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Ahmadul Kobir, Malaysia: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has lost his lifelong companion, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, who died at the National Heart Institute (IJN) in Kuala Lumpur on Monday at the age of 100.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that Dr Hasmah would be accorded a state funeral and said he had directed the Chief Secretary to the Government and the Chief of Defence Force to provide the necessary assistance for the funeral arrangements.
Anwar expressed his deepest condolences to Dr Mahathir and the bereaved family, describing Dr Hasmah’s death as a great loss to Malaysian society and the nation. He also paid tribute to her lifelong service and invited participants at an international conference in Kuala Lumpur to recite Surah Al-Fatihah for her.
Dr Hasmah’s death was confirmed by her son, Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir. Her remains were taken from IJN to the family residence in The Mines, Seri Kembangan, Selangor, on Monday morning.
Born on July 12, 1926, Dr Hasmah was one of Malaysia’s pioneering Malay women doctors. She graduated from the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore and went on to make significant contributions to medicine and public health.
She married Dr Mahathir in 1956 and remained by his side throughout his long political career. When Mahathir became prime minister, she served as his spouse while continuing her own public and community work.
Dr Hasmah was particularly associated with public health, maternal and child health, family welfare and community development. Malaysia’s Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said her contributions to medicine, public health and community development would be remembered for generations.
The couple had seven children. Dr Hasmah’s life spanned a century of profound change in Malaysia, from the colonial era and the country’s independence to its transformation into a modern state.
Her death has drawn condolences from Malaysia’s political and social circles. The King and Queen of Malaysia also conveyed their condolences to the family and prayed for the deceased.
With a state funeral, Malaysia will bid farewell to a pioneering medical professional and prominent public figure whose life and work extended well beyond her role as the wife of one of the country’s longest-serving prime ministers.