Anwar says there is a need to reconstruct history to the Malaysian narrative

GEORGE TOWN, July 25 - Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says there is a need to reconstruct the history of the country so that it is not dictated by monuments of the past.

He said history must not be dictated by the country’s former colonial masters, whether it is the United Kingdom, Japan or the United States.

“It must be determined by our people and reconstructed to give meaning to the level of sacrifice and devotion of the people of Penang,” he said at the official opening of Fort Cornwallis after restoration works on the colonial monument.

He said it is not necessarily erasing history but a fact that there is a different narrative behind the monuments left behind by the country’s former colonial masters.

“So this is my answer to those who have chosen to criticise us for being present today to launch this historical colonial monument,” he said.

He said it is a historical fact how bitter, difficult and demeaning it was for the country in the past.

“Because every single action and decision by the powers that be, the colonial masters, was determined by them to protect their strategic interests, have absolutely nothing to do with our interests of our own culture or heritage or survival,” he said.

He said this is a lesson that must be learnt and taught to the younger generation.

He said the younger generation must learn, not about the glory of the colonial period, but about its hardships, because the fate of Penang was not determined by the people of Penang.

“Instead, it was decided in places such as Tokyo, London or the United States. The lesson we should impart to our children is that without unity, development, peace and a strong defence, this was the fate we suffered in the past,” he said.

“Our own history was erased, and all we came to know were Francis Light and Fort Cornwallis,” he added.

He said there was the Japanese occupation during World War II and following that, decisions made by the United States, which destroyed and bombed these areas because it suited their own interests.

“There was no consultation and no consideration whatsoever for the people of Penang or Penang’s interests,” he said.

He suggested that young visitors to Fort Cornwallis were not only shown video clips on the beauty of the restoration works.

“We use this to inculcate that understanding and expose our young to our own history to reconstruct it not to the dictates of our colonial past our masters but make it relevant to our society and our future,” he said.