HISTORY AS PLATFORM FOR UNITY

 

My friend Eddin and KJ launched a very pertinent podcast recently. It deals with our history. I hope you will support and watch them. This is the first episode. I consider this podcast more important than KELUAR SEKEJAP.

Click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=l0_SQ59vhcE

Why?

We have been a nation for almost seven decades, yet we have not agreed on our history. We are like the six blind men and the elephant — each one sees history narrowly instead of seeing it as a whole.

To move forward, we need to agree on our history. We need to accept certain fundamentals and understand how we have evolved to be who we are today.

We must look at history from a larger perspective and use wisdom to accept it — whether it suits our liking or not. We have to look at the facts. We need to form a history with truth as our guide. To do that, we need to ponder these questions:

• When and where does our history start?
• What is the importance of the Proto-Malays to our history?
• How have the early Hindu and Buddhist influences affected our history?
• What are the significances of the Old Kedah Sultanate and the evolution of all the other Malay sultanates?
• What is the role of Islam in shaping the Malay sultanates, culture, and traditions?
• How did the Portuguese, Dutch, British, and Japanese colonization affect us — especially the British era leading up to the formation of our modern nation?
• What about the history of Sabah and Sarawak? How do they form a part of our current history?
• Where do we place the history of ordinary folks from every community — be they the majority or the minorities?
• Why did 1957 and 1963 happen? What is the meaning of 1957 and 1963? How do 1957 and 1963 colour our recent history?
• What does our Constitution say about our historical framework? How does our Constitution capture our history and turn it into a social contract for us to create new history?

I hope this podcast will deal with these questions in one way or another.

AGREEING ON OUR SHARED HISTORY

We are who we are today because of our shared history. To live in peace and progress, we need to agree on a shared history and understand it. Only then can we create a better and more united future.

As we reflect on history, we are still creating it. In creating history, we must decide what we want for our children and our children’s children. Our decisions today will create our tomorrow. Let us be wise.

It is crucial that we do not hold a myopic and naïve view that our nation simply emerged out of the blue in 1957, and thereafter in 1963, without accepting and appreciating its long, illustrious history that spans thousands of years. This attitude will rob and negate the history of the land and its people.

To do so, one would need to pretend that everything about Semenanjung Tanah Melayu before 1957, and Sabah and Sarawak prior to 1963, is irrelevant. This is the main obstacle to putting together a balanced, fair, and truly inclusive national history — and consequently affects how we see and interact with each other as its people.

WHAT MUST WE DO?

Let us understand, accept, absorb, and immerse ourselves in our history wholeheartedly — from the beginning of human migration to our evolution: from hunter-gatherers who practiced animism, shamanism, and ancestor worship, to the time when we were Hindus and Buddhists, and through the many hundreds of years till the present, when Islam became our main narrative.

When we do this with vigour, we will be able to appreciate how our early beliefs, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and even Christianity have left socio-religious and cultural imprints on our ways of life and common shared values today.

Let us look at our national history in at least two main parts.

Firstly, our history before 1957 and 1963 — the Malay World — the history of the people of the Malay Archipelago that includes the Orang Asli and the natives of Sabah and Sarawak, which rightly has to be Malay-centric. At the same time, we must accept that the immigration history of our people from the east and the west is as real as the Malay-centric experience and forms part of our national history too.

Secondly, our post-Merdeka modern history that starts in 1957 and expanded, gaining depth and breadth in 1963 when Malaysia was born — our new history as its people.

We need to hold our Constitution as the just and balanced centre of reference that connects the dots between our past, present, and future. The constitutional provisions recognise the special position of the Malays and other natives — the Orang Asli, Sabahans, and Sarawakians — while at the same time safeguarding the rights and legitimate interests of the other communities. Islam is the religion of the Federation, but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony.

Without constitutional provisions to ensure that their interests are protected, natives across the world will be helpless against demands for “equality,” because the descendants of colonial and immigrant communities tend to have a bigger advantage. Equality in the loose sense will favour the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and weak — whether in terms of economic justice or in drawing the historical chronicles of the people.

Peace,
Anas Zubedy
Penang