The prime minister of Malaysia is actually the head of the government of Malaysia. The prime minister would direct the executive branch of the federal government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints a member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.
The prime minister would usually be the leader of the party winning the most seats in a general election. After the formation of Malaysia on the 16th of September 1963, Tunku Abdul Rahman who is actually the chief minister of the Federation of Malaya became the official first-ever prime minister of Malaysia.
There are in total of 8 Prime Ministers up until today. Mahathir bin Mohamad is the only individual who served two times as the Prime Minister. The first one is as the 4th Prime Minister and the second one is as the 7th. These are actually some interesting facts that people should know about the past and also the current Prime Minister of Malaysia.
1) Tunku Abdul Rahman (31 August 1957 to 22 September 1970)
Appointed as Prime Minister for 4767 days. He was the first Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955 to 1957, before becoming Malaya’s first Prime Minister after independence in 1957. He remained Prime Minister until his resignation in 1970. He is often referred to as Father of Independence (Bapa Kemerdekaan) and also Father of Malaysia (Bapa Malaysia).
2) Tun Abdul Razak Hussein (22 September 1970 to 14 January 1976)
Appointed as Prime Minister for 1939 days. Tun Abdul Razak Hussein was the second Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1970 to 1976. The youngest to be elected in the office, at the age of 48. He is referred to as Father of Development (Bapa Pembangunan).
3) Tun Hussein Onn (15 January 1976 to 16 July 1981)
Appointed as Prime Minister for 2007 days. Tun Hussein bin Dato’ Onn was the third Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1976 to 1981. He is referred to as Father of Unity (Bapa Perpaduan).
4) Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (16 July 1981 to 30 October 2003)
Appointed as Prime Minister for 8136 days. Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad is a Malaysian politician. He was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the job for 22 years from the year 1981 to the year 2003. His political career lasted for almost 40 years. He is the longest-serving Prime Minister of Malaysia. He led the BN into 5 consecutive election victories. He is referred to as the Father of Modernisation (Bapa Pemodenan).
5) Tun Dato’ Seri Haji Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi (3 April 2009 to 9 May 2018)
Appointed as Prime Minister for 1979 days. Tun Dato’ Seri Haji Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is a Malaysian politician. He was the Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the largest political party in Malaysia. He is referred to as Father of Human Capital Development (Bapa Pembangunan Modal Insan).
6) Najib Razak (3 April 2009 to 9 May 2018)
Appointed as Prime Minister for 3321 days. Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak is a Malaysian politician. He became the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia after being elected in 2009. He lost his re-election bid in the 2018 general election. He is referred to as the Father of Transformation (Bapa Transformasi).
7) Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad (10 May 2018 to 24 February 2020)
Appointed as Prime Minister for 655 days. This is his second appointment as Prime Minister, 15 years after his retirement from politics. He is the only person to hold the position for two opposing political parties. He is the oldest Prime Minister to be elected at the age of 92.
8) Muhyiddin Yassin (1 March 2020 to 16 August 2021)
Appointed as Prime Minister for 532 days. Muhyiddin bin Haji Muhammad Yassin is a Malaysian politician. He is the 8th and current Prime Minister of Malaysia. He was appointed on 29 February 2020 and sworn in on 1 March 2020 after Mahathir Mohamad’s resignation on 24 February 2020. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 till 2015.