Tun M needs time to come to terms with wife's death

KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad needs some time to come to terms with the death of his wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, said his son, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir.

Mukhriz shared an update on his father's condition, who is currently under observation at the National Heart Institute (IJN) here.

He said it was better for his father to remain at IJN for now as being at home would remind him of Dr Siti Hasmah, who died on Monday.

He said this could affect his father's physical health.

"I think if he were at home, everything he saw would remind him of my late mother, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali.

"So it is better for Tun Mahathir to remain at IJN for now, perhaps until he fully recovers," he said.

Dr Siti Hasmah died at IJN at the age of 100.

Born in Kampung Jawa, Klang, Selangor, in 1926, she studied medicine at the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore on a government scholarship and was the only Malay woman in her group.

It was there that she met Dr Mahathir before they married in 1956.

She was also recognised for her contributions to maternal and child health and community wellbeing.