We need truth to set us free

This came out in the Malaysian Insider:
Perkasa leader ‘contradicting’ herself over history books row, says historian
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
April 12, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — Historian Dr Ranjit Singh Malhi has accused Datin Paduka Professor Dr Ramlah Adam of contradicting herself in asserting that the current history textbooks were “well-balanced” and for belittling the contribution of non-Malays.

Ranjit also charged that Perkasa supreme council member had “erroneously” accused him of being paid to “check the syllabus,” saying he was only appointed as an expert consultant (pakar rujuk) to ascertain factual accuracy of the history textbooks.

“Dr. Ramlah Adam makes a classic contradiction in her statements. On one hand, she says “The history syllabus is well-balanced” and that there is “nothing wrong” with the current history syllabus for secondary schools.

“She subsequently contradicts herself by admitting that the Form 4 syllabus had placed a lot of emphasis on Islamic civilisation and that the government was working to revamp it. The learned professor should make up her mind and not beat around the bush,” Ranjit told The Malaysian Insider.

While Ramlah had said that the current content of the secondary school history textbooks were accurate, she had admitted that the Form 4 history syllabus had placed a lot of emphasis on Islamic civilisation, and that the government was working to revamp the current module.

She had also said that the government only inserted “positive” issues and omitted negative instances of the country’s history, like May 13.

Ranjit stressed today that he was not involved in checking the current history syllabus, and demanded that the Perkasa leader either apologise for making a “false accusation” against him or provide proof that he (Ranjit) had done so.

“I would like to state categorically that in no way was I ever involved in checking the current lopsided and biased History Syllabus.

“I would also like to add further that in my letter dated 3 September 2002 to the Education Ministry, I volunteered to “menyemak buku-buku teks sejarah” without any payment. The Education Ministry did pay me an honorarium,” he said.

Ramlah had said that Ranjit, along with Tan Sri Professor Dr Khoo Kay Kim had gone through the history module and had no objections to it, and were paid by the government.

Elaborating further, Ranjit attacked Ramlah for her disparaging comments on non-Malay contribution in Malaysia’s history, with specific regards to Yap Ah Loy.

Ramlah, who is the current author for the Form 3 history textbooks said yesterday that non-Malays who came to Malaysia had contributed as either “investors or labourers (kuli).”

“Make no mistake about it. Many cities and major towns developed and prospered due to the hard work and sweat of the non-Malays. A classic example is Kuala Lumpur,” said Ranjit.

The historian pointed out that although Yap Ah Loy was not the founder of Kuala Lumpur, he nevertheless was “primarily responsible” for rebuilding Kuala Lumpur after the Selangor Civil War.

“According to J. Kennedy in his book (A History of Malaya), “Until the coming of the British Resident to Kuala Lumpur in 1880, Ah Loy was the real authority in the town.” He further states that Yap Ah Loy “ ... did more than anyone to establish the little township destined to become Malaya’s capital”.

“Kennedy’s views are shared by other historians. According to Margaret Shennan, “Kuala Lumpur was another town created by the enterprise of the Chinese”. In the words of J. M. Gullick, “Down to 1879, Yap Ah Loy was Mr. Kuala Lumpur”. According to B.W. Andaya and L. Y. Andaya, Kuala Lumpur in 1891 had a population of 43, 786 with 79 per cent being Chinese,” said Ranjit, citing academic reference to back up his arguments.

Ranjit said that he had sent a copy of his presentation points made during a discussion organised by the Catholic Teachers’ Association last Saturday to the Director-General of Education’s office.

He also urged “renowned historians” educated Malaysians to speak up to ensure history textbooks are not only accurate but objective and well-balanced as well.

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The worth of a history book is only as valuable as its ability to state facts in an unvarnished manner. For instance, it may well be that there was economic disparity and a lot of Malays were feeling angry, but it would be remiss if the history books do not also state that UMNO Selangor MB provoked the May 13 1969 riots. Even if facts are not certain, for instance, whether Malays are themselves immigrants too, the history books should be factual and say - this is a point of contentious debate and has yet to be settled.

Great civilisations live with facts, no matter how painful they are. You learn from facts, not from sweeping the facts under the carpet because it suits a political agenda. That's for oppressive regime who places no value on truth. Just look at Japan and Germany who were aggressors in World War II. They have painfully accepted the fact that part of their governance went wrong, and they took responsibility for the atrocities that they have committed during that time. Because of this sincere acceptance, they are able to move on, and for that matter, they have moved on with fervour, as if to make up for lost opportunities.

Malaysia will continue to be trapped in a time warp if we fail to get to the facts through dispassionate scientific deliberation and discussion, and we won't be able to move on to the future because of distrust of our history. There is not a chance on earth that this would happen under BN watch.