SEPTEMBER 30 — We, the members of G25, join Malaysians throughout the country in mourning the passing of Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, and extend our deepest condolences to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, her children and grandchildren, her extended family, and to all who knew and loved her.
Tun Dr Siti Hasmah occupied a special place in the hearts of Malaysians. For decades, she was a familiar and reassuring presence in our national life. Many came to know her affectionately as Ibu Negara, not merely because of the position she held beside the Prime Minister, but because of the warmth, grace and genuine concern for people that she brought to her public life.
Her contribution to Malaysia began long before she became Ibu Negara. As one of the earliest Malay women to enter the medical profession, she chose to serve where the needs were greatest. Her years in public health, particularly her work with mothers and children in rural communities, brought healthcare, health education and immunisation closer to families who had limited access to them. She understood that improving the health of a nation also meant reaching people who lived far from cities, in their villages and homes.
That spirit of service continued throughout her life. She lent her voice and time to the advancement of women, education, family welfare, literacy, the prevention of drug abuse and the care of vulnerable communities. She served as the first Chancellor of Multimedia University and played a longstanding role in supporting Malaysian sport, particularly badminton. Her public service also extended beyond our shores, where she represented Malaysia in international efforts concerning women, families and development.
Yet the measure of Tun Dr Siti Hasmah’s life cannot be found only in the offices she held or the causes she supported. There was a humanity about her that made her presence memorable. With her warmth she connected with all those she met, carrying the visibility that came with public life with a quiet dignity that never seemed to diminish her kindness.
For many of our members, these are not simply matters of public record. They have their own stories of Tun Dr Siti Hasmah. Encounters and memories from different stages of their lives, whether in the course of public service, professional life, education, social and community work, or at national occasions. Dato Dr Narimah Awin, for example, recalls meeting her as a young medical officer at the A&E of GHKL in the late 1970s, when Tun Dr Siti Hasmah went out of her way to greet and warmly embrace an assistant nurse who had once worked under her in Kedah several years before. Years later, when Dato Dr Narimah became Director of the Institute for Public Health, she found that staff still spoke fondly of “Kak Hasmah”, remembering how she treated everyone with equal respect and warmth, remembered their birthdays and even invited some to her home for tea. On another occasion, when Tun Dr Siti Hasmah brought her maid’s children to a paediatrician because their mother was busy, the lift became stuck. Tun Dr Siti Hasmah reassured those around her that “this can happen to anyone”. Even many years later during a book launch when Dato Dr Narimah had long retired and Tun Dr Siti Hasmah’s eyesight had begun to fail, she quietly asked Dato Dr Narimah to whisper the names of the staff she was greeting so that she would not make a mistake. Each story is different, but many share the same thread: that she left a personal impression on those she met. These memories, held by our members and by countless Malaysians, are perhaps the most intimate measure of the affection and respect she inspired.
She was, of course, a devoted wife who stood beside Tun Dr Mahathir through the extraordinary demands and challenges of a long public career. But her own life and achievements deserve to be remembered in their own right. She gave the nation a lifetime of service through medicine, education, advocacy, charity, sport and, perhaps most importantly, through the example of a life lived with compassion and dedicated to duty, beautifully softened by a lifelong passion for music and the timeless melodies she shared with the world. She was indeed an inspiring woman.
G25 will always remember Tun Dr Siti Hasmah with gratitude and affection. Her passing is not only a loss to her family and those closest to her, but to the generations of Malaysians who had the privilege of seeing her serve the country across so many decades.
May Allahyarhamah Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali be granted Allah’s mercy and placed among the righteous. May her family be given strength and solace, and may the memory of her long and generous service to Malaysia remain with us for many years to come.
* G25 Malaysia is a Malay-Muslim group of former civil servants and individuals with deep experience across diverse fields, united by a shared vision for a more just, cohesive, and progressive Malaysia.
** This is the personal opinion of the writers or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
