Statement Released by Dong Zong

December 12, 2017

MICSS History Coursebooks Are Relevant to International History Education Trend

In respect of the Deputy Minister of Education Datuk Chong Sin Woon’s statement that it is beyond reproach to request the increase of proportion in local history in MICSS curriculum as one of the requirements thus to recognise the UEC as “not any one country will allow their students to study more world history than its own”, Dong Zong herewith responds as follows:

(1) Currently, the weightage of junior level History and World History in MICSS curriculum is 53.73 percent and 46.27 percent respectively and it belies what Datuk Chong has claimed, viz., local history in MICSS curriculum is less than one thirds of its contents.

(2) At senior level, there are three History coursebooks employed in MICSS curriculum: Malaysia and Southeast Asia History, China (renamed East Asia History in 2020) and World History. In actual fact, the redaction and compilation of these coursebooks are in consonance with the trend of international History education. Accordingly, lower level History coursebook emphasises on local history, whereas higher level History covers periphery regions and World History aiming to concurrently nurture nativeness and world view. Take the coursebooks used in Singapore, China and Australia as examples, it is evident that in Singapore History coursebooks, histories of Southeast Asia, India and China are warranted and half of their contents are history of the world; whereas there are six topics in China History coursebooks, three of them are Ancient History of the World, Modern History and Contemporary History. In Australia, the major task of elementary History coursebook is to teach about local history while from junior level onwards the contents are almost entirely about world histories.

(3) As revealed by pundits in 2011, only 20 percent of world histories and histories of other countries are found in the SPM History curriculum. Obviously, this approach is against international History education trend and in actual fact inadvisable. As such, Dong Zong opines, the government’s directive to amend MICSS History curriculum is an ignorable move towards the History profession as it defies international trend and thus unacceptable totally.