Ranjit Singh Malhi

Ranjit Singh Malhi
Born (1954-08-01) August 1, 1954
Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Academic background
Education

Ranjit Singh Malhi (born August 1, 1954) is a Malaysian historian and author known for his bestselling books on Malaysian history.[1]

He has authored 29 books and also writes on leadership and organisation building.[2]He is a regular contributor to leading Malaysian news portal Malaysiakini.[3]

His penchant for highlighting forgotten or misrepresented aspects of Malaysian history has landed him in a number of contentious debates and he has repeatedly called for a thorough revision of Malaysia's history textbooks.[4][5]

Early life

Ranjit was born on August 1, 1954 in Johor Bahru. He underwent primary and secondary school education at Tapah, Perak. He initially studied at the University of Malaya before pursuing postgraduate studies in public administration at Syracuse University in the United States.[6]

He later obtained a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Asia e University, Malaysia. His doctoral research examined the anti-British political activities of Sikhs in colonial Malaya, a subject that subsequently became one of his principal research interests.[7][8]

Career

Ranjit worked in leadership development, executive education and management consulting for more than three decades and also served as an adjunct professor at the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU), Kuala Lumpur.[9] His media articles frequently address leadership ethics, education reform, historical literacy and national unity, emphasising evidence-based decision-making, lifelong learning and responsible leadership.[10]

Research

His historical research focused primarily on Malaysian history, the Sikh community in Malaysia, history education and multicultural nation-building.[11] He also done substantial work on individual migrant communities as well as independence era leaders.[12] He has argued that the study of history should be based on documentary evidence, historical accuracy and inclusive scholarship that recognises the contributions of Malaysia's diverse communities.[13][14]

In 2021, he published History Textbooks and Divided Societies: The Malaysian Experience in The Round Table. It examined the role of history textbooks in shaping national identity in multi-ethnic societies and argued that history education should be factually accurate, balanced and inclusive.[15][16]

In February 2021 he wrote Sikhs in Malaysia: A Comprehensive History, a guide to the community's history including its migration from Punjab to Malaya.[17] He said it was a myth that Malaysian Sikhs were blindly loyal to the British colonialists and cited the tragic 1914 Komagata Maru incident and the 1919 Amritsar massacre.[18][19][20]

In 2025, Ranjit published Forgotten Malaysian History: Restoring Voices, Reclaiming Truths, which examines overlooked aspects of Malaysian history and the representation of history in Malaysian school textbooks.[21][22] He said the book sought to address factual distortions and omissions in the teaching of Malaysian history while advocating a more inclusive national narrative.[23][24][25]

He also questioned if the May 13, 1969 riots were merely an overflow of racial tensions or also part of a political coup.[26]

In 2026, he published Orang Asli: The forgotten first peoples of Peninsular Malaysia. He argued that textbooks were deliberately reducing the role and relevance of indigenous communities in the Malayan peninsula.[27][28]

Selected bibliography

Malhi has authored twenty-nine books on Malaysian history, Asian history, world history, leadership and management including:

  • Make Yourself Employable: How Graduates Can Hit the Ground Running!.
  • Enhancing Self-Esteem: Reengineering Yourself For Success In The New Millenium. 2007.
  • Sikhs in Malaysia: A Comprehensive History. 2021.
  • Forgotten Malaysian History: Restoring Voices, Reclaiming Truths. 2025.
  • Orang Asli: The forgotten first peoples of Peninsular Malaysia. 2026.

Academic articles

References

  1. ↑ Kaur, Minderjeet (2026-02-06). "History can unite if taught without distortion, says historian". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  2. ↑ "Dr Ranjit Singh Malhi". The Leaders Council. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  3. ↑ Malhi, Ranjit Singh (2023-12-31). "HISTORY | Significant contributions of M'sian Tamil Muslims". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 2026-08-13.
  4. ↑ Vinod, Ayesha Sheik Mazrul & G. (2025-12-21). "'Restoring voices': Historian uncovers Malaysia's 'silenced' past". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  5. ↑ Malhi, Ranjit Singh (2023-01-01). "COMMENT | Open letter to our PM: Revamp history textbooks". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  6. ↑ "Search results | Taylor & Francis Online". www.tandfonline.com. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  7. ↑ CHIEW, MAJORIE (2017-06-10). "Compiling the legacy of the Sikhs in a book". The Star. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  8. ↑ P. Gunasegeram. "Book review: Putting history right". KINIBIZ. Retrieved 2026-08-29.
  9. ↑ "Historian Ranjit Singh Malhi appointed to Unesco education excellence centre". The Vibes. 2022-07-30. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  10. ↑ "Malaysian history textbooks". Malay Mail. 2017-09-30. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  11. ↑ Malhi, Ranjit Singh (2026-05-31). "COMMENT | Restoring the Hindu-Buddhist foundations of Malay civilisation". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  12. ↑ Malhi, Ranjit Singh (2021-11-07). "HISTORY | Outsized contributions of Malaysian Sikhs". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  13. ↑ "Expert slams history textbooks for errors, pro-Malay bias". Free Malaysia Today. 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  14. ↑ Ransome, Debbie (2021-07-06). "Opinion - History textbooks and divided societies: the Malaysian experience". The Round Table. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  15. ↑ Kaur, Minderjeet (2026-02-06). "History can unite if taught without distortion, says historian". Free Malaysia Today | FMT. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  16. ↑ "Academic says sorry for wrongly linking peer to previous history syllabus". The Vibes. 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  17. ↑ Samachar, Asia (2017-05-17). "Three main phases of Sikh immigration into Malaya". Asia Samachar. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  18. ↑ "Historian's new book details the Malaysian Sikh community experience". The Star. 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  19. ↑ Malhi, Ranjit Singh (2022-08-29). "COMMENT | Malayan Sikhs' blind loyalty to the British a myth". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  20. ↑ Ariff, Imran (2021-04-10). "Perak Sultan sings praises of Malaysian Sikhs". Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  21. ↑ "BOOK REVIEW | Righting the Wrong". Newswav. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  22. ↑ "May 2026 - Forgotten Malaysian History". Mcgkl. 2026-05-10. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  23. ↑ Boleh! the Podcast (2021-12-07). Episode 10: Dr. Ranjit Singh Malhi | Boleh! the Podcast. Retrieved 2026-08-10 – via YouTube.
  24. ↑ Rencana (2025-05-10). "Is Peninsular Malaysia "Land of the Malays"?". MalaysiaGazette. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  25. ↑ MALHI, RANJIT SINGH (2019-07-31). "Five questions on history textbooks". New Straits Times. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  26. ↑ Malhi, Ranjit Singh (2026-05-14). "COMMENT | May 13 incident: Racial riots or political coup?". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 2026-08-31.
  27. ↑ FocusM (2026-03-16). "Ranjit Singh Malhi slams vanishing of Orang Asli in Malaysian history textbooks as "intellectual crime"". Retrieved 2026-08-10.
  28. ↑ "Orang Asli: The forgotten first peoples of Peninsular Malaysia - Articles". Economic History Malaysia. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
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