The political consensus constructed by Abdul Razak Hussein is in a precarious position due to the abuse of power by his successors, said his former political secretary Abdullah Ahmad.

"The political consensus Tun Razak built is now under dire threat. His successors have brought out the worst of arrogance in their abuse of power.

"Some of their actions must have made Tun Razak to roll in his grave, as the expression goes," Abdullah said in his speech, read out by his wife Fauziah Darus, at the special commemorative seminar on Razak in conjunction with his 40th anniversary of his death in Kuala Lumpur today.

The political consensus mentioned by Abdullah referred to the efforts in forming a unity government comprising various political parties after the May 13, 1969 riots.

Before Razak's tenure as prime minister, Abdullah ( photo ) said many politicians, corporate people and civil servants ran the government for themselves and were living in excess.

He said this angered the people and served as one of the "major reasons" for the May 13 racial clash.

"Their excesses, compounded by the privation, deprivation and exploitation, made the rakyat very angry and restless. That was one of the major reasons for the May 13 incident.

"Looking back, I wondered why it had not happened earlier," he added.

However, he said, such corruption was curbed when Razak implemented the New Economic Policy, restructured society and strengthened the social contract in the country.

"The situation has improved a bit, but unfortunately the excesses go unabated until now," Abdullah added.

At the same event earlier, former minister Rafidah Aziz also said that Razak would be turning in his grave over the current scenario in the nation.