‘Recognising communists in textbooks may confuse students’
PEKAN: Attempts to recognise the communist struggle can confuse the younger generation and give them the impression that the communists contributed to Malaysia’s independence.
Pekan branch Malaysian Armed Forces Veterans Association chief Hamzah Ibrahim said the efforts by certain parties aimed at creating a new perception among students towards communists indirectly gave them recognition.
“We are against the efforts by these groups to recognise communists as freedom fighters and write about them in history books,” he said at the launch of the state-level Warriors Fund by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail at the Pekan district and land office here yesterday.
Hamzah said the move by certain parties could be considered an insult to the national warriors and their respective families who had to endure a lot of suffering at the hands of communists.
“How would the families of those killed and the veterans who were shot by the communists feel?
“They would be certainly sad when the younger generation tries to recognise the cruelty of the communists.”
The media had previously reported a forum titled “Should We Rewrite Our History Book”, which discussed the role of the communists and raised the question of whether the government should re-write the history books.
At the forum, several panellists urged the Pakatan Harapan government to review the history in local textbooks and include information about the struggle for independence by the left-leaning nationalists.