History subject in schools not very accurate, says Dr Mahathir

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ALOR SETAR: The History subject taught in schools is not very accurate as it lacks background on the struggle for the country’s independence.

This is the view of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who said the subject was not so accurate because the role of the nation’s first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, fighting for independence was not stated in depth in the subject syllabus.

“Many from the younger generation do not understand history and the origin of the nation, as there were attempts to alter historical facts into fantasy.

“As a result, the government needs to focus on what really transpired so that writings on the country’s history would not be influenced by current political interests.

“It is not to review history but to return to what actually happened. History is all about what had happened, and we cannot change that…whatever happened in the past, had happened,” he said when commenting on last Friday’s  statement by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Khaled Nordin that the current history syllabus in schools needed to be reviewed.

Mohd Khaled had said the review was imperative, following the discovery of several incomplete and conflicting facts, in lieu of the findings of national philosopher and theologist Tan Sri Prof Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas in his latest book, ‘Historical Facts and Fiction.’

Dr Mahathir was speaking to reporters after the ground-breaking ceremony of the Centennial Hall of the Sultan Abdul Hamid College here yesterday.

He said the younger generation considered the fight for independence as a common matter as they were born in a country that was already independent and prosperous. “As such, the younger generation considered it as just a process experienced by many nations.

“However, if we were to visit other countries which achieved independence at the same time with us, we would find that they were not as developed as Malaysia,” he said. — Bernama