‘Past masters’ in battle over contents of textbooks

 

While Arof Ishak (left) said there could be different views, Ranjit Singh Malhi said history books should be based only on facts.

PETALING JAYA: Two historians crossed swords today over the contents of history textbooks in Malaysia with each offering a different perspective of events that shaped the nation over the decades.

While prominent historian Ranjit Singh Malhi maintained that history books were written through the lens of only one ethnic group, Malaysian Historical Society member Arof Ishak said there was a need to record a truly Malaysian history.

Arof said there are two aspects to Malaysia – firstly, a society which has pluralistic aspects and secondly, a country whose main pillars are the Malays.

However, he said the misunderstanding over the contents of the books may show a bigger problem over what is perceived as history.

“The content changes from time to time depending on the issues,” he said during a live talk on YouTube organised by Dialektika TV.

Due to that, Arof said, it may not be right to say that Malaysian history textbooks are inaccurate.

“Some say the contents are too Malay-biased, with efforts to darken history, while some say it has been misappropriated.

“This is worrying,” said Arof.

Ranjit, who came into the spotlight after highlighting some inaccuracies in history textbooks, retorted that history was about facts. He added that the role of minorities in shaping the nation has been downplayed.

To begin with, he said 17 of the 18 writers of Form 1 to Form 5 history textbooks were Malays, causing perspectives to be viewed through one ethnic group.

He said his research showed that the role of minorities had been severely downplayed to just two or three sentences, like the role of Chinese in tin mining and the contribution of Indians in estates.

Even the role of Yap Ah Loy in developing Kuala Lumpur has been placed behind three Malay leaders. In the Form 3 textbook, Ranjit said Yap was listed after Raja Abdullah Raja Jaafar, Sutan Puasa and Abdullah Hukum.

“Yap Ah Loy was, in fact, primarily responsible in developing Kuala Lumpur,” he told Arof.

He also spoke of factual distortions such as those found in a Form 4 history textbook where it is stated that the Malay Regiment, numbering around 1,400 men, formed the bulwark of British Malaya’s defence against the Japanese intrusion.

“In reality, it was mainly the British, Indian and Australian troops,” he explained.

However, it cannot be denied that the Malay Regiment fought heroically against the Japanese during the Battle of Pasir Panjang in Singapore in 1942, he said.

Ranjit added that there were factual inaccuracies in Form 3 textbooks which incorrectly state that Long Jaafar brought progress to Larut. It also credited him as the man who introduced Malaya to the world as a major producer of tin.

Instead, he said it was the Chinese who made the Federated Malay States the world’s largest tin producer.

“I want to ask the education ministry: why did this happen?” Ranjit asked.

He said more than half a million rubber tappers died in Malaysian estates to build the country, as a result of fatigue, snake bites, diseases and malnourishment.

“Our country is what it is due to multiculturalism. This strengthens the national identity,” he added.

However, Arof said Malaysia needed to look at a local perspective and not have a history with various directions.

“We must be clear about what is history. But there is no (one) definition of what is Malaysian history.” - FMT