Youth Told 'History, We Are Nothing'
By Andrew Wong

Bandar Seri Begawan - Some Bruneian youth say they remember little of the history lessons they received in secondary school, raising the need to instil love for national history among the young.

"It is imperative that Brunei's history be preserved," one young adult told The Brunei Times. "Without our history, we are nothing. If tomorrow something comes along and wipes Brunei from the face of the earth, what will still be there to commemorate us or our achievements?"

Some of the young people that The Brunei Times spoke to said they felt the history of Brunei was "boring" or "drab" when compared to the history of some countries, thus, the disinterest.

"I believe, in life, you should always look forward. I'm not really interested in what's already happened," one student said. When some students were asked why they chose not to reflect on the past, one student said, "I found something very meaningful in a television show I was watching. To have happiness, one must live only in the present, with no thought of the future or the past... So if it were up to me, I would choose happiness."

Several teachers felt the challenge to make history lessons interesting for students. One of the teacher said, “We have to teach history the way it is, but maybe if we relate the current topic to what's happening in the present, it might interest them a little more."

The Brunei Times also spoke to several students who had chosen history as a topic in upper secondary and asked them why they did so. One student said, "I chose history because it's always been my favourite subject ever since I was in Form One. Unlike some of my friends, I actually find reading about the previous Sultans and the old Bruneian Empire very interesting”.

Another student said, "I really find it hard to believe that people are so uninterested in our history. Maybe it is not the most exciting in the world, but it is definitely not boring."

Some of the young people that The Brunei Times spoke to said they felt Brunei's culture and its history are very much a part of each other and that forgetting one was as good as forgetting both. "History is the cornerstone of Brunelan culture," said one adult who believed there should be more public effort to educate the people about history.

The country has a History Centre that was established in 1982 with the consent of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang DiPertuan of Brunei Darussalam to do research, collect, study, publish and exhibit the country's history.

The staging of history exhibits is one of the strategies it has adopted to spread the message to Bruneians concerning their country, customs and culture, and helping them to understand the Malay Islamic Monarchy concept more clearly.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

Click Here To Have Your Say On This Story

Brudirect.com News

Brunei's Fastest Growing Website with