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- Apr 14, 2011
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The Curious Case of the Disappearing History
When Nations Forget on Purpose...
There's something deeply strange happening in Malaysian classrooms. History.. the one subject that's supposed to tell us what actually happened... is getting a creative rewrite. And not the good kind.
The Vanishing Act...
Historian Ranjit Singh noticed something unsettling: modern history textbooks have basically erased entire communities from Malaysia's story.
Remember how Chinese miners built the tin industry that made Malaysia wealthy? That epic saga of hardship, innovation, and nation-building now gets... two or three sentences in Form 3 textbooks.
The Indian community's role in developing the massive rubber industry? Also condensed to a footnote you could miss while blinking.
It's like writing the history of Hollywood and mentioning movies in passing.
The Hindu-Buddhist Amnesia...
Here's where it gets genuinely perplexing.
The textbooks conveniently skip over how Hindu-Buddhist civilization deeply shaped Malay culture, the language, literature, governance, everything.
Consider these everyday Malay words:
- Syurga (heaven) - from Sanskrit
- Neraka (hell) - from Sanskrit
- Sembahyang (prayer) - from Sanskrit
- Puasa (fasting) - from Sanskrit
The language itself is living proof of cultural exchange. Yet the textbooks treat this rich history like it's classified information.
The Case of the Missing Prince
Even Parameswara, the literal founder of Melaka, one of the most important figures in Malaysian history, gets the revisionist treatment.
The current books don't mention he was a Hindu-Buddhist prince. They just... skip that part.
Meanwhile, the 1979 Form Four history textbook gave detailed, objective accounts of Hindu-Buddhist influence in ancient Kedah, including the Bujang Valley civilization.. one of Southeast Asia's most significant archaeological sites.
That version told history as it was. This version tells history as someone wants it to be.
The "Why?" Question
Why would anyone want to shrink history?
The most logical (and sad) answer: to elevate one group by diminishing others.
But here's the paradox that makes this whole thing so perplexing... Malay civilization was already magnificent.
The Melaka Sultanate's golden age. The maritime trading empire. The literary traditions. The architectural achievements.
None of that needs embellishment or the erasure of others to be impressive.
So why the insecurity? Why the need to airbrush a multiracial, multicultural history into something narrower and less true?
When Fiction Becomes Fact
This explains why certain historians, especially one Proffesor Solehah Yaacob can propose wild theories to artificially inflate ancient Malay civilization.. and get defended instead of challenged.
It's not about historical accuracy anymore. It's about narrative control.
And when a history professor spreads dubious theories but gets institutional backing, you know something's broken in how a nation remembers itself.
What Gets Lost...
The tragic irony? Students memorize these sanitized textbooks to pass exams, but learn nothing of actual value.
No understanding of how different communities built this nation together.
No appreciation for the beautiful complexity of cultural exchange.
No sense of shared identity.. which is exactly what Ranjit Singh says history education should foster.
Just "tin kosong" (empty cans) - lots of noise, no substance. Syiok sendiri (self-satisfaction) dressed up as education.
The Real History
Malaysia's true history is fascinating precisely because it's a story of Malays , Chinese, Indians and indigenous peoples creating something remarkable together.
- Indians didn't just tap rubber trees, they transformed Malaya into the world's largest rubber producer
- Chinese didn't just mine tin, they built entire towns, schools, and economic systems
- Malay sultanates didn't exist in isolation, they were cosmopolitan trading hubs where cultures mixed and flourished
That's the story worth teaching. That's the history worth being proud of.
The Question Nobody's Answering
If your civilization's achievements were truly great, and they were... why would you need to diminish everyone else's contributions to prove it?
Greatness doesn't require erasure. It invites collaboration and celebrates complexity.
Real history is messy, multicultural, and magnificent.
Fake history is just... sad.
The Bujang Valley still stands in Kedah, silent witness to a Hindu-Buddhist past that textbooks now pretend never mattered. The temples don't lie, even when the textbooks do.
When Nations Forget on Purpose...
There's something deeply strange happening in Malaysian classrooms. History.. the one subject that's supposed to tell us what actually happened... is getting a creative rewrite. And not the good kind.
The Vanishing Act...
Historian Ranjit Singh noticed something unsettling: modern history textbooks have basically erased entire communities from Malaysia's story.
Remember how Chinese miners built the tin industry that made Malaysia wealthy? That epic saga of hardship, innovation, and nation-building now gets... two or three sentences in Form 3 textbooks.
The Indian community's role in developing the massive rubber industry? Also condensed to a footnote you could miss while blinking.
It's like writing the history of Hollywood and mentioning movies in passing.
The Hindu-Buddhist Amnesia...
Here's where it gets genuinely perplexing.
The textbooks conveniently skip over how Hindu-Buddhist civilization deeply shaped Malay culture, the language, literature, governance, everything.
Consider these everyday Malay words:
- Syurga (heaven) - from Sanskrit
- Neraka (hell) - from Sanskrit
- Sembahyang (prayer) - from Sanskrit
- Puasa (fasting) - from Sanskrit
The language itself is living proof of cultural exchange. Yet the textbooks treat this rich history like it's classified information.
The Case of the Missing Prince
Even Parameswara, the literal founder of Melaka, one of the most important figures in Malaysian history, gets the revisionist treatment.
The current books don't mention he was a Hindu-Buddhist prince. They just... skip that part.
Meanwhile, the 1979 Form Four history textbook gave detailed, objective accounts of Hindu-Buddhist influence in ancient Kedah, including the Bujang Valley civilization.. one of Southeast Asia's most significant archaeological sites.
That version told history as it was. This version tells history as someone wants it to be.
The "Why?" Question
Why would anyone want to shrink history?
The most logical (and sad) answer: to elevate one group by diminishing others.
But here's the paradox that makes this whole thing so perplexing... Malay civilization was already magnificent.
The Melaka Sultanate's golden age. The maritime trading empire. The literary traditions. The architectural achievements.
None of that needs embellishment or the erasure of others to be impressive.
So why the insecurity? Why the need to airbrush a multiracial, multicultural history into something narrower and less true?
When Fiction Becomes Fact
This explains why certain historians, especially one Proffesor Solehah Yaacob can propose wild theories to artificially inflate ancient Malay civilization.. and get defended instead of challenged.
It's not about historical accuracy anymore. It's about narrative control.
And when a history professor spreads dubious theories but gets institutional backing, you know something's broken in how a nation remembers itself.
What Gets Lost...
The tragic irony? Students memorize these sanitized textbooks to pass exams, but learn nothing of actual value.
No understanding of how different communities built this nation together.
No appreciation for the beautiful complexity of cultural exchange.
No sense of shared identity.. which is exactly what Ranjit Singh says history education should foster.
Just "tin kosong" (empty cans) - lots of noise, no substance. Syiok sendiri (self-satisfaction) dressed up as education.
The Real History
Malaysia's true history is fascinating precisely because it's a story of Malays , Chinese, Indians and indigenous peoples creating something remarkable together.
- Indians didn't just tap rubber trees, they transformed Malaya into the world's largest rubber producer
- Chinese didn't just mine tin, they built entire towns, schools, and economic systems
- Malay sultanates didn't exist in isolation, they were cosmopolitan trading hubs where cultures mixed and flourished
That's the story worth teaching. That's the history worth being proud of.
The Question Nobody's Answering
If your civilization's achievements were truly great, and they were... why would you need to diminish everyone else's contributions to prove it?
Greatness doesn't require erasure. It invites collaboration and celebrates complexity.
Real history is messy, multicultural, and magnificent.
Fake history is just... sad.
The Bujang Valley still stands in Kedah, silent witness to a Hindu-Buddhist past that textbooks now pretend never mattered. The temples don't lie, even when the textbooks do.
