Umno Youth accuses Pakatan of revising history syllabus to implant ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ ideology promoting socialism, communism

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — The current Form Four history syllabus has been revised to promote the idea that socialists and communists had contributed to Malaya’s independence struggle, Umno Youth alleged today. 

According to the wing chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, this revision was a deliberate and subtle attempt by the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) government during its brief 22-month rule to “plant the seeds of the Malaysian Malaysia ideology” and condition students into thinking that socialism and communism is not bad.

“More disappointing when there are also elements of slandering the Malays as a pimp or a vassal of the Japanese army against the Communists and MPAJA,” he said in his Facebook page and referred to page 75 of the Form Four History Textbook.

The MPAJA stands for the Malayan People’s Anti-Japanese Army, which was a resistance group comprising mostly ethnic Chinese but also Malays and other locals during the Japanese occupation of Malaya during World War Two. It was funded and aided by both the British and Chinese Kuomintang party during their guerrilla war against the Japanese.

“Subtly and implicitly, the previous Pakatan Harapan government had elevated the Communist and MPAJA members as officers and fighters of independence who should be given recognition,” Asyraf claimed.

The Umno politician also posted a copy of page 129 of the history textbook on his Facebook page, which explained the role of the Malay Nationalist Party (PKMM) led by figures such as Ahmad Boestamam, Burhanuddin Helmi and Ishak Mohammad. Asyraf claimed the contents glorified the leftist movement.

“Therefore, the Malaysian Umno Youth Movement urges the Ministry of Education to immediately withdraw the Form Four history books and rectify the facts that are being manipulated to change the history of the country,” Asyraf added.

Two days ago, Yayasan Kasih Tauhid went to the police alleging the revisions in the Form Four History Textbook to be a criminal act and demanded an investigation into its contents, with the aim that it will be banned.

The non-government organisation claimed it was representing the coalition of Islamist organisations known as Pembela and filed the police report at the Section 9 police station in Shah Alam, Selangor.