Hussein Onn era comes to an end
Seat with no candidate
EACTING to student unrest and involvement in politics, Education Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad ordered the closure of the Universiti Malaya campus.
The Universities and University Colleges Act was passed and public rallies were banned.
After the ban, political parties went houseto-house canvassing for votes.
Barisan National emerged victorious again. Following a crisis in Kelantan in 1977, PAS was wiped out and was later expelled from Barisan, which would rule the state until 1990.
On July 15, 1981, Tun Hussein Onn chaired his last Cabinet meeting.
The next day Dr Mahathir was sworn in as Malaysia’s fourth Prime Minister. He announced his Cabinet two days later, with Tun Musa Hitam as his deputy. Musa had defeated Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah for the number two post in Umno, with Dr Mahathir uncontested, as successor to Hussein.
The 1968 ban on Dr Mahathir’s controversial book, The Malay Dilemma, was lifted after he became Prime Minister and it went on to become a best seller.
Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi entered politics upon his father’s death. In 1978, he was elected MP for Kepala Batas, the seat his father held until 1974.
DAP continued to retain the support of the Chinese electorate with Lim Kit Siang as Opposition leader. The only constituency in Selangor state which was without a candidate for a period of time was Kampung Jawa in 1978. All four candidates had their nomination papers rejected by the Returning Officer and a new nomination day had to be fixed.