Tun Abdul Razak Hussein
Tun Abdul Razak succeeded Tunku Abdul Rahman as the second Prime Minister of Malaysia, heading the country from 1970 to 1976. Tunku Abdul Rahman and Tun Abdul Razak, the founding fathers of the new nation, came from an illustrious background of student activism since their days as aspiring lawyers in England where they had been both sent as a prelude to becoming civil servants. Indeed, their affinity with world affairs was largely due to their interaction with fellow students from other parts of the British Empire who were themselves embroiled in the struggle for self-rule and ultimate independence for their countries. Next to the Tengku in importance among the political elite is Tun Abdul Razak, who has been his deputy since 1957.
Born in Pulau Keladi, Pahang on March 11, 1922, Tun Razak is the only child to Dato' Hussein bin Mohd Taib and Hajah Teh Fatimah bt Daud. His father, Datuk Hussein Mohd Taib, carried the title of Orang Kaya Indera Shah Bandar Pahang. Although he was the son of an aristocrat, Tun Razak did not grow up in luxury – quite the opposite actually as times were tough back then. Tun Razak went to school barefoot, and his school did not even have a blackboard so the pupils had to work out their sums on sand. Because he came from a poor family, he had an acute awareness that if ever he would come to hold a high position in government, he would help bring about change in the country.
A bright student, Tun Razak received his early education at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar in 1934. After joining the Malay Administrative Service in 1939, he was awarded a scholarship to study at Raffles College in Singapore in 1940. His studies at the college ceased with the onset of the Second World War. During the Japanese occupation, he joined Force 136, Malay Resistance Movement, "Wataniah".
With a Malayan Union scholarship, Tun Razak left for Britain in 1947 to study law. In 1950 he received a Degree of an Utter Barrister from Lincoln's Inn. During his student days in England, Tun Razak was a member of the British Labour Party and a prominent student leader of the Kesatuan Melayu Great Britain (Malay Association of Great Britain). He also formed the Malayan Forum, an organisation for Malayan students to discuss their country's political issues.
Upon his return, Tun Razak joined the Malayan Civil Service. Owing to his political caliber, in 1950 he became the youth chief for United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). Two years later, he worked as the Assistant State Secretary of Pahang and in February 1955, at just 33 years of age, became Pahang's Chief Minister. He stood in and won the country's first general elections in July 1955 and was appointed as the Education Minister. Tun Razak was also a member of the February 1956 mission to London to seek the independence of Malaya from the British.
Always active in politics, Tun Razak had a hand in almost every important decision since 1957. He had been a leading UMNO official since 1951 and was a member of the Merdeka Independence Mission to London in January 1956. Since its founding, the Alliance was dominated by Tengku Abdul Rahman, and Tun Abdul Razak had been his heir-designate. The considerable financial resources of the MCA component combined with the popularity of Prime Minister Abdul Rahman gave the Alliance a character and vote power unmatched by any rival group. Since Tengku Abdul Rahman became president of the Alliance, he has been assisted by Tun Abdul Razak in the executive committee, which is the governing body of UMNO.
The political leadership consisted of a very small group of men, mostly Malays, who made the crucial decisions and ensured that those decisions are enforced. These men are primarily representative of the Malaysian Civil Service but also include the select body of popularly elected government officials, the leaders and officers of political parties, the Malay royalty, and the chieftains of the various tribal communities in East Malaysia. Individual membership in one group or another is not always perfectly definable because more often than not a party leader is also a cabinet minister, a tribal chieftain may hold an elected office, or a nobleman may occupy a key position in the government administrative or civil service.
Both the Tunku and Abdul Razak, who was also Minister of Defence, realised that they could not rely entirely on the Anglo-Malayan Defence Agreement (AMDA) of October 1957 for the country’s long-term national defence needs. The little-known discussions with Razak, who was also Minister of Defence, were to bear fruit in the first-ever agreement to be signed between Malaya and the United States for the purchase of military equipment and services in July 1958.
The office of the deputy prime minister that Tun Abdul Razak held in 1969 is not established under the Constitution or any written law. It exists by virtue of Tun Abdul Razak's unique relationship with Prime Minister Rahman and the high measure of confidence that he enjoys within the cabinet and the party. He is available to take over the administration in the event of the absence or disability of the prime minister, as well as to assist the latter in discharging his numerous duties.
The changes Tun Razak brought to Malaysia in the short span of five years he served as Prime Minister are astounding. He led efforts to rebuild the country after the riots of May 13, 1969. He then laid down much of the foundations of modern day Malaysia, maintaining a hectic work schedule until his failing health finally consumed him. He knew he was running out of time. He found out he had leukaemia in 1969, so maybe he felt that during the time that he still had, he needed to do all he could and move as fast as possible to place the foundations not just in terms of policy but to build institutions.
After the general elections in 1959, he became the Minister of Rural Development in addition to holding the portfolios of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence. His achievements include formulating the development policy known as the Red Book. On September 1970, Tun Razak succeeded Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra as the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Tun Razak was also renowned for launching the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1971. He and the "second generation" of Malay politicians saw the need to tackle vigorously the economic and social disparities which fuelled racial antagonism. The NEP set two basics goals - to reduce and eventually eradicate poverty, and to reduce and eventually eradicate identification of economic function with race.
Tun Razak set up the National Front on January 1, 1973 to replace the ruling Alliance Party. He increased the membership of its parties and coalitions in an effort to establish "Ketahanan Nasional" (National Strength) through political stability.
For his contributions in the area of national and rural development, Tun Abdul Razak is known as the Father of Development. The country’s second most celebrated figure after the Father of Independence Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra, Tun Razak left behind many lasting policies and institutions, which he introduced and set up before his death from leukaemia. Tun Abdul Razak Hussein died on Jan 14, 1976.
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