“The winners are too busy being winners, meaning it’s their lackeys who end up writing the history books for them,” said Diana Wong.

“History books written by losers are the best history books because they are written by those who participated in the history and are reflecting on their loss,” she said at the launch of veteran politician Syed Husin Ali’s new book, Sejarah Rakyat Malaysia (History of the Malaysian People).

Wong cited the example of ancient Chinese historian Sima Qian who, during the reign of the Han dynasty, wrote to defend military officer Li Ling after he had led a failed campaign against the Xiongnu.

This was despite the emperor attributing the defeat to Li Ling and all government officials following suit and condemning him. The emperor viewed Sima’s account as an attack on his brother-in-law Li Guangli, who had also led the expedition, and sentenced Sima to death or castration.

Sima chose castration, and he was recorded to have described it as the “worst of humiliations”.

Wong said Syed Husin was, “in a way, also a historical loser” and she congratulated him for his book.

She said it is important for losers to keep writing because they could eventually influence government publishers to adopt their accounts as well.

She added that Syed Husin’s book was doubly valuable because, besides being the product of a loser, it was written for the general public and not just for those in academia.

“History books must be taken out of the classrooms and that’s what Syed Husin has done with his book,” she said.