“Tun Razak and his contemporaries were initially fighting for independence, after which we were to build a nation,” Nazir told FMT in an interview. First there was Malaya, then Malaysia, both nation states constructed from colonial borders.
“But the people were still not ‘Malaysians’. Some of those who were around at the time, like (former deputy prime minister) Tun Musa Hitam, keep reminding me – Don’t forget that the mission was always to build a Malaysian nation,” said Nazir, who is chairman of Yayasan Tun Abdul Razak, a foundation dedicated to articulating Razak’s values and intangible legacy.
To mark the 50th anniversary this month of Razak’s death in 1976, the foundation is pivoting from mere commemoration to the active cultivation of future leaders through its flagship youth leadership programme, which takes in 50 to 60 young Malaysians around 16 to 17 years old every year.
“One of our priorities this year is to shift away from purely focusing on his policies, his institutions which were relevant for those times, and not necessarily these times,” said Nazir.
He said several values were hallmarks of his father’s leadership as he helped steer the country past the trauma of May 13 into the post-1969 years, rebuilding Malaysia into what could be described as “Malaysia 2.0”.
What set his father’s leadership apart was “absolute clarity of mission” and a deep commitment to nation-building, not just statecraft, in an era where a Malaysian identity did not even exist, he said.
“We were not the only post-colonial country that had that task. Many countries were constructed out of borders, somewhat casually drawn even by the colonial masters,” he added. Many newly-independent countries did not have unifying factors such as a common ethnicity or religion or purpose right out of the gates.
“Even Malaya itself has many different states governed very separately. But we all came together and decided to build this nation,” Nazir said.
Looking ahead, Nazir said one aspect of nation-building could include setting a target, by 2050 for example, by which “we should all be born Malaysians” and abolishing the need for racial categories in our ICs, “because we are all born Malaysian” and all go to school together.
“Maybe that’s when it is, and maybe we work towards them,” Nazir said.
Decisive and bold, with empathy
Razak was extremely consultative, yet bold, said Nazir, recounting how his father shaped the education system through the Razak Report, and brought about the New Economic Policy and the Rukun Negara.
“These weren’t top-down ideas — they were the product of extensive, formal consultation processes.” Nazir said.
The Razak Report involved input from teachers and parents, while the Rukun Negara and New Economic Policy were shaped through months of deliberation within a National Consultative Council comprising 67 figures from across Malaysian society.
“For months on end, people spent weekends debating — why May 13 happened, and what we needed to do going forward. That kind of consultation is very important,” Nazir said.
“But up to a point, you then need to make a decision and move. Some people consult and consult and procrastinate. He didn’t. He said, okay, this is it — and we go. And sometimes making that move was very risky and bold. But he did that.”
Nazir also highlighted his father’s quiet but effective communication style, despite not being a charismatic orator.
He said his father was known for his ability to communicate with empathy and intention, tailoring his message to the audience rather than relying on dramatic flair.
“Tun Razak wasn’t this great visionary, he couldn’t rally the troops on a stage — but if you read the content of what he said, they were very powerful,” Nazir said. “He made sure he understood the audience, or even the individual, to get them to hear the right message for what he wanted them to do.”
Razak was deputy prime minister to Tunku Abdul Rahman from 1957 until becoming prime minister in 1970. He was also minister of rural development and was instrumental in setting up Felda and its giant land resettlement schemes, for which he became known as “Bapa Pembangunan” (father of development).
Razak died on 14 January 1976 and Yayasan Tun Razak was set up under an act of Parliament later that year to promote education, improve living standards, and foster harmony among racial groups, reflecting Razak’s ideals and work.
To mark the 50th anniversary of his death, and to drive home values-driven leadership, Yayasan Tun Razak has renewed its focus to include a revamped values-based curriculum for its decades-strong youth leadership programme, and will produce a documentary, and a book, all aimed at crystallising Razak’s intangible legacy.
The foundation also bestows the Tun Razak Awards for outstanding contributions to national development.
More information on Yayasan Tun Razak is available at its website http://yayasantunrazak.org.my.