KUALA LUMPUR, June 19- There is a need to rewrite Malaysian history books to include problems faced in the past and steps taken by the government to solve such issues, so as to offer a better understanding of the country’s history to the younger generation.
Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said this move would also help Malaysia to establish a more educated society, and “thus create more vocal leaders.”
It will also help unite Malaysians, create a rounded education for the young, he said in his keynote address titled “Better Times Ahead for Malaysian Politics, Post General Elecetion-13” at the Perdana Leadership Foundation CEO Forum, here, today.
“We need to do a lot of things. We should also learn from the history of other countries such as why the Arab Spring occurred. Then we ask ourselves, do we want this to happen in this country?
“There are some people who literally say they want to see an Arab Spring in Malaysia. They prefer to ignore stability, peace and overthrow the leaders. Therefore, we need to settle down and understand what is democracy and tell them to trust the government,” he added.
Touching on education, Dr Mahathir suggested that having a national school under one roof for all races, can keep Malaysia peaceful, united and will help build a better future for its citizens.
“The problem we face today is that we do not come together, and barely speak or use the national language. We should use it more (national language). We should have less segregation in schools for example, and make it compulsory to use and learn the national language,” he suggested.
“Going to the same school increases the chances of togetherness. I’m the product of this kind of school,” he said.
On learning the national language, Dr Mahathir was curious as some foreign diplomats who worked in other countries like Indonesia could master the language of that particular country, but not in Malaysia.
He said it was because Malaysians themselves communicated in English and not in their national language, and thus forgetting that language was one of the factor that unifies society.
– BERNAMA
