Siti Hasmah remembered for trailblazing medical career and public service
PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, who died on Sept 28 aged 100, was among the first generation of Malay women to enter the medical profession after the Second World War.
Born in Kampung Jawa, Klang, on July 12, 1926, she was the sixth of 10 children. She attended Methodist Girls’ School, St Mary’s School and Pudu English School before receiving a scholarship to study medicine at King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore.
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She was the only Malay woman in her batch, where she met fellow medical student Mahathir Mohamad. The couple married in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 4, 1956.
After graduating in 1955, Siti Hasmah underwent her housemanship at General Hospital Kuala Lumpur before moving to Alor Setar.
In 1965, she became the first woman medical officer in the Maternal and Child Health Department in Kedah. In 1974, she became the state’s first female State Maternal and Child Health Officer.
Much of her medical career focused on mothers and children. She later became involved in family planning, women’s health, literacy, drug-abuse prevention and mental health, while also serving with various medical, welfare and women’s organisations.
She retired from government service in 1979 and subsequently lectured part-time at the University of Malaya’s Dental Faculty. She remained there until 1981, when Mahathir became prime minister and she assumed the role of the prime minister’s wife.
She held the position for 22 years, during which her work focused on health and social issues, particularly those affecting women, children and rural communities.
In 1992, at the invitation of Queen Fabiola of Belgium, she represented the Asia-Pacific region at a summit on rural women in Geneva.
In 1995, she led Malaysia’s delegation to the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, where she delivered a speech on “Equality, Development and Peace: A Caring World”.
In November 1996, she became president of the International Steering Committee for Economic Advancement of Rural and Island Women for the Asia-Pacific region.
At the invitation of former US first lady Rosalynn Carter, she also served on the National Committee of the World Federation for Mental Health, which Carter chaired.
Beyond medicine and public service, Siti Hasmah had a passion for music and languages.
She played the violin as a schoolgirl but stopped at 16 to concentrate on her studies. She returned to the instrument at the age of 86.
She learnt French in her 70s, passed the examinations and later took up the erhu in December 2015.
In 2018, the violin she had played was auctioned for RM35,000 at a fundraising concert in Putrajaya to raise funds for Pakatan Harapan’s 14th general election campaign.
Her memoir, My Name Is Hasmah, was published in 2016 and chronicled her childhood, medical career, marriage and experiences travelling the world with Mahathir.
She received numerous honours during her lifetime. On Oct 31, 2003, she became the first wife of a Malaysian prime minister to receive the Seri Setia Mahkota Malaysia (SSM), carrying the title Tun.
After 15 years away from the political spotlight, Siti Hasmah, then 91, returned to Putrajaya as the prime minister’s wife when Mahathir became prime minister for a second time following Pakatan Harapan’s victory in the 14th general election on May 9, 2018.
She remained in the role until Mahathir’s resignation on Feb 24, 2020.
Siti Hasmah leaves behind a legacy spanning medicine, public service, women’s empowerment, healthcare and community welfare, as well as a life closely intertwined with Malaysia’s modern political history.
