Abdul Razak Hussein


Tun Haji Abdul Razak bin Dato' Hussein was the Malaysian politician who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia from the resignation of his predecessor Tunku Abdul Rahman in September 1970 to his death in January 1976 for almost 6 years.
Tun Razak was the Prime Minister responsible in setting up Barisan Nasional, which is the ruling coalition of political parties that held power in Malaysia till 10 May 2018, with Barisan Nasional losing the 14th Malaysia General Election under his son Najib Razak, taking over from its predecessor, the Alliance. He is also renowned for launching the Malaysian New Economic Policy.

Early life and education

Born in Kampung Pulau Keladi, a village located at northwest of Pekan, Pahang on 11 March 1922, Abdul Razak is the first of two children to Yang DiHormat Orang Kaya Indera Shahbandar ke-9, Dato' Hussein bin Mohd Taib and Datin Hajah Teh Fatimah bt Daud. An aristocratic descent of Orang Kaya Indera Shahbandar, Abdul Razak studied at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar.
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 war he helped organise the Wataniah resistance movement in Pahang.
After World War II, Abdul Razak left for Britain in 1947 to study law. In 1950 he received a law degree and qualified as barrister at Lincoln's Inn in London. During his student days in England, Abdul Razak was a member of the British Labour Party and a prominent student leader of the Malay Association of Great Britain. He also formed the Malayan Forum.

Involvements in World War II

Early WWII and Askar Wataniah

After his studies was interrupted in 1942 because of World War II, Abdul Razak returned to Kuantan, Pahang. He then meets his former colleague from the Malay Administrative Service, Yeop Mahidin and express his interest to join the Malay Regiment. Mahidin, who also the founder of Askar Wataniah Pahang recruited Razak into his new guerrilla forces. After finishing his training under Mahidin, Razak was instructed by Mahidin to join the Japanese Malayan Civil Service as an agent and informant.

Informant in Japanese Administration

After finishing his Japanese Military Training, Razak, as an aristocrat and son of a respected Malay leader in Pahang, were posted to his home-state Pahang as an assistant to District Officer and at the same time as a bridge for the Japan to gain trust of local Pahang Malays. Using his privileges as an aristocrat, Razak starts making networking with the Japanese Imperial Forces in the same time maintaining his connection with Yeop Mahidin. His role as an informant inside the Japanese Administration is known only to a few of Wataniah members including Mahidin. Because of this, Razak was labelled as a traitor by the rest of the Wataniah Pahang.

Force 136 Pahang

At first, the Malays were not fully trusted by the British to fight the Japanese because of few incidents and better treatments by the Japanese Administration towards the Malays if compared to other races. After gaining sufficient trust, the Askar Wataniah Pahang with its 200 members was absorbed into the Special Operations Executive and made to Force 136 Pahang.
The Force 136 Pahang's missions always meet with success made the Japanese Administration began to suspect there is informants inside theirs administration. Force 136 Pahang quickly set up an extraction mission to recover theirs agent, Razak, who is unknown to many of its members.
After he had been successfully extracted, Razak continued his work with Force 136 and was promoted to the rank of Captain. Among notable missions, Razak was involved in the rescue of Sultan Abu Bakar of Pahang from MPAJA.

Political involvement

Upon his return from the United Kingdom, in 1950, Tun Razak joined the Malayan Civil Service. Owing to his political calibre, he became the youth chief for United Malays National Organisation. 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.
Razak stood in and won a seat in Malaya's first general elections in July 1955 and was appointed as the Education Minister. He was instrumental in the drafting of the Razak Report which formed the basis of the Malayan education system. Tun Razak was also a key member of the February 1956 mission to London to seek the independence of Malaya from the British.
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, which he held from 1957. His achievements include formulating the development policy known as the Red Book.

Infusing young blood

At the time of Separation of Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965, Tun Razak realised that UMNO needed more young leaders in the party. Faced with, amongst other things Lee Kuan Yew's considerable rhetorical skills, Razak wanted young Malay leaders – grounded in their own faith and culture – who would be able to speak and if necessary debate both in the Malay language and English language.
Razak understood that power resided in the Malay community and that for this power to be wielded effectively, the elite among the Malays had to be an elite determined by ability, aptitude and commitment to the nation as a whole. Class, birth and money were secondary in his calculations.
As a consequence of this initiative, the then young leaders of mixed heritage in UMNO, such as Mahathir Mohamad, were drafted into higher echelons of the political establishment.
In 1967 he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership.

Prime Ministership

After the 13 May Incident in 1969, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra received many criticisms from various parties for his inability to deal with racial issues. This led to his resignation as prime minister. Tun Abdul Razak then imposed a State of Emergency, ruling by decree as the National Operations Council until 1970. In September 1970, Tunku Abdul Rahman was succeeded by Tun Abdul Razak as the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Tun Razak set up the Barisan Nasional or National Front on 1 January 1973 to replace the ruling Alliance Party. He increased the membership of its parties and coalitions in an effort to establish "Ketahanan Nasional" through political stability.
Tun Razak is also renowned for launching the Malaysian New Economic Policy in 1971. He and the "second generation" of Malay politicians saw the need to tackle vigorously the economic and social disparities which fuelled racial antagonisms and violence. The MNEP set two basics goals – to reduce and eventually eradicate poverty, and to reduce and eventually eradicate identification of economic function with race.

Death

Abdul Razak died in office on 14 January 1976 while seeking medical treatment in London. He was posthumously granted the soubriquet Bapa Pembangunan. He was laid to rest in Heroes Mausoleum near Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur.

Awards and recognitions

Honours

Several things were named after him, including:
Motion picture & television
Stage/Theatre