Maszlee tells Asyraf that 'controversial' history textbook developed during BN's rule

 

Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki should instead point his finger at his own party in his latest statement that the Form 4 history textbook glorified communists, said former Education Minister Maszlee Malik.

Maszlee (above) said the "controversial" textbook used during the Pakatan Harapan administration was reviewed and decided by the BN government before that.

As such, he disagreed that Harapan should be blamed for the textbook.

Asyraf had criticised Harapan over two pages in the history textbook over the role played by radical Malay leftist leaders in fighting for independence and the Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army's (MPAJA) battle against the Japanese occupation.

"I am of the view that his reckless accusation in blaming the Harapan administration is baseless.

"The history curriculum was reviewed in 2014 and implemented in 2017, starting with Form One students. This means that these Form One students in 2017 will enter Form Four by 2020," he said.

Maszlee then brought attention to the government's decision to replace the Integrated Curriculum for Secondary School (KBSM) with the Secondary School (KSSM) school curriculum in 2017.

"The development of a curriculum requires a long process, and it involves a panel of experts who are experienced in the subject of history," he said.

Maszlee said a pilot test would then be conducted to ensure its feasibility once the curriculum's formulation is completed.

"Through this pilot test, improvements can be made based on the views of the teachers. The entire process will take between three and five years.

"This means for textbooks printed in 2019 and used in 2020, the development process can be traced back to 2014 or 2015," he said.

Maszlee, who is also Simpang Renggam, disclosed a document to substantiate his claim that the BN government decided to introduce KSSM in 2017.

"Once again, I would like to tell Asyraff that the then education minister in 2015 came from Umno," he said.

Maszlee said experts were roped in on the history curriculum, and some of them were known to be close with and had a bias for Umno.

"During my 20-month tenure as the education minister, the Harapan government gave freedom to the professionals from the Curriculum Development Division in the implementation of the school curriculum.

"There is no intervention from Harapan and me in the process, although I knew that the referral experts were biased for Umno," he said.

Maszlee advised Asyraf to check his facts before hurling any accusation. - Mkini