Speaking about his father, the nation’s second Prime Minister, Najib said Razak did what many others would not by restoring parliamentary rule.

“Indeed his actions went against the grain of many leaders in the world and in the region at the time.

“He never wanted to use the powers he wielded, in fact he seemed fearful of them.”

Najib said that by 1971, peace and order had been restored in the country and Razak had re-established parliamentary rule.

“For that alone, Tun Abdul Razak would be remembered as one of Malaysia’s greatest leaders,” he said at a Special Commemorative Seminar on Tun Abdul Razak today.

Earlier, former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also paid tribute to Razak, saying the leader was a great believer of democracy.

He said that although he could have continued to govern through the NOC after the suspension of Parliament following the racial riots of May 13, 1969, Razak sought to restore parliamentary rule instead.

In an ironic turn of events, the Najib-led government of the day recently tabled the contentious National Security Council (NSC) Bill that could very likely grant emergency powers to the prime minister.

Naturally, the Bill has come under heavy criticism by politicians, legal groups and human rights activists.