Najib¡¯s background does not recommend him for the role of reformer, which is what is required to recover the affection of disenchanted voters. The son of the country¡¯s second premier, Abdul Razak Hussein, and a nephew of Hussein Onn, the third premier, Najib is from an aristocratic family that is staking its claim to be Malaysia¡¯s first political dynasty. A cousin, Hussein¡¯s son Hishammuddin Hussein, is education minister and head of UMNO Youth. The youngest member to sit in Malaysia¡¯s 
Parliament, Najib was only 22 when he was elected to represent the Pekan constituency formerly held by his father, who died in office in 1976. At 23, he was a deputy minister and at 29 he became chief minister of his home state, Pahang. Since joining then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad¡¯s Cabinet at 32, Najib has held senior portfolios for the past couple of decades, without questioning the ethnic-based political system or proposing significant innovations in his areas of direct policy responsibility. ¡°He is not only part of the system¡±, says one close associate and supporter. ¡°He trusts the system. He is the system.¡±