Mong: Open a chapter on Sarawak’s history

Posted on January 7, 2011, Friday

KUCHING: A detailed history of Sarawak should be included in the current education history syllabus, said Assistant Tourism Minister Mong Dagang.

According to him, if the education ministry wanted history as a prerequisite subject, a thorough and specific history should be in the syllabus as well.
“The current syllabus does not really have the in-depth history of our state, the public were not well informed of any historical episodes here such as what happened in Batu Lintang,” he said.
Mong said this after visiting the Batu Lintang Mini Memorial Museum and the Punjabi Barrack at the Batu Lintang Teachers’ Institute, here yesterday.
He added that Batu Lintang has a historical value which should be made known to the younger generation.
“There are more interesting events and historic places around Sarawak which were not included in our history syllabus and everyone generally should know them,” he said.
“It is up to the Education Minister to make this a reality, and what we can do is to preserve the value of these historic spots for the viewing of the public,” he said.
Therefore, he said his ministry was working with several non-governmental organisations (NGO) to look into the history and heritage of Sarawak.
“We want this to be well looked after by associations such as the Sarawak Tourism Federation and the Sarawak Heritage Assocation,” he said.