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©The Star
(Used by permission)
Most Malaysians fondly remember Tun Abdul Razak Hussein as a tireless
patriot. Yet not many can recall his role in the struggle for independence.
Founding Fathers by Abu Talib Ahmad
Youth leader: Razak and Datuk Onn Jaafar
with Umno Youth members at Kampong Baru, Kuala Lumpur, in February 1951 after
the meeting at Kelab Sultan Sulaiman. — Courtesy of National Archives
TO SCHOOLCHILDREN and most Malaysians, the late Tun Abdul
Razak Hussein is simply remembered as the country’s second prime minister and
the Father of Rural Development. In fact, to most Malaysians he is synonymous
with nation-building notably in the field of education and rural development
when he was deputy prime minister (1957-70). His drive and stamina was legendary
and he inspired many around him.
As prime minister (1970-76), he was associated with the New Economic Policy, a
non-aligned foreign policy, normalisation of diplomatic relations with China and
the creation of Barisan Nasional.
However, there seems to be a lack of awareness about his role in Malaya’s
struggle for independence although his contribution was equally as significant
and crucial, especially when that independence came through the negotiating
table.
Razak’s autobiography provides interesting snippets of the highly venerated
nationalist from Pekan, Pahang, as well as his political thinking on issues
facing Malaya and how he came to grips with them.
He traced his lineage to a Bugis aristocrat from Sulawesi who emigrated to
Pahang in the 18th century and later introduced weaving to Pekan.
Razak was born in March 1922 in Pulau Keladi and passed away in London in
January 1976 while undergoing treatment for leukaemia. In 1950, he was bestowed
by the Sultan of Pahang the title of Datuk Orang Kaya Shahbandar which still is
one of the important titular chiefs in the state.
Like many from his generation, Abdul Razak found employment in the British
colonial administration as a junior clerk and later as officer in the Pahang
administration beginning with Raub Assistant District Officer.
During the Japanese period he found employment as a junior officer in the
Bentong and Temerloh district offices.
He served as State Secretary, and was Acting Mentri Besar prior to his
retirement in 1955 to enter politics.
As State Secretary, he supervised the transfer of the state capital from Kuala
Lipis to Kuantan in August 1955 despite the objections of High Commissioner Gen
Sir Gerald Templer who preferred Temerloh.
Razak’s attitude towards British colonial rule was very much influenced by what
happened in Malaya-Singapore in the 1930s and 40s that left an indelible imprint
in his mind and shaped his approach to politics, notably the push towards
independence from Britain.
These events include the role of the High Commissioner of the Federated Malay
States (FMS) and Pahang Resident in the installation ceremony of Tunku Abu Bakar
as the Sultan of Pahang in 1932 (the British officials were seated while the
Pahang chiefs had to stand); the hasty British withdrawal in 1941-42, leaving
Malayans to face the Japanese on their own; and the August 1943 secession of
Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis and Kedah to Siam which caused much resentment
among the Malays and pushed Razak to join the anti-Japanese resistance called
Wataniah (in defence of the motherland).
As he noted in his autobiography, the 1941-42 British withdrawal made a mockery
of the much-publicised British protection of Malaya which hardened his
conviction that the British should not be allowed to rule the country again.
This view was made known to his close friends while he was a student in London.
In one way or another, the Malayan Union affected all politically conscious
Malayans when it was first introduced in late 1945. What was particularly
unacceptable was the use of coercion and threats by the British in forcing the
sultans to sign the MacMichael Treaty to establish the Malayan Union.
As head of the Raub Malay Association, Razak attended the Malay congress which
was held at the Sulaiman Club in March 1946 to protest against the Malayan Union
proposal.
This congress made the decision that Malays and the Pahang sultan should boycott
the installation ceremony of the new Malayan Union governor. They did.
Independence negotiations
Razak’s involvement with Umno began in 1950 when he joined the party as a member
of the Kuala Lipis division. In the same year, he was elected head of Umno Youth
to succeed Hussein Onn (later Tun Hussein) who was appointed secretary-general.
Under his leadership, the Youth wing became more vocal and began to advocate
“Merdeka” in place of the slogan “Hidup Melayu”. Undoubtedly, the entry of
former members of the PKMM after it was banned in mid-1948 was a contributory
factor to this change.
From 1951, Razak served as Umno deputy president while Tunku Abdul Rahman was
president. He held on to the deputy presidency until 1970 when he assumed the
presidency upon Tunku’s retirement.
Malayan independence was a negotiated settlement that involved hard bargaining
between the colonised and the coloniser. This was where Razak contributed
significantly.
He played a major role in the many direct negotiations between 1955 and 1957 by
virtue of his position as Umno deputy president and the Tunku’s right-hand man.
Quite often, he was entrusted to iron out details with the colonial authority
after broad agreements had been reached between Malayan leaders and the British
government.
Being an important member of the Tunku Cabinet since 1955, he played a crucial
role in the smooth transition of power from colonial rule to independent Malaya.
In January 1956, he was a member of the Merdeka mission to London that
negotiated various details for the future of Malaya.
In April 1957, he was part of the Tunku’s team to finalise the Malayan
Constitution with representatives of the Malay rulers and the British
government.
Prior to the formation of Malaysia in the early 1960s, he was also actively
involved as deputy chairman in the International Governmental Committee which
sought to accommodate popular opinion in Sarawak and Sabah on the proposed
federation on matters relating to freedom of religion, language, education,
immigration, land, the state civil service, and the position of bumiputras in
Sabah and Sarawak.
Razak also played a crucial role in the socio-economic dimension that indirectly
affected the negotiating process. One aspect of this socio-economic dimension
was the move towards nation-building through education, as seen in his efforts
in producing the 1955 Razak Education Report.
The report outlined a national education policy for Malaya that would contribute
towards nation building based on the primacy of the Malay language but without
jeopardising the interests of the major ethnic groups, besides stressing
technical and vocational education. Subsequent policies on education continued
to be based on this report.
The other aspect was the move to win the hearts and minds of the rural
population through rural development at a time when the country was facing the
communist insurgency. An important element of this rural programme was the
establishment of Felda in 1956, which aimed to eradicate rural poverty.
In the first 10 years of its existence, Felda opened up 145,000 acres (58,679ha)
of virgin jungle for agricultural settlement and farming, mainly rubber and oil
palm, to help the rural poor who were predominantly Malays.
For his untiring efforts in the field of rural development, Razak was awarded
the prestigious Magsaysay Award from the Philippines in 1967.
* Abu Talib Ahmad is Professor of History at Universiti Sains Malaysia and
author of 'Malay-Muslims, Islam and the Rising Sun: 1941-4'. The Founding
Fathers series is coordinated by Dr Joseph Fernando from the Department of
History, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur;
and Research Editor Dr Lee Kam Hing.
Talk of independence during England sojourn
TUN Abdul Razak Hussein had a varied educational experience. He first attended a
Malay school in Pekan followed by the Malay College Kuala Kangsar where he
excelled in sports, studies and leadership, before proceeding to the Raffles
College in Singapore in 1940.
He became a hero after scoring the winning goal in a soccer match against the
college’s perennial rival, the King Edward VII Medical College. At Raffles, he
was actively involved in student activities.
The friendships made at Raffles continued to flourish in the 1970s when Razak,
as prime minister, entrusted former college mates such as Tan Sri Ghazali Shafie,
Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Yusof and Raja Mohar Raja Badiozaman with important
positions in his administration.
However, his time at Raffles was interrupted by the Japanese Occupation,
although under Japanese rule he did attend the leadership training institute for
young leaders from Malaya-Sumatra called the Koa Kunrenjo, which was located in
Singapore.
First meeting: The new Malaysian Cabinet held its first meeting in Parliament
House, Kuala Lumpur, on May 13, 1964. Photo shows (from left) Tan Siew Sin,
Minister of Finance; Razak, Minister of Defence, National & Rural Development,
Land and Mines; Tunku Abdul Rahman, Prime Minister; Datuk Dr Ismail Datuk Abdul
Rahman, Minister of Home Affairs, Justice; and Datuk V.T. Sambanthan, Minister
of Works, Posts and Telecommunications. — Courtesy of National Archives
This institute was established to train future leaders of Malaya, Singapore and
Sumatra and to usurp the role of the pre-war Malay College and Raffles College.
In 1947 Abdul Razak continued his education in England and managed to complete a
law degree in 18 months at the Lincoln’s Inns of Courts but had to wait until
May 1950 before being called to the Bar.
In 1949 he enrolled at the London School of Economics for a Bachelor of Science
degree in economics but did not complete the course due to his father's death in
1950. He also attended the Second Devonshire Course on Economics and Public
Administration at Cambridge University.
Razak's sojourn in London enabled him to polish his organising skills, besides
cultivating the acquaintance of the future leaders of Malaya and Singapore. With
a few friends he began to “talk” actively of Malayan independence but without
incurring adverse reactions from British officialdom.
He was secretary of the Malay Society of the United Kingdom while Tunku Abdul
Rahman served as president. This partnership was to figure again from 1951 until
1970 both in Umno and the government. The Malay Society was concerned with the
slowness in implementing the proposed Federation of Malaya which it claimed to
have “driven more Umno members to join the Malay left.”
As a student leader, Razak attempted to organise a Malayan student society to
reflect Malaya’s multi-cultural character but failed. He later organised the
multi-racial Malayan Forum. This move was reflective of his to see things within
the context of pluralism in the future independent Malaya.
As attested by Maurice Baker, former Singapore high commissioner to Malaysia,
Abdul Razak was already discussing possible independence and the premise that
the British would leave Malaya. Well-known lawyer and diplomat P.G. Lim, who was
a member of the Forum, recalled in 2005 that “one could not predict if this
independence could be achieved without bloodshed but in this struggle all of us
work as one.”
The Malayan Forum focused on independence and debated political issues, and
involved students from Malaya and Singapore besides well-known scholars from the
London School of Economics like Harold Laski and luminaries from the British
political parties.
As was fashionable among foreign students from the colonies at that time, Razak
was a member of the British Labour Party although by the 1950s the Conservative
Party was more enthusiastic about decolonisation.
Razak showed great interest in the workings of British parliamentary democracy
which he observed first-hand through the 1950 general election (won by the
Labour Party). He was also fascinated by parliamentary debates.
First meeting: The new Malaysian Cabinet held its first
meeting in Parliament House, Kuala Lumpur, on May 13, 1964. Photo shows (from
left) Tan Siew Sin, Minister of Finance; Razak, Minister of Defence, National &
Rural Development, Land and Mines; Tunku Abdul Rahman, Prime Minister; Datuk Dr
Ismail Datuk Abdul Rahman, Minister of Home Affairs, Justice; and Datuk V.T.
Sambanthan, Minister of Works, Posts and Telecommunications. — Courtesy of
National Archives
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