Razak’s legacy may hold answers for divided Malaysia’s future

Malaysia marks 50 years this month since the death of Abdul Razak Hussein. His son speaks about Razak's legacy of consultation in policy-making and shaping nationhood.

Malaysia’s second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein is credited with introducing the New Economic Policy, formulating the Rukun Negara, and establishing Petronas. (Facebook pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

 As Malaysia navigates an increasingly divided and uncertain political and economic landscape, the nation might once again need to look to the methods and policies of its second prime minister, Abdul Razak Hussein, says his son Nazir Razak.

He said his father had relied on the use of structured national consultation to overhaul Malaysia’s political and economic systems in the post-1969 era after the trauma of May 13. A similar approach may now be necessary to prepare for the future, Nazir told FMT in an interview.

Nazir recounted his father’s achievements, most notably the restoration of parliamentary democracy, the creation of the New Economic Policy and the Rukun Negara, and the establishment of Petronas. “The system was overhauled,” he said, with his father relying on an extensive consultation process that resulted in the NEP.

“But that overhaul installing the NEP and so on was never meant to last forever. It was relevant for Malaysians then. Is it still relevant for Malaysians today?” Nazir noted that the NEP was designed as a 20-year plan but remains in place five decades later. Nazir questioned whether its original purpose and outcomes have kept pace with contemporary realities.

“These policies including Rukun Negara, I’m sure are still relevant for Malaysians today,” he added. “But at some point, we need to revisit and see whether we are falling through, whether it can be refined, what it really means. These are things that I think we need to go through again.”

“I actually think Malaysia needs to go through another national consultative process” that must go beyond parliamentary debates.

“I don’t believe this can be done in Parliament. One of the failures of democracy all over the world is the political party system, where politicians speak, not necessarily based on what they believe,” he said. “They speak based on what is politically expedient for them or what they are instructed to say by the party whip.”

Instead, he suggested that Malaysia revisit the kind of national dialogue his father led in 1971 — inclusive, deliberate, and focused on long-term outcomes.

Govt money and private needs

Commenting on the institutions needed to shepherd policies and the country forward, Nazir reflected on stories of Razak’s fiscal restraint and a culture of integrity that underpinned the institutions built during the second prime minister’s leadership.

“There were all these stories about how he was very, very careful about spending government money,” Nazir said. “He even got very upset when somebody accidentally charged the cost of his toothpaste to the government.

“He famously moved his entire entourage from a five-star hotel to another three or four-star hotel [in Switzerland] because he felt the first was just too expensive for the government.”

Yayasan Tun Razak chairman Nazir Razak questions whether the New Economic Policy, originally designed as a 20-year plan but still in force, has kept pace with contemporary realities.

Nazir added that integrity is critical for building institutions. “Culture deteriorates very quickly when there’s integrity issues at the top,” he said. “When they look up and say, ‘Oh, there are all these strange side deals done by the board or done on instruction of politicians’. That’s when institutions crumble.”

Nazir said Malaysia must return to a leadership culture rooted in national service, mission clarity, and values-based governance.

Rebuilding trust in the integrity of institutions and leaders requires “a carrot-and-stick approach” with MACC enforcement being the punitive aspect.

“Talking to leaders and management of these institutions, talking about mission, talking about the cause, the importance of what you do… reaffirming those kinds of values within the leadership is just as important,” he said.

Razak was Malaysia’s second prime minister from Sept 22, 1970 until his death on Jan 14, 1976 after serving as deputy prime minister since 1957, and was regarded as “Bapa Pembangunan” (father of development).

His son Nazir is chairman of Yayasan Tun Razak, a foundation set up by an act of Parliament in October 1976 which continues to reflect on his leadership and to surface these ideas for a new generation. More information is available at yayasantunrazak.org.my. - FMT