History – a much maligned subject

With the announcement by Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that History would be a must-pass SPM subject for 2013 (The Star, Oct 23), there has been many reactions from politicians, university dons, and amateurs.

There is indeed a need for History textbooks to be re-written, and done so with reference to professional historians, with evidence and research to verify the facts written in the books.

The fact is, there is room for much improvement in the textbooks.

It is unbelievable that much of the so-called “facts” in them do not hold water.

Forget the heated discussions on the “hidden history not much talked about,” such as the left-wing movement.

Even the most basic idea about the concept of history is laughably asinine.

For example, a Form 1 History textbook mentions the origin of the term “history”.

Instead of saying that it originated from the Greek term Historia, meaning inquiry or investigation, and based on the tome of the “Father of History” Herodotus of Halicarnassus, this textbook simply mentions it as being a fairytale, as history is just that: his-(or her) story.

Of course, the entire discussion of re-writing textbooks is but a part of a larger issue: the dignity of history as a subject.

History has been much maligned, especially by politicians with interest, no matter where they come from.

As such, History today has been taken out of the hands of the university professionals by pseudo-historians, biased politicians and amateurs for their own manipulation.

It is small wonder why History is not taken seriously by students.

If indeed History is to be respected as a legitimate subject, then it must be given back to the historians so that they can produce good history textbooks, and without interference from interested politicians or narrow religious views.

In this case, History must be given the same authority as Science in class.

The Theory of Evolution is thankfully allowed in Biology in Malaysia, even though it is rejected by the religious class with no basic knowledge in science.

As for the politicians and the idea of political correctness, their views must be taken with a pinch of salt when writing History textbooks.

The latest call by politicians for equal space for all (supposedly ethnic) communities in History books to show a sense of fair representation is quite flawed from a historian’s point of view.

This is based on the politically correct, but flawed, premise that all communities contribute equally to national development and historical change.

Nothing can be further from the truth.

The idea of history is to see change through the ages, and how change is achieved or who contributed to that change.

E. H. Carr, the author of What is History, a textbook on the philosophy of history among university students, pointed out that historical change is achieved by the dominant group or dominant force, and that this force forms the backbone of the historical narrative.

To diminish this role of the dominant group (ethnic or class) due to the idea of equal representation of other ethnic groups is another form of bias and twisting of history.

By all means, tell the history of all ethnic communities, as well as other communities in society.

But do not let History be cheapened in the process due to political correctness or bias.