Abdul Razak Hussein

His eldest son, Najib Razak, became the sixth prime minister in 2009; Najib is the first prime minister of Malaysia to be a descendant of a former prime minister.

Abdul Razak died in office on 14 January 1976 while seeking medical treatment in London. He was posthumously granted the soubriquet Bapa Pembangunan ('Father of Development'). He was laid to rest in Heroes Mausoleum (Malay: Makam Pahlawan) near Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur.

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" (National Strength) through political stability.

Tun Razak is also renowned for launching the Malaysian New Economic Policy (MNEP) 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.

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.

Abdul Razak was diagnosed with leukemia but kept it secret since 1969.

In 1967 he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership.

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.

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.

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.

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 (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.

After World War II, Abdul Razak left for Britain in 1947 to study law. In 1950 he received a law degree and qualified as a 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.

After his studies were interrupted in 1942 because of World War II, Abdul Razak returned to Kuantan, Pahang. There, he met his former colleague from the Malay Administrative Service, Yeop Mahidin, and expressed his interest in joining the Malay Regiment (now Royal Malay Regiment). Mahidin, who is also the founder of Askar Wataniah Pahang ('Pahang State Territorial Army'; precursor of Rejimen Askar Wataniah), recruited Razak into his new guerrilla forces. After finishing his training under Mahidin, Razak was instructed by him to join the Japanese Malayan Civil Service as an agent and informant.

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.

Tun Haji Abdul Razak bin Dato' Hussein (Jawi: عبد الرزاق بن حسين; 11 March 1922 – 14 January 1976) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia from September 1970 until his death in January 1976. He also served as the first deputy prime minister of Malaysia from August 1957 to September 1970. He is referred to as the Father of Development (Bapa Pembangunan).

Born in Kampung Pulau Keladi, a village located 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 descendant of Orang Kaya Indera Shahbandar, Abdul Razak studied at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar.