Hisham has to fight to win on his own

Political blue blood: Hishammuddin is expected to defend his Sembrong parliamentary seat in GE14.

JOHOR BARU: There is no doubt that Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein comes from an illustrious family.

He is the grandson of Umno’s founder, the son of the country’s third prime minister and cousin to the country’s current prime minister.

Hishammuddin’s grandfather Datuk Onn Jaafar was the son of Datuk Jaafar Muhammad, Johor’s first mentri besar.

Onn went on to become the founder of Umno and served as its first president though he later left the party in 1951.

Hishammuddin’s father Tun Hussein Onn served as prime minister from 1976 to 1981.

In addition, Hishammuddin’s mother Tun Suhaila Mohd Noah is the sister of Tun Rahah Mohd Noah, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s mother.

Despite his political blue blood, Hishammuddin will need to work hard, just like everyone else, to win for the sixth time this general election.

Political analyst Dr Mohd Akbal Abdullah, who is a senior lecturer at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia in Batu Pahat said although Hishammuddin’s father and grandfather were influential people in this country those days, times had changed now.

“With the present political scenario, Hishammuddin will have to depend more on his hard work than the aura of his family’s background,” he said in an interview.

Dr Mohd Akbal acknowledged the contributions Hishammuddin’s grandfather and his father gave to the country.

“But he (Hishammuddin) cannot rely on the legacy of both his father and grandfather,” Dr Mohd Akbal added.

Hishammuddin is expected to defend his Sembrong parliamentary seat in GE14.

He has been contesting in elections since 1995 and will battle it out in Sembrong for the fourth time.