The History syllabus in our schools needs urgent review because it is not balanced.

The world history taught in the 1960s and the 1970s, which created the "universal man" with wide knowledge of world affairs, has disappeared.

Under the guise of building patriotism, the pendulum has swung to the other end of the spectrum.

The History syllabus, introduced in the 1980s, has partly created the problem of racial and religious bigots and polarisation in our society.

If the History syllabus in schools is well-thought out, well- balanced and unbiased, it can help unite all the races through cultural understanding.

We are a multiracial, multireligious and multicultural nation. It is pertinent that the cultural history of the European, Chinese, Indian and Islamic civilisations be taught to our children with an inspiring and imaginative syllabus.

Colonialism and nationalism in Asia and Malaysia must be taught without political bias. Such a syllabus can inspire universalism and imbue nationalism and love for one's country.

It can be the conduit for racial harmony, tolerance and national unity.

In the 1960s, Universiti Malaya's History Department, under Professor Wang Gung Wu, ventured into Malaysian history from the Malaysian point of view. It was based on Professor Nilakanda Sastri's Asian history from the Asian point of view in the 1940s.

We were right in moving away from the Eurocentric history of the colonial times. We began to view Kattabomman, Tipu Sultan and the Rani of Janzi in India and Datuk Maharaja Lela, Mat Kilau and Tok Bahaman in Malaysia, who fought the British, as heroes.

To the British, they were villains and traitors. Our perspective of history changed and we began to write Malaysia-centric history.

But in the 1980s, things went too far. The whole History syllabus in our schools fell victim to the parochial views and extremism of the politics of the times.

History, to produce the knowledgeable, egalitarian and "universal man", disappeared.

This was also the period when our education system generally began to decline - becoming overly examination-oriented, failing to retain English as an effective second language and, sadly, national schools taking on a religious look.

All these defeated the government's aim of making the national schools the melting pot of racial integration and unity.

In fact, this was the era which exacerbated racial polarisation in our schools, colleges and universities. Racial and social integration began to break down. It was a period of stress and strain.

Now, we have a herculean task ahead. We have to swing the pendulum back to the median. We need fair-minded and level-headed politicians and educationists to achieve this task.

The aim of teaching history should be two fold:

* to create a "universal man" - tolerant, broad-minded with a global outlook, and well-informed of the affairs of the world and our neighbouring countries; and,

* to create a "national man" - with knowledge of our country's history, cultures and political development, to build nationhood and love for our country.

Being a multiracial country, thought should be given to the cultural history of the various races to inculcate acceptance of each other's cultures.

Our History syllabus should be 50:50 on both national and world history. A well-thought out and well-defined syllabus can achieve both of these.

Through world history, the students will gain an understanding of the progress of mankind through the ages and understand our role as Malaysians in the world.

World history will prepare our children to meet global challenges later in life. The world history syllabus should be as follows:

* River valley civilisations - students should learn about the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Indus and Hwang Ho civilisations and Malaysia's prehistoric period;

* Indian history - Hinduism, Buddhism, the spread of Buddhism, Maurya dynasty, Asoka, Gupta dynasty, South Indian kingdoms, Indianisationof Southeast Asia and Bujang Valley;

* Chinese history - Confucianism and Taoism; Chou, Han, Tang, Sung and Ming dynasties, Chin Shih Huang Ti and about their inventions and sea voyages;

* Greek and Roman history - Athens and Sparta, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Hellenistic culture, Roman civilisation, Christianity and the Byzantine empire;

* Islamic history - Prophet Muhammad, the Umayad caliphate, the Abbasid caliphate and the Cordova civilisation; spread of Islam to Asia and Southeast Asia; the Crusades and Renaissance in Europe.

This world history would give a cultural background of the peoples of Malaysia. When I was in Form 4 in 1961, Syed Abu Bakar Barakhbar, a great History teacher, taught us the cultural background of the peoples of Malaya.

It was the history of all the religions of the world. This subject made all of us "universal" beings. That generation of students was different. There was love for one another and acceptance of one another's culture.

Then, there should be the study of South and East Asian history. This should cover the modern history of India, China and Japan, colonialism and nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries, the effects of colonialism and the awakening of Asian countries, the Indian struggle for independence against British rule, Mahatma Gandhi, the Chinese Opium Wars against Europeans, Dr Sun Yat Sen and the modernisation of Japan under Mikado Meiji.

The syllabus should include modern Southeast Asian history: colonialism and nationalism, Indonesia and Sukarno, the Philippines and Jose Rizal, Indochina and Ho Chih Minh, Myanmar and Thailand.

The core of the syllabus should be Malaysian history. Here, students should study about the Malay sultanates, the Bujang Valley civilisation, Portuguese, Dutch and English intervention; nationalism and independence, Malaysia's role in world affairs,

Left-wing nationalists like Ibrahim Yacob, Ishak Muhammad, Dr Burhanuddin Helmy and Ahmad Boestamam should not be left out. The contributions of the Chinese and Indians and the developments in Sabah and Sarawak must be included.

A chronological study of history will make the student understand historiography and the idea of progress - the progress and development of mankind.

World history could be taught in Forms One and Two and early Malaysian history until the 18th century in Form Three. In Forms Four and Five, students should be taught colonialism and nationalism, South and East Asian history, Southeast Asian history and modern Malaysian history.

In the 1950s and 1960s, history was taught in primary schools, too. In Year Four, we studied about the great men of the West such as Alexandar the Great, Abraham Lincoln, Marie Curie and Issac Newton.

In Year Five, it was the great men of the east like Buddha, Confucius, Prophet Muhammad and Mahatma Gandhi. In Year Six, it was the story of Malaya.

If we were to do this now at the primary level, we will bring a love for all mankind to pupils and motivate them to dream to be great. It should be mere storytelling and enjoyable.

My second area of concern is teacher training. It is no use thinking about a great syllabus if we do not have great teachers.

Training for History teachers must have better methodology. We have often heard many students lament that History is a dead subject. To me, if History is a dead subject, it is the History teacher who is dead - a very dry, uninteresting and unimaginative person. History is a lively subject. How can the affairs of mankind be a dry and dead subject?

If the teacher is teaching the 7th century, the teacher must take the students back to the 7th century. There must be talks, debates, tutorials, charts, maps, photographs and the Internet and education TV, projects on local history, visits to museums and historical sites.

A walk along the chandi at Merbok in Bujang Valley will make one feel history coming back to life. A visit to Tunku Abdul Rahman's old residence and viewing the memorabilia there will take our students back to the days of independence. The authorities should provide funds for such visits.

Let us give serious thought to wholesome History teaching methodology. There must be a lot of activities, not just memorising a list of names and dates for examinations. History should create the thinking man.

History texts should have plenty of photographs, maps, charts and diagrams. The colour, wording and format must be imaginative, but must not be too confusing like the present format.

History is the study of the past to understand the present and to make a better future. Let us make it so. Let us retrieve what we have lost in the past 30 years.