Dr Hasmah dies, aged 100

Dr Hasmah Ali, the wife of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, passed away today at the age of 100.

It is understood that she died at the National Heart Institute at about 9.25am.

Hasmah was a doctor who used her platform as the prime minister’s wife to advocate maternal health, family planning, literacy, drug abuse prevention and mental health.

Mahathir and Hasmah met in 1947 as students at King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore. They married in August 1956.

They had four children together: Marina, Mirzan, Mokhzani and Mukhriz. They also adopted three children: Melinda, Mazhar and Maizura.

Born sixth in a family of 10, Hasmah prefigured the aspirations of young Malaysian women from her early schooling in Klang through to her medical studies in Singapore.

When she graduated in 1955, she became one of the first Malay women doctors – a trailblazer at a time when opportunities for women were limited.

In civil society, she served as president of Bakti (the welfare association of wives of ministers and deputy ministers) and the Malaysian Girl Guides Association, chairman of the Kedah Family Planning Association and patron of numerous healthcare organisations.

In 2019, after undergoing surgery to remove a breast lump detected early, she urged women to embrace regular health checks.