ABSTRACT
The post-independence developmental states of Malaysia and Singapore have used the history syllabus to strength the state and further nation-building. This use of history for nation-building has been reminiscent of the use of the history syllabus for empire building during the colonial era. The history syllabus also fulfilled a similar role in the era of political decolonization in the 1950s. In these situations, the goal was to strengthen the state. The ‘decolonization’ of knowledge in the history syllabus has been an ongoing activity from the end of the colonial era to the present and has been carried out by successive generations of historians working with the state.
