Hussein Onn

This is a Malay name; the name Onn is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Hussein.
Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun
Hussein Onn
S.M.N. S.P.M J.
حسین اُون
3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia
In office
15 January 1976 – 16 July 1981
Monarch Yahya Petra
Ahmad Shah
Deputy Mahathir Mohamad
Preceded by Abdul Razak
Succeeded by Mahathir Mohamad
3rd Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
In office
13 August 1973 – 15 January 1976
Monarch Abdul Halim
Yahya Petra
Prime Minister Abdul Razak
Preceded by Ismail Abdul Rahman
Succeeded by Mahathir Mohamad
1st President of International Islamic University of Malaysia
In office
1983–1987
Chancellor Sultan Ahmad Shah
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Anwar Ibrahim
Personal details
Born Hussein bin Onn
(1922-02-12)12 February 1922
Johor Bahru, British Malaya (now Malaysia)
Died 28 May 1990(1990-05-28) (aged 68)
South San Francisco, United States
Resting place Makam Pahlawan, Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Citizenship Malaysian
Political party Independent (1987–1990)
Other political
affiliations		 United Malays National Organisation (Before 1951; 1968–1988)
Independence of Malaya Party (1951–1963)
National Party (1963–1968)
Spouse(s) Suhaila Noah[1]
Children 6 (including Hishammuddin Hussein)
Education Indian Military Academy
Lincoln's Inn
English College Johore Bahru
Profession Lawyer
Religion Sunni Islam
Military service
Allegiance  British Raj
Service/branch British Indian Army
Years of service 1940–1945
Rank Captain

Tun Hussein bin Dato' Onn (12 February 1922 – 29 May 1990 Jawi: حسین اُون ) was the third Prime Minister of Malaysia, serving in this role from 1976 to 1981. He was born in Johor Bahru, Johor, on 12 February 1922 to Dato Onn Jaafar and Datin Halimah Hussein, and is of 3/4 Malay and 1/4 Circassian ancestry. He was granted the soubriquet "Bapa Perpaduan" (Father of Unity).

Family

He was the son of Dato' Onn Jaafar, the founder of UMNO and a Malayan freedom fighter.[1] His grandfather Dato Jaafar Haji Muhammad was the first Menteri Besar of Johore while his grandmother, Hanim Rogayah was from Scarcia, Turkey. He was the brother in law of Tun Abdul Razak, his predecessor as Prime Minister, who also married another Tan Sri Haji Mohamad Noah Omar's daughter, Tun Rahah Mohamad Noah.

Tun Hussein married Tun Suhaila Noah in 1948.[2] Suhaila Noah was the daughter of Tan Sri Haji Mohamad Noah Omar, former Minister of Home Affairs and first Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat.[2] Hussein Onn and Suhaila Noah had six children, including their fourth child, Hishammuddin Hussein, the Minister of Defence since 2013.[2] Their eldest daughter, Datin Roquaiya Hanim, died on 17 September 2005, at the age of 56 from breast cancer in Kuala Lumpur.[2]

Early life

Tun Hussein received his early education in Telok Kurau Primary School, Singapore and at the English College Johore Bahru. After leaving school, he joined the Johor Military Forces as a cadet in 1940 and was sent a year later to the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, India. Upon completion of his training, he was absorbed into the Indian Army served in the Middle East when the Second World War broke.[1] After the war, his vast experience prompted the British to employ him as an instructor at the Malayan Police Recruiting and Training Centre in Rawalpindi.[1]

Tun Hussein came back to Malaysia in 1945 and was appointed Commandant of the Johor Bahru Police Depot. The following year he joined the Malaya Civil Service as an assistant administrative officer in Segamat, Johor. He was later posted to the state of Selangor, becoming Klang and Kuala Selangor's district officer.

Entering politics

Tun Hussein, who came from a family with deep nationalistic spirit and political roots,[1] resigned from the civil service to go into politics. In 1949, he became the first youth chief of UMNO (United Malays National Organisation), a party his father helped established. In 1950, he was elected the UMNO secretary general. Tun Hussein however left UMNO in 1951 to join his father in forming the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP).[1]

With IMP losing momentum, Tun Hussein went to London to study law at Lincoln's Inn, qualifying as a Barrister-at-Law. He came back as a certified lawyer and practised in Kuala Lumpur.[1]

Rise to power

Hussein Onn returned to politics in 1968 after being persuaded by the then Deputy Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak to rejoin UMNO.[1] He stood and won the general elections in 1969 and was appointed as the education minister. Tun Hussein's meteoric rise continued on 13 August 1973 when he succeeded the late Ismail bin Abdul Raman as the Deputy Prime Minister.[1] On 15 January 1976 he was appointed as Prime Minister of Malaysia after the death of Tun Razak.[3]

Hussein was renowned for stressing the issue of unity through policies aimed at rectifying economic imbalances between the various communities found in Malaysia.[1] For instance, 20 April 1981 saw the National Unit Trust Scheme being launched. He also gave serious consideration to the concept of Rukun Tetangga (a neighbourhood watch scheme) and the fight against the drug menace.

He underwent a coronary bypass in early 1981. On 17 July the same year, he retired from active politics and relinquished his prime minister post due to health concerns.[1] He was succeeded by Mahathir bin Mohamad, his deputy.

Post-retirement

After his retirement as Prime Minister, he continued to contribute to welfare organisations. He was instrumental in the setting up of the Tun Hussein Onn Eye Hospital. He was also an advisor to Petronas, the country's oil company, and Chairman of Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS).

During the 1987 UMNO leadership crisis, Hussein fell out with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, supporting Team B along with Tunku Abdul Rahman. Hussein along with the Tunku, henceforth, became a strident critic of the Mahathir administration and died without having rejoined UMNO.

Hussein Onn died on 29 May 1990 in Seton Medical Center at San Francisco, California, at the age of 68.[1] He had two sons and four daughters. He is buried in Makam Pahlawan (Heroes Mausoleum) near Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur.

Honours

Honour of Malaysia

Places named after him

Several places were named after him, including:

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Tun Hussein Onn". Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Tun Suhailah, widow of 3rd PM Tun Hussein Onn, dies at 82". The Malaysian Insider. 4 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  3. ↑ Tan, Chee Khoon & Vasil, Raj (ed., 1984). Without Fear or Favour, p. 38. Eastern Universities Press. ISBN 967-908-051-X.
  4. ↑ "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1981." (PDF).
Political offices
Preceded by
Ismail Abdul Rahman		 Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
1973–1976 		Succeeded by
Mahathir Mohamad
Preceded by
Abdul Razak		 Prime Minister of Malaysia
1976–1981
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Suharto		 Chairperson of ASEAN
1977 		Succeeded by
Corazon Aquino
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