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Kota Kinabalu: Sabah’s education system must emulate Sarawak’s in order to restore national identity, said Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation (BoPiMaFo) President Daniel John Jambun.

Currently, he said Sabah’s education matters fall under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (KSTI), which offers no direct authority over curriculum content. 

“This structural limitation prevents us from including essential historical context in classrooms, including our role in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), the Cobbold Commission, and the unique path Sabah took toward federation.

“Sabah’s younger generation is growing up disconnected from their roots. Many do not know that Sabah was not a passive entrant into the Federation of Malaysia but a founding partner in 1963. 

“This critical piece of our national story has been diluted—or in some cases omitted—due to the long-standing exclusion of local historical content in our education syllabus since the mid-1960s,” Daniel said in a recent statement.

In contrast, he said Sarawak has made substantial progress by establishing its own Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD), giving it greater autonomy to shape its curriculum and prioritize local history, culture, and identity. 

He added that this model has enabled Sarawak to instil a more meaningful sense of state and national belonging among its youth.

Hence, Daniel said Sabah must consider a similar path on how Sarawak shapes its education system.