Editing Musa Hitam (section)

==Political career==
In the 1960s, Musa was briefly served as Acting Secretary-General of UMNO. He was later expelled from the party in the wake of the [[13 May Incident|13 May racial rioting]] for insubordination to Prime Minister and UMNO President [[Tunku Abdul Rahman]]. During his political exile, he obtained his Master's from the University of Sussex.

In 1971, he was readmitted to UMNO under the Tunku's successor, [[Abdul Razak Hussein]]. He rose quickly, becoming Deputy Whip of the [[Barisan Nasional|Alliance]] coalition in Parliament, and was elected as a member of the UMNO Supreme Council. He was elected as a UMNO Vice-President in 1978.<ref>Tan, Chee Khoon & Vasil, Raj (ed., 1984). ''Without Fear or Favour'', p. 43–44. Eastern Universities Press. {{ISBN|967-908-051-X}}.</ref>

When [[Mahathir Mohamad]] succeeded [[Hussein Onn]] as [[Prime Minister of Malaysia]], he declared the election for the Deputy Presidency of UMNO open; and thus by extension the Deputy Prime Ministership — was open; he would not support any candidate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lib.perdana.org.my/PLF/Digital_Content/NA/Newspaper/0006/TheStar%5B25June1981%5BDr.MLoserWillStayOn.pdf |title=Loser Will Stay On: Dr M to accept decision of delegates|work=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]] |date=25 June 1981|via=[[Perdana Leadership Foundation#Library|Perdana Leadership Foundation Library]]}}</ref> Musa Hitam faced [[Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah]] in 1981 the party election.<ref>Tan & Vasil, p. 2.</ref> Eventually, Musa won the election with 722 votes to Razaleigh's 517 votes, becoming the new Deputy President and Deputy Prime Minister.<ref>Tan & Vasil, p. 204.</ref> Razaleigh blamed himself for taking "a rather passive stance" and not having a campaign strategy.<ref>Tan & Vasil, p. 112.</ref>