ABSTRACT
The separation of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965 had long-term implications for the history syllabuses. More than ever before they were seen as ‘colonial inheritance’. In Malaysia, the racial riots and disunity of 13 May 1969 brought about fundamental shifts in the history syllabus. Malay nationalists rejected the history syllabuses that focused on a multiracial and multicultural past and wanted them further ‘decolonized’. They wanted a ‘Malaysian-centric’ history syllabus in which the history of the Malays was the ‘base’. In other words, the history of the Malays was the history of Malaysia. The history of the non-Malay ethnic groups was of relevance only when members of these non-Malay ethnic groups were involved in Malay affairs and history. From 1978 onwards, history syllabuses were fashioned and refashioned to reflect this view of the Malaysian past.
