MELAKA: Interlok is a suitable novel for use as a textbook for the literature component of the Bahasa Malaysia subject in Form Five because it is based on historical facts, according to the Malaysian Institute of Historical and Patriotism Studies.
Its general manager, Datuk Aziz Ujang, said those who objected to the use of the novel as a literature book should first read, understand and appreciate it first because he felt that it portrayed in reality the harmonious relations in this multiracial country.
“I believe they have not read, understood and appreciated the novel. It relates historical facts, the real thing. Do we want to deny the truth?
“I feel the writer wanted to portray how the spirit of patriotism emerged, the identity of the Chinese, Indians and Malays as they united in the struggle to seek independence of our country,” he said of the novel written by national laureate Datuk Abdullah Hussain depicting the integration of the Malays, Chinese and Indians from the early 1900s to the independent of then Malaya.
Aziz told Bernama at his office here that the contents of the novel were not offensive to any race, and they related historical facts which the present and future generations should have knowledge of.
He said the Education Ministry should insist on using the novel as a literature book and not bow to the pressure to withdraw it.
He felt that the intervention of a handful of politicians in the personal interest would undermine the harmony among the people enjoyed thus far.
Some quarters had claimed that it contained elements deemed offensive to the Indian community.
“Logically and rationally, I feel even primary pupils can think. The novel was published more than 40 years ago and there has been no problem with it. Today, all of a sudden, some quarters have brought it up and turned it into a racial issue,” he said. — Bernama