TUN HUSSEIN ONN

(1976-1981)

He was born in Johor Bahru, Johor on February 12, 1922 to Dato Onn Jaafar and Datin Halimah

Hussein.

He received his early education in Singapore and at the English College in Johor 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 Dehra Dun, India. Upon completion of his training, he was

absorbed into the Indian Army and served in the Middle East when the Second World War

broke. 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.

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

Kelang and Kuala Selangor’s district officer.

Tun Hussein, who came from a family with deep nationalistic spirit and political roots, 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).

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 practiced in Kuala

Lumpur.

Tun Hussein returned to politics in 1968 after being persuaded by Prime Minister Tun Abdul

Razak to rejoin UMNO. He stood in and won the general elections in 1969 and was then

appointed as the education minister. Tun Hussein's meteoric rise continued when on August 13,

1973 he succeeded the late Tun Dr Ismail as the Deputy Prime Minister. On January 15, 1976

he was appointed as the prime minister of Malaysian after the passing away of Tun Razak.

Tun Hussein is renowned for stressing on the issue of unity through policies aimed at rectifying

economic imbalances between the communities. For instance, April 20, 1981 saw the National

Unit Trust Scheme being launched. He also gave serious consideration to the concept of Rukun

Tetangga and the fight against the drug menace.

 Tun Hussein, who was married to Toh Puan Suhaila Tan Sri Haji Mohd Noah,

underwent a coronary bypass in early 1981. On July 17 the same year, he retired from active

politics and relinquished his prime minister post due to health concerns. He passed away on May

29, 1990 at the age of 68.

Tun Hussein Onn was Malaysia’s third prime minister, leading the country from 1976 to 1981.

Reading was his favourite pastime since his youth and he once said, "I love to read books on

politics, sometimes war stories. However, I am not very interested in books on love stories". He

was also known for his meticulousness. Dr. Zainah Anwar (NST, 1981), in her article "Hussein –

The Inside Story" wrote, "It's common knowledge that he goes through all his speeches and

important papers with a six-inch ruler to ensure that he does not miss out the important points,

which he then proceeds to underline with a red pen."