 Syed Hussein is the older brother of Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas and the father of Syed Farid Alatas, a professor at the National University of Singapore, Sharifah Munirah Alatas, a professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Sharifah Masturah Alatas, author of his first biography .Syed Hussein was among several intellectuals who formed Gerakan in 1968 as an offshoot of the defunct Labour Party.Gerakan was successful in the 1969 general election, where it campaigned on a platform of social justice and the reduction or elimination of Bumiputra privileges outlined by Article 153 of the Constitution.