Onn Jaafar

Dato' Sir Onn bin Ja'afar (1895-January 19, 1962) was a Malay politician and a Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Johore in Malaysia, then Malaya. He was the founder of United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and was also responsible for the social economic welfare of the Malays by setting up the Rural Industrial Development Authority (RIDA). His son was Tun Hussein Onn, the third Prime Minister of Malaysia and his grandson is Hishammuddin Hussein, currently the Minister of Education in the Malaysian Cabinet.

Early life

Onn was born in 1895 at Johor Bahru, the capital of the Sultanate of Johore. His father Dato Jaafar Haji Muhammad was the first Menteri Besar of Johore while his mother, Hanim Rogayah was from Scarcia, Turkey. Onn was sent by Sultan Ibrahim to be educated in England and upon his return, was sent by his father for studies at Malay College Kuala Kangsar. He served for a time as a government official in Johore. Turning then to journalism, he edited two Malay newspapers, the Lembaga Melayu and the Warta Malaya, the first independent Malay daily. When he was a member of the Majlis Mesyuarat Negeri Johor, he made two important political contributions to the people of Johore, which are the setting up of the Sultan Ibrahim Scholarship and issuance of free air fares to perform the pilgrimage in Makkah for Islamic officers serving the Johore government. After World War II he became extremely active in Malayan politics.

Political activities

Onn was very active in the Malay nationalist movement, founding the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) as a mean to rally the Malays against the Malayan Union, which was perceived as threatening Malay privileges and the position of the Malay rulers. Onn took up the role of UMNO's president on May 1, 1946. When plans for the union were withdrawn, Onn was made Menteri Besar by the Sultan of Johore. Later, he was disgusted with what he considered to be UMNO's communalist policies, and called for party membership to be opened to all Malayans, and for UMNO to be renamed as the United Malayans National Organisation. When his recommendations went unheeded, he left the party on August 26, 1951, to form the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP). However, the IMP failed to receive sufficient backing from Malayans, and eventually Onn left it to form the Parti Negara, which placed membership restrictions on non-Malays in an attempt to woo the Malays. Neither party gained popular support against Tunku Abdul Rahman's new Alliance coalition and he was eventually eclipsed from Malayan political life.

Pop Culture Appearance

Onn character had been portrayed in a 2007 Malaysian movie 1957:Hati Malaya which is directed by a popular Malaysian film director, Shuhaimi Baba. His role is played by Zaefrul Nadzarine Nordin. [[1]]

References

• Adam, Ramlah binti, Samuri, Abdul Hakim bin & Fadzil, Muslimin bin (2004). Sejarah Tingkatan 3. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. ISBN 983-62-8285-8.
• Goh, Cheng Teik (1994). Malaysia: Beyond Communal Politics. Pelanduk Publications. ISBN 967-978-475-4.