PETALING JAYA: The National Unity Ministry will consider proposing to the Education Ministry to incorporate the latest findings of the Bujang Valley (Ancient Kedah) history into the curriculum, said Minister Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang.
He said this consideration was made after the latest findings based on the records of the Chinese historical figure Yi-Jing, which depict the location as a prosperous trading centre and society’s unique and culturally rich life during that time.
“Perhaps (we will consider). We will look at the new discovery…we need a new narrative (in the syllabus of the History subject) based on the latest findings,” he told reporters after opening the International Conference on the Ancient Kedah’s History Based on Yi-Jing Records here yesterday.
The conference, hosted by the Department of Museums Malaysia and the National Archives of Malaysia in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Malaysia-China diplomatic relations and following Aaron’s working visit to China in September last year, was attended by about 500 local and international researchers, academicians, and historians.
According to Aaron, ancient Kedah had longstanding socio-political relations with China and the unofficial ties continued into the golden age of the Melaka Sultanate but were severed due to the Cold War and Western colonial policies opposing communist ideology.
“Since the establishment of this diplomatic ties (in 1974), Malaysia and the People’s Republic of China have explored various areas of collaboration including trade, tourism, culture, education, health and science and technology,” he said.
Aaron said Gallery 2 of the Bujang Valley Archaeological Museum in Kedah, which will be inaugurated by the Sultan of Kedah, Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah, is the only museum in Malaysia that showcases collections on the existence of an international trade centre in the Bujang Valley and the development of Hinduism and Buddhism in Southeast Asia from the third to the 12th centuries AD.
“The artefacts exhibited in this museum are evidence that the Bujang Valley was an international port and trading centre visited by merchants who dominated the maritime trade routes between Eastern and Western countries especially Chinese, Indian and Arab merchants,” he said.
The conference participants will visit the Sungai Batu archaeological site and the Bujang Valley Archaeological Museum in Kedah this Saturday (July 13). – BERNAMA
