ABSTRACT

Hussein had avoided close association with the Alliance since he and his father Dato Onn Jaffar UMNO's first president left UMNO in 1951. He rejoined UMNO in 1968 and was elected to parliament in the 1969 elections. On winning a seat on the UMNO Supreme Council in 1971, Razak appointed him minister of education. Hussein's appointment had a significance to the Razak administration: prior to his rejoining UMNO, Hussein had been a vigorous voice for Malay interests, something that had obviously appealed to Razak's own vision for the Malays. He held similar views as Razak, especially on education. Razak had wanted Hussein to implement an education policy urgently that of converting the entire education system to the Malay medium of instruction. The congruent views and political style of Hussein and Razak provided the basis for their close political rela­ tionship that was further reinforced by family ties since they were related by marriage, their wives being sisters. In August 1973, Hussein was elevated to deputy prime minister when Tun Ismail died and Razak added Home Affairs to his portfolios. He became prime minister when Razak died on 14 January 1976.