learning, critical thinking, information literacy and presentation skills of our students and not merely for memorization and to pass exams.

31. 6. History should be taught in a lively and interesting manner using various instructional strategies (e.g. debates, discussions, group presentations, document studies, video clips) and not limited to the traditional lecture method. Students should not be mere spectators in the teaching and learning process. Active learning should be promoted.

32. Thank You!