GEORGE TOWN – Did you know that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was not the only leader who served as prime minister twice?
It was in 1959 that first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj resigned for four months and his deputy, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, took over as prime minister, before the former assumed premiership again.
Abdul Razak would later serve as prime minister again in 1970 until his death in 1976.
This officially makes Tunku Abdul Rahman Malaysia’s first and third prime minister, and Abdul Razak the country's second and fourth.
Umno veteran and long-time president of Penang Malay Association Tan Sri Mohd Yussof Latiff said that the younger generation are unaware of this fact as history has chosen to forget this interesting anecdote in the country’s history.
“In 1959, just before our first formal general election as a sovereign nation in August, our beloved Tunku was faced with a double dilemma as the Alliance Party was rocked by two great demands.
“One was the demand by the Malay Teachers Association to withdraw support if the Alliance Party did not immediately use Bahasa Melayu as the main medium of instruction in schools.
“Second was a threat by MCA to pull out of the government if Tunku did not allow them to contest in 40 seats for the election.
“The party was then only given 38 seats and altogether, there were 104 parliamentary seats up for grabs.
“Unable to offer solutions to the issues, Tunku chose an honourable approach that he would resign as prime minister and focus 100% on strengthening the alliance politically.
“He decided to live in a van for months and traversed the country campaigning for the alliance before the election in August,” said Yussof, 91, who was also former secretary to Penang’s first two chief ministers – Tan Sri Wong Pow Nee and Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu.
Yusoff said Tunku Abdul Rahman chose to ignore the demands of the teachers and MCA, who was then led by Lim.
“Tunku chose his deputy Tunku Abdul Razak Hussein as prime minister. The Pahang leader served for four months (May until August) in 1959.
“He then opted to partner the late Dr Cheah Toon Lock, who had replaced Chong Eu as MCA president in the elections of 1959.
“In August of that year, Tunku led the alliance to a handsome victory, capturing 74 out of the 104 seats in the country.
“It was because the people were enamoured by Tunku’s courageous and principled stance that the alliance should sincerely serve the people through a strong partnership of all races. His act of resigning showed that he, too, was principled,” said Yussof.
He said Tunku Abdul Rahman subsequently resumed the premiership from Razak before retiring in 1970 where the latter was once again reappointed prime minister.
“So, history shows that our Tunku is technically the first and third prime minister.
“And when people proclaimed Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as the shortest-tenured prime minister with his fewer than 18 months (of service), it was actually Tun Abdul Razak who was the shortest-serving prime minister with his four months in 1959.”
Yusoff also quoted Tunku Abdul Rahman’s speeches as prime minister, where the latter described himself as a servant to the people despite being of royal descent.
“I also vividly remember Tunku saying that the younger generation likes to divide the older generation. Many are not originally from the party, and they just want to exploit Umno.
“What he says is true. It has happened,” said Yussof.
With Umno back at the helm now, he said it is not the party that the people should hate, but several leaders, who, in the words of Tunku Abdul Rahman, have mastered the art of exploiting it to further their personal causes instead of the nation’s. – The Vibes, August 30, 2021
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