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Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali
Spouse of Prime Minister of Malaysia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hasmah binti Mohamad Ali[2] (Jawi: حسمه بنت محمد علي; born 12 July 1926), commonly known as Siti Hasmah, is a Malaysian physician and civil servant who was the spouse of the prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020, as the wife of Mahathir Mohamad.[3][4] In Malaysia, Siti Hasmah is respectfully known as Ibu Negara (Mother of the Nation).[5] At the age of 98, she is currently the oldest-living spouse of a prime minister of Malaysia.
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Born in Klang, Selangor. Siti Hasmah was chancellor of the Multimedia University. As a doctor in Kedah, she actively promoted public and rural health by organizing initiatives to improve hygiene, encourage healthy lifestyles, and provide immunizations for children.[6]
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Early life and education
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Siti Hasmah was born on 12 July 1926 in Klang, Selangor, as an ethnic Malay (retired) physician of Minangkabau descent from Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Siti Hasmah's father, Haji Mohd Ali, was a government officer, while her mother, Hajah Siti Khatijah binti Ahmad, was a housewife.[7]
Siti Hasmah, the sixth of ten siblings, hails from a family distinguished by significant contributions to Malaysia's development. Her elder brother, Ismail Mohamed Ali, served as the second Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia from 1962 to 1980 and was the inaugural chairman of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB). Another brother, General (Rtd) Mohamed Hashim Mohd Ali, held the position of Chief of Defence Forces from 1987 to 1992. Additionally, her brother Ahmad Razali Mohd Ali was the 10th Menteri Besar of Selangor, and her sister, Saleha Mohd Ali, was instrumental in the founding of UMNO and was a prominent figure in Malaysia's medical community.[8]
Siti Hasmah schooled in SMK St. Mary. She obtained her MBBS from the University of Malaya in Singapore.[9] She was one of the first Malay women to enroll for a medical course at the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore (now the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine).[10][11]
In 1955 she graduated as a medical doctor from the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, which was then located in Singapore. She subsequently joined the government health service. She was one of the first Malay woman doctors in then Malaya.[12]
Siti Hasmah achieved several firsts at the Ministry of Health, including being the first woman in Malaysia to serve as a medical officer in the Maternal and Child Health Department in 1965.[13] In 1966, she attended a public health certificate program at the School of Public Health, the University of Michigan.[14]
In 1974, she was the first woman to be appointed State Maternal and Child Health Officer in Kedah. During her tenure, Siti Hasmah successfully reduced the infant mortality rate from 75 per 1,000 to only 6 per 1,000.[15]
She is also the author of several articles on family medicine and the socioeconomic factors associated with pregnancy and childbearing in Malaysia.[16] Additionally, Siti Hasmah had once served as a lecturer at the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya.[16]
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Spouse of the Prime Minister of Malaysia
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Siti Hasmah used her position as the wife of the Prime Minister to advocate for women's health, family planning, drug abuse control, and adult literacy.[17] She also served in various positions as follows:
- President of the Malaysian Girl Guides Association[17]
- Chairman of the Kedah Family Planning Association[17]
- President of the Malaysian Medical Association Foundation[17]
- President of the Association for the Rehabilitation of Handicapped Children[17]
- Vice-President of the Federation of Family Planning Associations of Malaysia[17]
- Patron of the Malaysian Association of Maternal Health and Neonate[17]
- Patron of the Malaysian Pediatric Association[17]
- Patron of the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM)[18]
As Patron of the Pan Pacific South Asia Women's Association, (PPSEAWA) Malaysia, Siti Hasmah attended and presented keynote addresses at the Triennial Conferences in Tokyo (1984), Bangkok (1991) and Tonga (1994).[19] She also once served as the first Chancellor of Multimedia University (MMU) for 15 years, from 1997 to 2012.[20]
Siti Hasmah played a key role in bringing Malaysia and its women into the international spotlight. She met and held discussions with prominent figures, including Nancy Reagan, wife of U.S. President Ronald Reagan; Rosalynn Carter, wife of U.S. President Jimmy Carter; Queen Fabiola of Belgium; Queen Noor of Jordan; Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom; and Cherie Blair, wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whom she had once engaged with in diplomatic conversations.[21]
In September 1995, Siti Hasmah led the Malaysian delegation to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, where she delivered a speech titled “Equality, Development and Peace: A Caring World”.[22]
In August 1999, a man attempted to ram a government vehicle carrying Siti Hasmah, but was intercepted by security personnel and eventually apprehended.[23]
In March 2000, Siti Hasmah led a Malaysian delegation on a five-day goodwill visit to Iraq to assess the impact of economic sanctions on women and children. The delegation visited hospitals, orphanages, and old folks' homes, bringing essential medical supplies. During the trip, she met Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and was later invited for a brief meeting with President Saddam Hussein.[24] She later recalled that the meeting was kept secret until it occurred, even from her security team and Mahathir, and that during their conversation, Saddam expressed gratitude to Malaysia for its support in efforts to lift the sanctions.[25]
In October 2003, before her tenure as the wife of the Prime Minister ended, Siti Hasmah chaired the First Ladies Dialogue on "Women, Peace, and Development" during the 10th Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit. The dialogue focused on women's roles in nation-building, and a 10-point resolution was submitted to promote sustainable development and gender equity.[26]
Siti Hasmah again served as the wife of the prime minister after her husband was reappointed on 10 May 2018.[27] Later in November, she launched Malaysia's first 24-hour bookstore, BookXcess Cyberjaya, where she signed a plaque inscribed with the words: ‘A book warrior and a true believer in the power of reading’.[28][29] Around the same time, a video of Siti Hasmah asking Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan if she could hold his hand went viral, with commentators describing the moment as refreshing and surpassing conventional diplomacy.[30]
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Social contributions
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Drug abuse
As the President of BAKTI (Welfare Club of the Wives of Ministers and Deputy Ministers), Siti Hasmah actively participated in initiatives to raise awareness among young people about the dangers of drug abuse. In 1985, she accepted an invitation from United States First Lady Nancy Reagan to attend the First Ladies' Conference on Drug Abuse in Washington D.C.. Two years later, in 1987, she represented Malaysia at the International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Vienna.[17]
Rural women
Siti Hasmah was also active internationally in promoting the cause of rural women. In 1992, at the invitation of Queen Fabiola of Belgium, she attended the First Ladies Summit for the Economic Advancement of Rural Women in Geneva. She was chosen as one of the six Core-Group Initiators of First Ladies representing the Asia-Pacific Region.[17]
In February 1994, Siti Hasmah participated in the ISC Council Meeting held in Brussels. The following year, in September 1995, she was named Chairperson of the Regional Steering Committee on the Economic Advancement of Rural and Island Women for the Asia-Pacific region. By November 1996, she had assumed the role of president.[17]
Mental health
Being a medical doctor by training, Siti Hasmah also has an interest in mental health. Former First Lady of the United States, Rosalynn Carter invited Siti Hasmah to serve on the National Committee of the World Federation of Mental Health which Carter chaired.[19]
Personal life
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In August 1956, Siti Hasmah married Mahathir Mohamad. They have seven children: Marina, Mirzan, Melinda, Mokhzani, Mukhriz, Maizura, and Mazhar.[12] They met as students while studying at the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore in 1947.[31] Their son Mukhriz served twice as the Menteri Besar of Kedah, from 2013 to 2016 and again from 2018 to 2020. In Siti Hasmah's 2016 memoir, My Name is Hasmah, she described Mahathir as her 'hero' who supported her throughout her studies, particularly when she struggled with Physics and Chemistry.[32] She also referred to Mahathir as her 'boy from the Paddy Fields State', a nickname highlighting his origins from Kedah.[33]
Known to be a loving person, Siti Hasmah is a cat lover and music enthusiast.[34] She began learning the violin at 16 but stopped after a few years, only to resume playing more than 70 years later.[35] By 2018, her violin was auctioned for RM35,000 to support Pakatan Harapan’s campaign for the 14th General Election.[36] Additionally, in her 70s, she dedicated herself to learning French and successfully passed the examinations.[37] In December 2015, Siti Hasmah learned to play a new instrument, the erhu.[38]
Siti Hasmah often accompanied Mahathir on official visits and holidays, starting with their first trip to Japan in 1961. Over the years, she has traveled to nearly every country, including remote islands and Antarctica, with Afghanistan being the only exception. Japan remains their favorite holiday destination. Siti Hasmah once mentioned that she watched Star Wars with Mahathir in Houston, US.[39]
Unlike many Malaysian Muslim women who follow the tradition of wearing the tudung (headscarf), Siti Hasmah does not wear one.[40]
In March 2019, Siti Hasmah underwent surgery to remove a small lump in her left breast after a mammogram and biopsy confirmed its presence. After recovering, she shared her experience of undergoing breast cancer treatment during the Kuala Lumpur-level Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, urging women to prioritize early screening and treatment.[41][42]
On 26 August 2019, Siti Hasmah was admitted to Prince Court Medical Centre due to mild food poisoning.[43][44] She had been scheduled to accompany Mahathir on his three-day official visit to Vietnam.[45] While in Hanoi, Mahathir assured reporters that her condition had improved and expressed his intention to visit her upon returning to Kuala Lumpur, saying, “I miss her… we have been married for 60 years.”[46] After three days of treatment, Siti Hasmah was discharged from the hospital on 29 August.[47]
On 27 October 2024, Siti Hasmah revealed in an interview on the Coffee with Ryan podcast that her original name did not include "Siti". She explained that the prefix was added in the 1970s when she was appointed as a medical officer, as "Siti" was a popular trend at the time. She requested that people no longer use "Siti" before her name.[48]
Siti Hasmah is also the honorary advisor of the Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF).[49]
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Awards and recognitions
In popular culture
Siti Hasmah has been portrayed in theater, documentaries, and films. She was portrayed by Erra Fazira in the theater Mahathir, the Musical (2010) and in Teater Tun Siti Hasmah (2012), a Malaysian play directed by Erma Fatima and starring Lisa Surihani, Eja, Nazim Othman, and Esma Danial. The play, staged at Istana Budaya, focused on her early life as a doctor and medical officer before becoming Malaysia's First Lady.
She was also portrayed in two films—by Fadhilah Mansor in Kapsul (2015) and by Fauziah Latiff in Mahathir: The Journey (2022 or 2023), as it was shot in 2019 and early 2020 before the Movement control order COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia.
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Publications
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References
External links
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