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
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