Abdul Rahman (1903-1990) was the first prime minister of the independent country of Malaya from 1957 to 1963. He served as prime minister of Malaysia from 1963 to 1970.
Abdul Rahman’s leadership in the independence movement of the early 1950’s earned him the title “father of Malaysian independence.” After independence, his work as prime minister laid the foundations for Malaysia to become a modern, democratic nation.
Abdul Rahman was born on Feb. 8, 1903, in Alor Setar into the royal family of Kedah. His early education took place in Malaya. He attended the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
In 1951, Abdul Rahman became president of United Malays National Organization (UMNO). The party formed an alliance with the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) and the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC). In 1955, the Alliance won an overwhelming victory at the first federal elections, and Abdul Rahman became the chief minister.
In 1956, Abdul Rahman led a mission to London to negotiate the independence of Malaya from British rule. After Malaya became independent in 1957, he became the country’s first prime minister. He played a leading part in the formation of Malaysia, which came into being in 1963 through a federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah, and Sarawak. Two years later, Singapore left Malaysia because of differences between Abdul Rahman and Lee Kuan Yew, the prime minister of Singapore.
Abdul Rahman was one of the leaders who formed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967. In May 1969, racial conflict between Malays and Chinese broke out in Malaysia. In 1970, Abdul Rahman resigned as prime minister. He died on Dec. 6, 1990.
