Tun Dr Siti Hasmah, Pioneering Doctor and Former PM's Wife, Dies at 100

Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali died on September 28 at the National Heart Institute (IJN) at the age of 100. Her son, Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir, confirmed the passing to Bernama. She was the wife of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Born on July 12, 1926, in Kampung Jawa, Klang, she was the sixth of ten children. She graduated from the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore in 1955, the only Malay woman in her cohort. She married Dr Mahathir on August 4, 1956, and the couple had seven children, 18 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Her medical career began at Kuala Lumpur Hospital before moving to Alor Setar Hospital in Kedah. Witnessing rural healthcare gaps there shaped her lifelong advocacy. In 1965, she became the first woman appointed as a medical officer in the Maternal and Child Health Department.

She championed immunisation, rural women's development, drug abuse prevention, and adult literacy. Her public service extended internationally, advocating for similar causes abroad. She had initially aspired to be a journalist before pursuing medicine.