Paying tribute to Siti Hasmah following her death today, Wan Azizah said the former prime minister’s wife had personally taught her how to conduct herself with dignity and grace.
PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali showed that a woman’s strength did not necessarily come through a loud voice, but through patience, wisdom, gentleness and steadfastness, said former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
Paying tribute to Siti Hasmah following her death today, Wan Azizah said the former prime minister’s wife had personally taught her how to conduct herself with dignity and grace.
READ MORE: Dr Siti Hasmah A tribute to Ibu Negara: The unheard pulse of a nation
READ MORE: Tun Dr Siti Hasmah to be accorded state funeral, says Anwar
“For me personally, Tun was not merely a figure whom I respected. Tun taught me how to conduct myself with dignity and grace. Her wisdom, together with her warm and pleasant nature, made her someone who was very easy to love,” she told theSun.
The two women, both doctors, had been friends for years before the political fallout between their husbands, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, drove them apart.
Wan Azizah had previously recalled how Siti Hasmah advised and helped her while their husbands were in government. The two also played badminton together.
Their friendship was rekindled after almost two decades of separation, when Siti Hasmah visited Wan Azizah at her home in Segambut in November 2016.
The meeting was their first face-to-face encounter in 18 years and ended with an emotional embrace, tears, laughter and an exchange of gifts.
Siti Hasmah later described Wan Azizah as being like a younger sister, while also revealing that her late elder sister, Saleha Mohd Ali, had played a role in bringing Wan Azizah and Anwar together.
For Wan Azizah, Siti Hasmah’s strength had always been evident despite her gentle manner.
“As a woman and also a doctor, I have always held Tun in the highest regard. Behind her gentleness and smile was the strength of a woman who had lived through so many chapters in the journey of her family, society and country.
“Tun showed that a woman’s strength does not necessarily come through a loud voice. Sometimes that strength is reflected through patience, wisdom, gentleness and steadfastness in carrying oneself,” she said.
Wan Azizah added that Siti Hasmah’s passing marked the loss of a remarkable woman who had become part of Malaysia’s history.
“For me, Tun’s passing also means the loss of a person who left behind an example and memories of great meaning,” she said.
“Thank you for having taught us and shown us how a woman can stand with knowledge, dignity and grace.”
Wan Azizah and her family extended their deepest condolences to Mahathir and the entire family.
Siti Hasmah passed away at the National Heart Institute in Kuala Lumpur today, aged 100.
Her remains will be prayed over after Asar today at Masjid As-Syarif, Taman Sungai Besi Indah, Kuala Lumpur, before being laid to rest at the Presint 20 Muslim Cemetery in Putrajaya.
