The Malaysian Prime Minister who lived a double life as a wartime guerrilla spy

Cultures · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Before becoming Malaysia's second prime minister and the celebrated Father of Development, Abdul Razak Hussein operated as a secret informant within the Japanese administration. While his peers branded him a traitor, he was actually a deep-cover agent for the resistance, balancing aristocratic privilege with the dangerous work of intelligence gathering.

Born in 1922 into an aristocratic family in Pahang, Abdul Razak Hussein’s early life was defined by the upheaval of the Second World War. After his studies at Raffles College were interrupted in 1942, he joined the Askar Wataniah Pahang, a guerrilla force founded by Yeop Mahidin. Under orders, Razak infiltrated the Japanese Malayan Civil Service, using his status as a local aristocrat to gain the trust of the occupying forces. This role was so clandestine that even his fellow resistance members labeled him a traitor, unaware he was feeding information to the Special Operations Executive’s Force 136.

Following the war, Razak transitioned into a formidable political career. After qualifying as a barrister in London in 1950, he rose rapidly through the United Malays National Organisation. By 1955, he was Pahang's Chief Minister, and by 1957, he served as Deputy Prime Minister. His tenure as Prime Minister from 1970 to 1976 was marked by the launch of the New Economic Policy, a program designed to address socioeconomic disparities between ethnic groups. He also shifted Malaysia’s foreign policy toward neutrality, joining the Non-Aligned Movement and establishing diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China in 1974.

Razak’s legacy remains complex. While he is posthumously honored as the Father of Development, his rise to power followed the 1969 ethnic riots, during which he led the National Operations Council that effectively replaced the elected government. The circumstances of his ascent and the official narrative of the 1969 incident remain contested. Furthermore, he managed these monumental political shifts while battling leukemia, a diagnosis he kept secret from 1969 until his death in 1976. His political dynasty continued with his son, Najib Razak, who later became embroiled in the 1MDB corruption scandal, adding a final, controversial chapter to the family's influence on the nation.

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