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COVER
STORY
His return to Malaysia in 1945 saw
him being appointed Commandant of the
Johor Bahru Police Depot. He resigned
from the civil service to go into politics.
Tun Hussein became the first youth chief
of UMNO ( United Malays National Or-
ganisation) in 1949. He was elected the
UMNO secretary general the following
year but left UMNO in 1951 to join his
father in forming the Independence of
Malaya Party ( IMP ).
When IMP started losing momentum,
Tuh Hussein went to London to study
law at Lincoln’s Inn and qualified as
a Barrister - at - Law. He returned as a
certified lawyer and practiced in Kuala
Lumpur. After being persuaded to return
to politics by prime minister Tun Abdul
Razak, Tun Hussein rejoined UMNO. Tun
Hussein won the general elections in 1969
and was then appointed as the education
minister. His rise in politics continued as
he was appointed deputy prime minister
in 1973, and subsequently, prime minister
on Jan 15, 1976.
Tun Hussein is renowned for stressing
the issue of unity through policies aimed at
rectifying economic imbalances between
communities. He gave serious thought
towards the concept of
Rukun Tetangga
(Neighbourhood Community) and to the
fight against the drug menace. For his
efforts in promoting goodwill amongst the
various communities, Tun Hussein Onn is
remembered as the Father of Unity.
Tun Dr. Mahathir Bin Mohamad
(1981 - 2003 )
Tun Dr. Mahathir BinMohamad was born
Dec 20, 1925 andwas theman responsible
for overseeing the country’s transition
to an industralised nation. The son of a
schoolmaster, Mahathir studied medicine
in Singapore and graduated in 1953. After
a stint as a government medical officer, he
set up his own private practice in 1957.
Dr. Mahathir had been active in politics
since 1945 and was a member of UMNO
since its inception in 1946. He was ex-
pelled in 1969 after a conflict with the
prime minister. The years 1968 to 1974
saw him in holding various political
offices. He had rejoined UMNO in 1970
and was made deputy prime minister, as
well as being the minister of education,
in 1976. In a Cabinet reshuffle two years
later, Dr. Mahathir relinquished the educa-
tion portfolio for that of trade and industry.
As the minister of trade and industry, he
led several successful investment promo-
tion mission overseas.
Dr. Mahathir’s long reign in office gave
Malaysia the political stability it needed
to pursue policies that would foster sus-
tained economic growth. The government
welcomed foreign investment, reformed
the tax structure and reduced trade tariffs.
Under his leadership, Malaysia acquired
on of the most prosperous and dynamic
economics in South East Asia, with a
growing manufacturing sector, and ex-
panding middle class, rising literacy rates
and increased life expectancies.
Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi ( 2003 - 2009)
Born on Nov 26, 1939, Dato Seri Abdullah
received a Bachelor of Science in Islamic
Studies from the University of Malaya in
1964. After holding a series of civil service
posts, he was elected to parliament in
1978 for his constituency. There began
his rise in government and UMNO. After
the dismissal of Anwar Ibrahim, Abdullah
took over as deputy prime minister in
1999.
He succeeded Dr. Mahathir as Prime
Minister in 2003. Calling for a modern
and progressive Islamic rule as well as
reform, he led the Barisan Nasional to a
stunning victory in the 2004 parliamentary
elections and wrestling control of the
Terengganu state government back from
the opposition.
In late 2005, Abdullah successfully
led Malaysia into a historic free trade
agreement with Japan enabling the two
countries to scrap tariffs on essentially
all industrial goods and most agricultural,
forestry and fishery products.
He was sworn in for a second term as
prime minister onMarch 10, 2008. Abdul-
lah unveiled a streamlined 68-member
Cabinet on March 18, 2008, dropping
half the ministers in his previous admin-
istration and keeping the crucial finance
portfolio for himself. He was under heavy
pressure to step down after many within
his UMNO party including former Prime
Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad openly
asked him to take full responsibility for
the party’s dismal performance during
the 12th General Election in March 2008.
On May 19, 2008, the dispute between
Mahathir and Abdullah reached a critical
stage when Dr Mahathir, who had served
as UMNO President for 22 years, an-
nounced that he was quitting the party
after having lost confidence in Abdullah
Badawi’s leadership, and that he would
only rejoin the party after Abdullah had
stepped down as UMNO president and
prime minister. On July 10, 2008 Abdullah
announced he would step down as UMNO
president and primeminister in June 2009.
He handed his resignation letter on 2 April
2009 and the deputy prime minister, Haji
Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul
Razak, was sworn in as the primeminister
the following day.