Back in 1987, in one of the biggest civil wars in Malaysia‘s political history, former Prime Minister Tun M was threatened by former Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, or better known as Ku Li, in a fight to dethrone him as then UMNO president. 

Long story cut short, Tun M "survived" the presidency battle with 761 votes against Ku Li, who only received 718 votes. This particular turn of event led Ku Li and his supporters to file a lawsuit, demanding the election results be declared invalid due to a number of reasons. 

After a long, exhausting battle in court, the judge in charge of the case, Justice Harun Hashim made the shocking decision to declare UMNO "unconstitutional and illegal", rendering the party obsolete. “Very sadly, I have to make a finding in law that, at the material time, UMNO was an unlawful society,” was Judge Harun's exact words on the matter. 

Consequently, this decision immediately stripped Tun M of his position as the Prime Minister. You know where this story is going...

The MCA president slash Transport Minister at the time Ling Liong Sik was then appointed Acting Prime Minister,  from 4 Feb 1988 to 16 Feb 1988 to be exact due to the political turmoil that UMNO was in. He was never in the Prime Minister hall of fame, however, as he was never formally appointed by the YDP. Still, the man did his job, however shortlived. 

Will we ever see a future in Malaysia where a non-Malay could be the prime minister again? That sort of political progress would be interesting to experience, wouldn't it?