Tun Abdul Razak b. Hussein
Father of Development
2nd Prime Minister
Father of Development
1971 - 1976
The second Prime Minister of Malaysia was Tun Abdul Razak b. Hussein. The late Tun Abdul Razak held the position from 1971 until 1976 which was after Tunku Abdul Rahman stepped down.
Even though Tun Abdul Razak held the post of Prime Minister for 5 years but he had for a long time been the Deputy Prime Minister which was for 12 years.
Tun Abdul Razak was the son of an aristocrat from the state of Pahang in Malaysia. His father was a high ranking official in Pahang and was close with members of the royal court. However, Tun Abdul Razak was cared for by his grandfather and other relatives in Jambu Langgar.
Tun Abdul Razak was born on the 11th of March 1922 in Pulau Keladi, Pekan, Pahang. His father was Datuk Hussein b. Mohammad Taib and mother Datin Teh Fatimah Hj. Daud and he was their eldest child. His younger sister was Datin Maimunah who married a former Chief Minister of Pahang named Datuk Mohammad Jusof.
Although Tun Abdul Razak was a son of an aristocrat he was brought up in a village life and lived the life of a village boy. It was normal for him to be covered in mud and grime. In fact since a child he often was drenched in sweat as he toiled in the paddy fields helping his family.
In the village, he was not perceived as the son of a high ranking state official but his nature and character made him the same as any other village boy.
At the age of 6, he was enrolled at a village school which walls were made of wood and roof of palm leaves. Like any other kampong boy he went to school barefooted. Every day he went to school with one cent as pocket money. It was with that money that he spent on food and drinks. At times his grandfather could not even afford that.
Life in the paddy fields and orchard covered with mud and crossing bunds, lanes and undergrowth barefooted was something he always remembered. It was his experience of hardship and adversity in his early life in a country under the hands of the Japanese and English that ingrained the determination to continue his studies to the highest level.
While in primary school in the village he was not arrogant nor did he act like a snooty aristocrat son. His humbleness and humility made his schoolmates and teacher treat him like any other village boy.
After school he used to go to the surau to learn to read the Quran which was a normal thing done by every Muslim village boy. It was apart of his daily routine.
In 1933, Tun Abdul Razak was chosen by the Resident of Pahang to continue his education at Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK). He enrolled here on the 26th of January 1934. At the beginning of his tenure here Tun Abdul Razak faced a hurdle because he hadn't studied English at his village primary school. However with sheer hard work and determination he was able to overcome this and obtained good results in his first year. Most extraordinary was that he able to get double promotion and sat for his School Certificate Examination and passed in 1937.
Other then being a prefect he was also looked up to for his achievement in his studies at a rather young age. For sports he played hockey, tennis and squash. He continued to play hockey until he became Prime Minister.
After completing his studies at MCKK he obtained a scholarship to continue his studies at Raffles College in Singapore in the field of law, economy and history for 3 years to get a diploma. The diploma was the highest level offered at the college at that time. It was Raffles College where Tun Abdul Razak noticed something compared to the time he was in MCKK. At Raffles College there were students from all races unlike at MCKK where there were only those from the Malay race and children of Royalty only. However at Raffles the majority were Chinese.
It was here that he met several Malay students from Pahang and Johor that became friends and members of the cabinet when the country got her independence. Tun Abdul Razak managed to pass his first year paper at Raffles College however unfortunately the Second World War broke out where the Japanese army had already attacked Singapore and Malaya thus his education was halted.
As security was not certain due to the war he returned to his village Jambu Langgar and lived with his family. He returned to the village life of eking a living in the fields and catching fish.
Although that kind of life led to a healthy body but it also stifled his soul that wanted to excel and move forward. Finally he went to Bentong a town in Pahang to see if his father could help him get a job. However unfortunately at that time all jobs especially those in the government were under the care of the Japanese army. So he asked for a loan of a couple of hundred dollars from his father and with a few friends he started a weekly paper called "The Gegaran Masa". The Japanese army was not happy with this.
In secret Tun Abdul Razak joined the under ground army by helping the 'force 136' which was an elite unit of the allied force that were dropped by parachute in Malaya to sabotage the Japanese army.
When the Japanese surrendered, Tun Abdul Razak held the rank of Captain and due to his contribution to the allied army he was given a Malayan Union scholarship by the Colonial government to study law in England in 1947.
He excelled his law studies with flying colours by finishing his studies in 18 months thus in 1950 he received his Degree of an Utter Barrister from Lincoln's Inn. During his student days he was a member of the British Labour Party and a prominent student leader of the Malay Association of Great Britain. It was at this time he met Tunku Abdul Rahman who at that time was in England. It was in England that he formed the Malayan Forum which was an organization for Malayan students to discuss their country's political issues. After his father passed away, Tun Abdul Razak returned home and served in the Malayan Civil Service. Due to his political caliber in 1950, he became the youth chief of United Malays national Organisation (UMNO). 2 years later, he worked as the Assistant State Secretary of Pahang and in February 1955 at just 33 years old became Pahang's Chief Minister. He stood in and won the country's first general election in July 1955 and was appointed as the Education Minister.
When he was leader of this country he served and struggled for the people and country without looking at creed, race or lineage. He was a leader that brought forth a number of policies to guarantee the lives of the all citizens would be peaceful and harmonious. Tun Abdul Razak was seen as someone very loving and the word pity was always playing at the tip of his tongue. He also didn't like to hurt the feelings of other people.
Tun Abdul Razak was the first Deputy Prime Minister and he also was the Minister of Education. In 1965, he brought out the ' Razak papers'. He was also the man behind the drive to build the National University of Malaysia in 1970. Tun Abdul Razak took over in September 1970 the position of Prime Minister of Malaysia after Tunku Abdul Rahman stepped down.
On June 19th 1972, Tun Abdul Razak launched the Education TV service to help in teaching to eliminate illiteracy and boost the academic achievement of the people especially those in rural areas.
On the 17th of November 1959, Tunku Abdul Rahman picked Tun Abdul Razak to be the Minister of Rural Development. As the Minister he formulated a development policy of the country known as the 'Red Book', launched on the 6th of May 1962.
In March 1966 he launched 'Gerak Maju' which was a program of self excel and the 'Green Book' which was the First Malaysia Plan 1966-1970.
After the bloodshed tragedy of May 13 1969, Parliament was dissolved and the country was governed by the National Operation Council and Tun Abdul Razak was its chairman. In a short time he managed to restore once again peace in the country and then returned the country to the democratic parliament system. Thus the Rukun Negara was introduced.
The Rukunegara which contains the national objectives and their guiding principles applicable to all, serving as the nexus which hopefully will bind the nation together.
OUR NATION, MALAYSIA, being dedicated
To achieving a greater unity of all her people;
To maintaining a democratic way of life;
To creating a just society in which the wealth of the nation shall be equitably shared;
To ensuring a liberal approach to her rich and diverse cultural traditions;
To building a progressive society which shall be oriented to modern science and technology;
We, her peoples, pledge our united efforts to attain these ends guided by these principles:
Belief in God;
Loyalty to King and Country;
Upholding the Constitution;
Rule of Law;
Good Behaviour and Morality
On June 21st 1970, the New Economic Policy (NEP) was launched as a philosophy of development that stressed on the balance between social and economic development. He and the other Malay politicians saw the need to tackle unwaveringly the social and economic differences which fueled racial antagonism. The 2 main goals of this were firstly to reduce and eventually eradicate poverty and secondly reduce and eventually eradicate economic function with race.
Tun Abdul Razak set up the National Front on the 1st of January 1973 to replace the ruling Alliance Party. He increased the membership of its parties and coalitions in an effort to establish national Strength through political stability.
The era of Tun Abdul Razak also pointed to and era of mental revolution by portraying a cultural, social, political and national economic philosophy which were relooked in a more comprehensive and pragmatic manner.
It was also seen as an era of after achieving independence and providing the citizens with education and development to face the challenges and complexity of the future.
However, he was unable to see the fruits of his long term plans as he succumbed to leukemia in a London clinic at the age on 54 on the 14th of January 1976. His body was brought home and the next day tens of thousands of people including school children lined the streets leading to the parliament to show their last respects. The body of this leader with the heart of the people was laid at Great hall at the Parliament building to be visited by all people and was finally laid to rest at the Warriors Mausoleum at the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur.
Tun Abdul Razak met his wife to be Toh Puan Hajjah Rahah when he attended a United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) function which was held at the home of the late Tan Sri Noah her father. They were married on the 4th of September 1952 and were blessed with 5 children Najib who was named after the President of Eygpt on the 23rd of July 1953, Ahmad Johari 29th September 1954, Mohd. Nizam 3rd October 1958, Mohd. Nazim 3rd March 1962 and fifth Mohd. Nazir 19th November 1966. He would always come home for lunch if he did not have any functions.
For his contributions to the country and its people especially in development he is known as Father of Development.