The campaign for a truly Malaysian history was launched on Sunday by a group of academics and notable NGO figures on the back of strong public support, particularly from parents of schoolgoing children concerned about our biased KBSM textbooks.

It urges a review of the History curriculum which contains many shortcomings, including the overt and overly Islamic and Malay-centric slant, factual errors, half-truths, value judgments and politically motivated content.

The movement is pressing for an honest and transparent review of the syllabus in place of the current window-dressing exercise which will only serve to infuse the teaching of History with yet more propaganda. The existing textbooks need to be overhauled so that students will learn an accurate and well-balanced account of our country’s history.

– Extracted from “Reclaiming our truly Malaysian history”, Centre for Policy Initiatives, 19 May 2011.