新加坡

Like most Singaporeans, I know the years 1819 and 1965 so well I don't have to elaborate on their significance here.迷你倉Pressed to go back further in history, I can throw up a name like Sang Nila Utama. But that is pretty much all I know about Singapore and the region before Stamford Raffles sailed to our island.Mention the word "ancient" and my thoughts drift to the early Greek civilisations, Chinese dynasties and even the old Indochinese empires. But when asked what Singapore was like way back in the past, I rely on the hackneyed phrase "sleepy fishing village".My ignorance about the place I grew up in became apparent ironically when I was overseas recently and visited Bath. The British city is home to a historical public bathing site used by the Romans about 2,000 years ago. Much of the hot springs - swimming pool-sized bodies of murky green water - and sweat rooms - designed for hot air to ventilate through and turn up the heat - has been preserved. Visitors can walk on the same grounds that the Romans set foot upon all those years ago.But as I marvelled at the various unearthed artefacts and imagined life back then, I realised I had no inkling about life in Singapore and the immediate region two millennia ago.Did I skip school the day the subject was covered?A quick check of the O-level and A-level syllabuses showed that a 700-year history of Singapore is indeed covered in schools, but only in Secondary 1 and 2. Emphasis is given to Singapore's development as a British settlement, its turbulent path to independence and the nation-building years.Should students choose history as an O-level subject in upper secondary, they would be tested on colonialism's impact on South-east Asia, the Japanese occupation and the rise of nationalism. World history in the 20th century is also taught.It is a shame that the story of our more distant past has been somewhat obscured.One of the earliest empires Singapore was a part of is Srivijaya, whose realm stretched across peninsular Malaysia and a significant part of Indonesia. Evidence of its existence can be traced to as far back as the eighth century and the Buddhist kingdom was the main regional power in its heyday.As Srivijaya declined in the 13th century, the Majapahit empire rose to take its place and expanded even farther than Srivijaya until power struggles and war with external forces destroyed the kingdom around the 15th century.It was also around the 16th century that Islam bemini storageame the dominant religion of the region.Just a tiny slice of these events over several centuries is covered, and very briefly, in the lower secondary syllabus.Singapore today tends to celebrate its immigrant society and its rapid success as a young country with only decades of independence.But even as we acknowledge the effects of colonialisation and take pride in our almost 50 years as a vibrant city state, perhaps we have neglected earlier history that roots us to our immediate surroundings.After all, despite our diverse ethnicities, we are a South-east Asian country in a part of the world that has built up a shared culture over centuries.Learning more about the region's ancient past will allow us to understand our ties to the Malay archipelago even though immigrants make up a majority of the population here today.The pre-colonial history of Singapore deserves greater weight in classrooms.Students could be introduced more thoroughly to Sang Nila Utama, the prince who lived during the final years of the Srivijaya empire. Some accounts credit him with establishing a bustling trading hub here during his reign.And given Islam's importance in the lives of the majority in this region, more time could be devoted to teaching students how the religion arrived, spread and endured in South-east Asia.Those seeking majestic historical monuments worthy of Unesco World Heritage Site status do not need to travel too far from home. Borobudur - a sprawling Buddhist temple complex built in the ninth century - is in central Java, Indonesia, and there is Angkor Wat in Cambodia.Even in Singapore, there is ancient history to be found.I visited the Asian Civilisations Museum recently and took the free one-hour guided tour of the premises. One of the first artefacts I saw was a giant bronze drum found in Indonesia and thought to be more than 2,000 years old. Not far from it was an intricate silver Malay keris made in the 1600s.The museum displays informed me that even before the Europeans arrived, the Malays were already regarded as maritime experts and made long voyages to Arabia and China to trade.With museum entry now free for all Singaporeans, there's never been a better time to go.Knowing about civilisations, great monuments and spectacular ruins in distant places may make one appear knowledgeable, worldly and sophisticated. But knowing the stories of our homeland and its neighbourhood is no less important or satisfying.ziliang@sph.com.sg迷你倉