COMMENT | What our children are taught in schools today is not always grounded in evidence or truth – and the cost to national unity is far greater than we realise.

History education is not a neutral exercise; it shapes how young Malaysians understand who they are, where they come from, and how they relate to one another as citizens of a shared nation.

History taught in our schools should reflect what actually happened, not what we wish had happened. More fundamentally, history has the power to unite a nation, but only when it is narrated truthfully and inclusively.

We would do well to heed the most pertinent reminder by the late academic Zainal Abidin Abdul Wahid, who warned that “Unpleasant facts or events must not be brushed aside” and that “Students in schools must be nurtured and educated with history grounded in truth.” These words ring with particular urgency today.

Unfortunately, since 1996, young Malaysians have been...