Dato' Seri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak

Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razakwas born in July 23, 1953 in Kuala Lipis, Pahang. He is a Malaysian politician, who has been the country's Deputy Prime Minister since January 7, 2004 and Minister of Defence since 1999. Najib is a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), and is currently the Deputy President of the party. Najib is the eldest son of Tun Abdul Razak, a nephew of Tun Hussein Onn and a cousin of Datuk Hishamuddin Hussein. He was first elected to the Dewan Rakyat, representing the parliamentary constituency of Pekan, at the age of 23 in an uncontested election after the death of his father.

In his career, Najib has held a variety of ministerial portfolios, culminating in the post of Minister of Defence before been chosen as the deputy Prime Minister by Abdullah Badawi. Najib holds the title of Orang Kaya Indera Shahbandar of Pahang. His second wife is Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor with whom he has three sons, Nizar, Nazifuddin and Norashman, and two daughters, Puteri Norlisa and Nooryana Najwa. Tengku Puteri Zainah Tengku Eskandar is Najib's first wife with whom he has 3 children. Najib had his primary and secondary education at St. John's Institution, Kuala Lumpur. He also attended Malvern College, Worcestershire, England. In 1987, as UMNO Youth Chief, Najib defended special Malay privileges in a speech where he vowed to bathe the keris with Chinese blood. Shortly afterwards, the government launched a crackdown on extremist elements, termed Operation Lalang, although Najib was not detained.

Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was born in 1939. He is Malaysian politician. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is Malaysia's deputy prime minister and minister of home affairs and the vice president of the ruling United Malay National Organization (UMNO) party. Born on 26 November 1939 in Pulau Pinang, Badawi graduated from the University of Malaysia in 1964. He was a respected civil servant before running for parliament on the UMNO ticket in 1978. Not always one of Prime Minister Muhammad Mahatir's loyalists, Badawi was one of several politicians who challenged the prime minister in a leadership contest in 1987. But he never left UMNO, and chose to rise through the ranks. He served as minister in the prime minister's office (1981–1984), minister of education (1984–1986), minister of defense (1986–1987), and minister of foreign affairs (1991–1999). Badawi has held key UMNO party posts as well. He was elected party vice president for 1984–1990 and 1996–2000. He was a member of UMNO's thirty-five-person supreme council in 1991 and 1993–1996. Following the sacking and arrest of his longtime political rival, Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Badawi was promoted to the posts of deputy prime minister, minister of home affairs, and vice president of UMNO, making him the prime minister's heir apparent. Badawi is a pragmatic politician, a pro-business secularist who has supported women's rights and fought against the Islamization of Malaysian politics.

Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad

Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was born in 1925, prime minister of Malaysia. Mahathir Bin Mohamad has significantly shaped his country's political landscape while also serving as an unofficial spokesman for the so-called Third World. Throughout his career, Mahathir has been an outspoken critic of the industrialized nations' foreign policies directed at developing nations, while espousing the virtue of Asian morals.

Mahathir was born in Alor Setar, capital of the state of Kedah in northern Malaysia. The youngest of nine children, he grew up in a stable, financially secure family, and his father held a prestigious position as schoolmaster of an English language school. He studied medicine, but his passion was politics. He joined the dominant United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party and aligned himself with the majorityMalay population's needs. His book The Malay Dilemma, published in Singapore in 1970, which criticized the then-current Malay government, promoted a strident Malay nationalism and articulated his ideological beliefs. In the Malay Dilemma, Mahathir asserted that Malays were the indigenous people of Malaysia and demanded a policy of affirmative action to elevate their economic status to a level equal with the Chinese-Malaysians. At the same time, Mahathir also criticized certain Malay cultural traits and presented a theory steeped in Social Darwinism to explain the Malays' economic backwardness. Mahathir's open letter to Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1969 led to his expulsion from UMNO, but by 1972 he was reinstated.

After 1972, Mahathir's political star rose rapidly. Tun Abdul Razak, the second prime minister, appointed him to a cabinet position in 1974, and he became deputy prime minister in 1976 under the third prime minister, Hussein Onn. By 1981, Mahathir had himself become prime minister. During the 1980s, Mahathir consolidated his power and became more authoritarian by successfully staving off political opponents through arrests and detention. He also eliminated the supreme court as a source of opposition, first by altering the constitution to weaken the court's power of review and then by forcing the resignation of several high-ranking members. In the 1990s, Mahathir promoted his economic plan, The Way Forward or Vision 2020, which proclaims that Malaysia will rank as a fully developed nation by the year 2020. Mahathir's Vision proposed a difficult economic growth rate that Malaysia has not been able to maintain. Nevertheless, Malaysia has prospered under Mahathir and the country's economic prospects remain solid.

Tun Hussein Onn

Tun Hussein Onn (February 12, 1922-May 29, 1990) prime minister of Malaysia. Hussein Onn became the third prime minister of Malaysia (1976–1981) upon the sudden demise of Abdul Razak. His renowned strength of character and impeccable integrity saw him through various challenges. Son of Onn bin Ja'afar, founder of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) party, Hussein spent his early years in the military and in World War II saw action in the Middle East. Following his discharge, he joined his father's struggle in UMNO; they both left UMNO in 1951. Hussein went to Britain to read law.
Urged by Abdul Razak, his brother-in-law, Hussein rejoined UMNO in 1968. He became minister of education (1971), deputy prime minister (1974), and prime minister. During his single-term premiership, Hussein faced severe political challenges, including pressure from right-wing elements within his own party (UMNO) over the "Harun case," divisions within the ruling coalition (which since 1971 was the Barisan Nasional [National Front], comprised of UMNO, two other major parties, and several minor parties), and a secessionist threat from the state of Sabah.
In the "Harun case," Harun bin Idris, a prominent and charismatic UMNO politician, was charged with corruption and criminal breach of trust and subsequently convicted in November 1977 to serve a twoyear prison sentence. His appeal to the Privy Council was rejected; his appeal for pardon from the king of Malaysia was also turned down. The political repercussions were immense because Harun commanded mass Malay support not only from the youth but also from the "UMNO Old Guard." Hussein as president of UMNO and prime minister withstood the pressure from Harun's partisan supporters to at least arrange a pardon. Hussein stood his ground, and Harun served out his prison sentence.
In 1976, Hussein supported Berjaya (United People's Party of Sabah) in ousting Mustapha bin Datu Harun and his United Sabah National Organization (USNO), the ruling party in Sabah since 1967. Mustapha had been accused of having secessionist tendencies—namely, the separation of Sabah from Malaysia to join with three territories of the southern Philippines— Mindanao, Palawan, and Sulu—to form a new nation.
In December 1977, the Barisan Nasional expelled a component member, the Pan-Malayan Islamic Party (PAS), for its recalcitrant stand over the imposition of emergency rule in the state of Kelantan following the dismissal of PAS-appointed Mentri Besar.
Hussein hastened implementation of the New Economic Policy (NEP), emphasizing rural development to improve the economic situation of the Malays in relation to that of other ethnic groups. At the same time, more non-Malays benefited from civil service employment and land ownership. And more safeguards were afforded to foreign investments. Nonetheless, there were worrying signs of non-Malay dissatisfaction over the pro-Malay economic and education policies of the government.

Tun Abdul Razak

Tun Abdul Razak bin Al-Haj (March 11, 1922–1976), Second prime minister of Malaysia. Abdul Razak bin Dato' Hussein, second prime minister of Malaysia (1970–1976), effected major policy changes with long-term implications for the multiethnic population and the nation. Born on 11 March 1922 in Pekan, Pahang, he was educated at the Malay College, Kuala Kangsar, and Raffles College, Singapore. During the Japanese occupation (1941–1945), he joined the Anti-Japanese Malay Resistance Movement (Wataniah). On a scholarship, he read law at Lincoln's Inn, England, and was called to the bar in 1950. He married Hajah Rahah on 4 September 1952 in Johor.
Abdul Razak believed that poverty and socioeconomic imbalances among Malaysia's multiethnic population could be alleviated through rural development and education. He was instrumental in establishing such agencies as the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA), Malayan Industrial Development Finance (MIDF), and Council of Indigenous People's Trust (Majlis Amanah Rakyat, MARA). In 1956 he chaired a committee whose recommendations (Razak Report) formed the basis of Malaysia's education policy. During his premiership, he reshaped Malaysia's socioeconomic landscape through the New Economic Policy (NEP) aimed at eradicating poverty and restructuring society by focusing on rural development and education.
He played a pivotal role in reestablishing public order and the resumption of parliamentary rule (1971) in the aftermath of the 13 May 1969 racial troubles. He expanded the Alliance Party to form a larger coalition, the National Front (Barisan Nasional). During the mid-1970s, he faced a resurgence of Communist activities on the peninsula and secessionist tendencies in Sabah.
Abdul Razak was closely involved in the formation of Malaysia (1963) and in the reconciliation with Indonesia following Konfrantasi (the Confrontation, 1966). He argued for regional economic cooperation that subsequently led to the formation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967. He proposed the concept for a Zone of Peace, Freedom, and Neutrality (ZOPFAN) in Southeast Asia (adopted in 1971) and advocated a nonaligned stance for Malaysia and established relations with socialist countries.

MALAYSIA'S PRIME MINISTERS

Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is formally appointed by the Yang di-pertuan Agong, the head of state, and is invariably the leader of the largest party in the House of Representatives, the elected lower house of Parliament. He heads the Cabinet, whose members are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the prime minister's advice. The prime minister has been from the United Malays National Organisation since independence. It is the largest component party of the National Front (known as the Alliance Party until the 1969 general election). The incumbent prime minister is Najib Tun Razak, who succeeded Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on 3 April 2009.


Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim ShahChief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from(February 8, 1903 – December 6, 1990) was known as "Tunku" (a princely title in Malaysia), and also called Bapa Kemerdekaan (Father of Independence) or Bapa Malaysia (Father of Malaysia), was independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the federation in 1963 to form Malaysia.