Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, the wife of Malaysia’s former and longest-serving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, has died at the age of 100.
Siti Hasmah, a public health advocate and prominent figure in Malaysia, died on Monday, Mahathir’s office said.
Her funeral was scheduled to take place on Monday evening, with her burial at a Muslim cemetery in Putrajaya, Malaysia’s administrative capital.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed his condolences following her death and said she would be given a funeral with full state honours.
“The nation will continue to remember her motherly figure and appreciate her contributions and services,” Anwar said in a statement.
Mahathir, 101, served as Malaysia’s prime minister for more than two decades across two separate terms. During his first tenure, from 1981 to 2003, he oversaw a period of rapid industrial growth that helped transform Malaysia into one of Southeast Asia’s major economies.
He returned to office in 2018 at the age of 92, becoming the world’s oldest serving prime minister at the time, after leading an opposition coalition to defeat then-Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was implicated in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB financial scandal. Mahathir’s second term ended in 2020 after his governing coalition collapsed amid political disputes.
Mahathir and Siti Hasmah met while studying medicine in Singapore in the late 1940s. They married and celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in August. The couple had seven children, including businessman Mokhzani Mahathir, social activist Marina Mahathir and politician Mukhriz Mahathir.
Siti Hasmah was widely known for her work in public health, particularly in maternal healthcare and family planning. She became the first woman appointed as a medical officer in Malaysia’s Kedah state.
Mahathir previously described his wife as a major source of support in his success and praised her determination to obtain a university degree at a time when higher education was uncommon among Malay women.
Siti Hasmah was also known for her modest personality and sense of humour, which contrasted with her husband's more outspoken public style.
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