A Malaysian story: The Razak boys

By Ho Kay Tat

WHEN announcing his impending “retirement” from politics, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he was the last of the Tun Abdul Razak generation to lead the country as he would be passing over the leadership of Umno to Razak’s son Datuk Seri Najib.

Razak
It was a significant remark as the Razak legacy has had a profound impact on Malaysia.
Who were the Razak generation of leaders or the Razak political boys, as they were often called? What did they represent? Were they as cohesive as one would have assumed them to be since they were handpicked by Razak as the future leaders of the party and country?
A look back at these past 35 years offers a fascinating story.
First, who were the Razak political boys?
Many people would claim to be one, but the core group comprised Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Tun Musa Hitam, Abdullah and Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad (aka Dollah Kok Lanas).
Razak brought Mahathir back into Umno after he was sacked in 1969 for his attacks on the country’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, whom Mahathir accused of neglecting the interests of the Malays.
Razaleigh was tapped by Razak to promote Malay participation in the economy, first as Bank Bumiputra’s chairman and then to start Petronas.

Musa was a smart political operative who was frequently asked to carry out special assignments for Razak.
Dollah Kok Lanas was Razak’s principal private secretary — his gatekeeper who was both feared and despised by many.
Abdullah, on the other hand, served Razak as the secretary of the National Operations Council (NOC), which ruled the country when it was under emergency rule from1969 to 1971.
The careers of these men were intertwined with that of Razak, but what happened to each of them after the death of their mentor and master? We tell the story of the Razak boys using a timeline:

Hussein
1971
Razak took over from Tunku as Umno president and the country’s prime minister. Post-1969, it was a watershed period in Malaysia’s political and economic balance. It marked the launch of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and the expansion of the Alliance coalition to Barisan Nasional (BN), with the entry of opposition parties like PAS, Gerakan, SUPP and PPP. It was the beginning of the ascendancy of Umno, not just as a domineering political force but also an economic one. It was, in the later years, to change the face of Umno from a party of teachers to a party of businessmen.
The seeds that Razak sowed have grown into what Umno is today. But whether they flowered in the way he had envisioned, no one will know, because his right-hand man and close confidant, Tun Dr Ismail, and he did not live long enough.
Ismail, who was deputy prime minister, passed away earlier than Razak, in 1973.
Razak himself died three years later and was succeeded by Tun Hussein Onn. It would not be wrong to say that if Razak and Ismail had lived longer (both passed away at a relatively young age), Malaysia would perhaps be quite different today.
This is because while it is true the men he groomed did eventually take up the reins of power, it is fair to say that because of his premature demise, they did not spend enough years under his wing to truly appreciate his intentions and vision for the country. Razak’s early passing also led to a power struggle among his “boys” in the years ahead.
1976
When Hussein took over as prime minister, he was in a dilemma as to who to pick as his deputy. In the party hierarchy, he had a choice between Tun Ghafar Baba, Razaleigh and Mahathir, the three party vice-presidents. It was said that Hussein felt all three had “weaknesses” that would make them unsuitable for the job of deputy. Ghafar lacked a good education, while Razaleigh was deemed too young at 39. Hussein was not comfortable with Mahathir’s reputation as a Malay ultra.

Mahathir
Hussein was considering Tan Sri Ghazalie Shafie, the then powerful Home Minister, but was told by a few party stalwarts that he had to choose from one of the three vice-presidents.
In the end, to the surprise of everyone, he opted for the controversial Mahathir. That he himself had doubts about his decision was reflected in what he said when he made the announcement: “I pray to God that I have made the right choice.”
Ghafar was upset and chose not to serve Hussein’s Cabinet while Razaleigh was “compensated” by being appointed Finance Minister. Musa became Minister of Primary Commodities.
One Razak boy, however, had a bad time. Dollah Kok Lanas was arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) shortly after Hussein became prime minister, accused of being a communist symphatiser. It was said to be vengeance by Home Minister Ghazalie because Dollah was said to have had a hand in blocking Hussein from appointing him as deputy prime minister. He was freed when Mahathir became prime minister in 1981.

Razaleigh
1981
Hussein surprisingly announced his retirement after a heart operation paving the way for Mahathir to become Malaysia’s fourth and eventually longest serving prime minister.
The start of the Mahathir era was to be the true test of the Razak boys. It was their time to work together on their own. Unfortunately, things did not work out as ideally as some had hoped. Under Mahathir, the rest of the Razak boys fell by the wayside one by one as he consolidated his own position by elevating his own boys to positions of power.
Most people had expected Mahathir to appoint Razaleigh as deputy prime minister, thereby helping the latter to become deputy president of Umno, in the same manner that Hussein had picked Mahathir to be deputy prime minister.
Instead, Mahathir decided that he would leave it to Umno members to choose the deputy president and thereby deputy prime minister. On the surface, it made Mahathir looked democratic but the reason was simply that he did not want Razaleigh as his deputy. Mahathir supporters took the signal and voted for Musa, who pulled off an upset win over Razaleigh. Musa won again in 1984. A once powerful rival in the Razak camp was hence weakened.

Musa
But the honeymoon between Mahathir and Musa did not last long. Mahathir was particularly peeved when newspapers dubbed his administration the 2M (Mahathir/Musa) government. This stopped after Mahathir made it clear that 2M stood for Mahathir Mohamad and not Mahathir and Musa!
After Musa and Razaleigh battered and bruised each other in their second contest in 1984, Mahathir demoted Razaleigh from Finance Minister to Trade and Industry Minister. In a shock move, he made businessman Tun Daim Zainuddin a senator and the Finance Minister. By then, Mahathir had already brought Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim into Umno, helping him to become Umno Youth chief.
It was the time of the Mahathir boys, which eventually led to a falling out between Musa and Mahathir, with the former resigning as deputy prime minister in 1986.

Dollah
A year later, Razaleigh, Musa and the rest of the younger Razak boys, like Abdullah and Datuk Shahrir Samad, teamed up to challenge Mahathir but fell short of victory by 43 votes.
Over the next decade, they spent their time on the sidelines as the Mahathir-Daim-Anwar combination ran the party and government on a tight leash. With power concentrated in their hands and Malaysia enjoying rapid economic expansion and wealth creation during the roaring 1990s, Umno became a money-making machine for many of its members and supporters. All three men cultivated powerful political and business allies.
All good things, however, come to an end and it did for Mahathir and his boys during the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis. Anwar tried to nudge Mahathir out of the picture as the economy and the stock and currency markets unravelled in pretty much the same devastating fashion as Wall Street and the global markets today.

Anwar
Mahathir fought back viciously and Anwar ended up in jail for six years. Mahathir and Daim also fell out and in 2001, the latter quit government for the last time.
After sacking Anwar in 1998, Mahathir had two choices for deputy — Najib and Abdullah. The obvious choice and the one his close supporters rooted for was Najib, son of Tun Razak and someone who had stayed loyal to Mahathir when he was challenged by Razaleigh/Musa and later by Anwar.

Abdullah, on the other hand, was part of the Razaleigh/ Musa group who fought Mahathir in 1987.
In another twist, Mahathir picked Abdullah. And we know what happened after that.

Daim
As Abdullah prepares to hand over power to Najib, Malaysia is at another political and economic crossroads.
Najib’s father became prime minister after Umno and the Alliance coalition fared badly in the 1969 election, which led to the May 13 race riots. On taking over, Razak embraced a few opposition parties and implemented the NEP for the purpose of achieving socio-political stability.
There were no race riots after the March 8 general election this year, but Umno and its coalition partners are today in a worse situation than they were in 1969.
What will Najib do? A new economic agenda? A new political arrangement? And just like his father had his “boys” to help him implement his policies, will there be Najib “boys” to do the same? Who are Najib’s Mahathir, Razaleigh, Musa and Abdullah? And where will they take Malaysia?

Ho Kay Tat is editor-in-chief at The Edge.

http://www.asia-inc.com/index.php/features/154-nov-dec-2008/325-a-malaysian-story-the-razak-boys