BALIK PULAU, Sept 9- UMNO vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal described Bukit Mertajam member of parliament Steven Sim Chee Keong as being blind to history for refusing to accept Umno and Barisan Nasional’s (BN) role in fighting for the country’s independence.
“Like it or not, that is our history. We cannot change it according to our whims,” he told reporters after attending a gathering with the people at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Pondok Upih, in Balik Pulau.
Also present were Health Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya and state UMNO Liaison chairman Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman.
Mohd Shafie was commenting on Sim’s statement demanding the BN government to stop spreading political propaganda through allegedly changing history, including in the secondary school syllabus.
Last Thursday, DAP Socialist Youth National Education director Sim was quoted by news portal Roketkini.com as claiming that the attacks against national laureate Datuk A. Samad Said were BN’s alleged efforts to twist the nation’s history for political gains.
Mohd Shafie said, furthermore the struggle for independence was sparked by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-haj who was also UMNO president at the time.
Meanwhile, Mohd Shafie who is Rural and Regional Development Minister, said the government planned to upgrade all the Medan Infodesa nationwide into mini Rural Transformation Centres (RTC) to ensure each local community was provided with the facility.
-BERNAMA
