Tun Dr Siti Hasmah reported to have died aged 100

KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, the wife of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has reportedly died today at the age of 100.

According to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), she is understood to have passed away at the National Heart Institute (IJN) at about 9.20am.

As of this report, there has been no official statement from the family, Dr Mahathir's office or IJN on her death. Further details, including funeral arrangements, have yet to be announced.

Among the earliest Malay women doctors

Dr Siti Hasmah was born in Klang, Selangor, on July 12, 1926, and turned 100 in July.

She was among the first Malay women to study medicine at the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore, graduating in 1955.

It was at the college that she met Dr Mahathir. The couple married on Aug 5, 1956 and had seven children.

She was the first woman medical officer in the Maternal and Child Health Department, and was later appointed Kedah's State Maternal and Child Health Officer.

Wife of a two-time prime minister

Dr Siti Hasmah was the prime minister's wife throughout both of Dr Mahathir's administrations, from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020.

During that time, she used her position to champion maternal health, family planning, literacy, drug abuse prevention and mental health.

She was also the first chancellor of Multimedia University, from 1997 to 2012.