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A pioneering doctor and the wife of Malaysia’s fourth and seventh prime minister, Tun Dr Hasmah Mohamad Ali devoted decades to health, welfare, education and women’s advancement, while making time for music and Malaysian badminton.
At 16, she put down her violin to concentrate on her studies. At 86, she picked it up again.
Seventy years had passed, but the opportunity to make music was still there. Recalling that return at a school alumni dinner in 2019, Tun Dr Hasmah Mohamad Ali said, “It proves that age should not stop anyone from pursuing their dreams.” [1]
By her 93rd birthday, she was performing for charity, rehearsing beforehand and joking that retirement could wait until 95. [2]
These are some of the moments worth remembering following her death on 28 September 2026, aged 100. Widely known as Tun Dr Siti Hasmah, she died at the National Heart Institute at about 9.20am, according to CNA, which cited her son Mokhzani Mahathir’s confirmation to Bernama. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that she would receive a state funeral. [3]
As the wife of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s fourth and seventh prime minister, she accompanied him through two periods in office, from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020. Across those years, she advocated maternal health, family planning, literacy, drug prevention and mental health. [3][4]
Her life connected medical wards, university halls, badminton courts and diplomatic gatherings. Across those settings, the record of her work sits alongside glimpses of humour and a willingness to keep taking part.
Seventy years had passed, but the opportunity to make music was still there. Recalling that return at a school alumni dinner in 2019, Tun Dr Hasmah Mohamad Ali said, “It proves that age should not stop anyone from pursuing their dreams.” [1]
By her 93rd birthday, she was performing for charity, rehearsing beforehand and joking that retirement could wait until 95. [2]
These are some of the moments worth remembering following her death on 28 September 2026, aged 100. Widely known as Tun Dr Siti Hasmah, she died at the National Heart Institute at about 9.20am, according to CNA, which cited her son Mokhzani Mahathir’s confirmation to Bernama. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that she would receive a state funeral. [3]
As the wife of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia’s fourth and seventh prime minister, she accompanied him through two periods in office, from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020. Across those years, she advocated maternal health, family planning, literacy, drug prevention and mental health. [3][4]
Her life connected medical wards, university halls, badminton courts and diplomatic gatherings. Across those settings, the record of her work sits alongside glimpses of humour and a willingness to keep taking part.
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| Photo Credit: Astro Awani |
Just five days before her death, she gave a special performance at Multimedia University’s Beyond the Stage 2026 event in Cyberjaya. The university’s account records her appearance on 23 September at an evening hosted by the Sounds of Hasmah Symphony Orchestra. [5]
Music had remained part of her life right into her hundredth year.
A Medical Career That Broke New Ground
Long before those performances, there was a young woman pursuing medicine. After the Second World War, Dr Hasmah entered Singapore’s King Edward VII College of Medicine on a scholarship. According to the Perdana Leadership Foundation, she was the only Malay woman in her intake. [6]
She graduated in 1955, completed her housemanship at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital and later worked as a medical officer in Alor Setar. Her responsibilities included health programmes for rural communities, with maternal and child health becoming a central part of her career. [6]
The National University of Singapore records that she became the first woman in Malaysia appointed as a medical officer in the Maternal and Child Health Department in 1965. In 1974, she became the first female doctor appointed as State Maternal and Child Health Officer. [7]
Those achievements came years before her husband first became prime minister in 1981. When NUS presented her with its Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2018, it recognised her sustained contribution to public health and her example to women doctors. [3][7]
A Public Role That Went Beyond Being the Prime Minister’s Wife
When her husband became prime minister, Dr Hasmah’s public responsibilities widened. As president of BAKTI, the welfare organisation of ministers’ and deputy ministers’ wives, she worked to educate young people about drug abuse. She attended Nancy Reagan’s First Ladies’ Conference on Drug Abuse in Washington in 1985 and represented Malaysia at an international conference on drug abuse and illicit trafficking in Vienna in 1987. [6]
Women’s opportunities were another part of her national contribution. In September 1995, she led Malaysia’s delegation to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. [6][8]
Her advocacy extended to women whose livelihoods were far from the conference halls. Bernama records her participation in the 1992 Geneva summit on rural women’s economic advancement and her appointment in 1995 to chair the Asia-Pacific regional steering committee for the economic advancement of rural and island women. [9]
In Malaysia, she officiated a rural women’s entrepreneurship seminar in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, organised with Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia and Institut Perkembangan Minda. Education, training, microfinance and entrepreneurship were among the practical routes she supported to improve rural women’s opportunities. [9]
These activities give substance to her years as the prime minister’s wife. Her public role brought attention to issues that touched everyday family life, from young people’s health to women’s ability to earn a living.
The Violin She Returned to After 70 Years
Her interest in education also brought her to Multimedia University, where she served as its first chancellor from 1997 to 2012. That relationship continued long after her tenure ended. [2]
At a university charity hi-tea on her 93rd birthday in July 2019, she played the violin for about 450 guests. The performance lasted 15 minutes, and she also launched an endowment fund to benefit students and researchers. [2]
Singer Adibah Noor pointed out a detail from the previous day. Dr Hasmah had turned up to rehearse.
Even with a birthday to celebrate and decades of public appearances behind her, there was still preparation to do. Then came her advice to the university community, delivered with a joke.
“The retirement age is 95.” [2]
A 'Mother' to Malaysia’s Badminton Players
Her connection with Malaysia’s badminton players offers another memorable glimpse of her personality.
At a 2019 event, Dr Hasmah recalled that doubles partners Cheah Soon Kit and Soo Beng Kiang had not been seeing eye to eye during the 1992 Thomas Cup campaign. Her response, she said, was to speak to them separately and tell each that the other was his best partner. [10]
The pair went on to clinch the winning point against Indonesia, securing Malaysia’s first Thomas Cup victory in 25 years.
Recounting the episode, she described her role as badminton patron as being a mother to the players, helping them work together as a team. Bernama reported that she became tearful when reunited with members of the winning squad 27 years after that victory. [10]
'He Said Yes, So Can Lah!'
A much lighter exchange unfolded during then Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan’s visit to Malaysia in November 2018. As they posed for photographs, Dr Hasmah asked whether she could hold his hand. He agreed, and the video circulated online.
Asked about it afterwards, she offered an explanation with unmistakably Malaysian phrasing.
“He (Imran) said yes, so can lah!” [11]
Her own long partnership began in medical school, where she met Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. They married in 1956, raised a family of seven children and marked their 70th wedding anniversary in August 2026. [3]
'But I’m Just Dr Hasmah'
Yet after decades of being recognised wherever she went, there was still something she wanted to clarify about herself.
In a 2024 podcast interview, she explained that her name was Hasmah. The familiar “Siti” prefix, she said, had been added later, and she asked people to stop using it. The Star reported her simple correction.
“But I’m just Dr Hasmah.” [12]
It is a fitting way to remember her, with the title she earned and the name she wanted. Dr Hasmah, whose service to Malaysia stretched from maternal and child health to women’s opportunities, education and welfare. Alongside those contributions are the stories of a badminton patron bringing players together, a familiar figure beside a prime minister through two eras, and a woman who picked up her violin again at 86 and kept playing.
[1] Bernama via Malay Mail, 7 July 2019. Dr Siti Hasmah wows guests with violin performance.
[2] Bernama via Malay Mail, 12 July 2019. Dr Siti Hasmah celebrates 93rd birthday... by playing the violin for charity.
[3] CNA, 28 September 2026. Siti Hasmah, wife of former Malaysian PM Mahathir, dies aged 100.
[4] Bernama via Malay Mail, 28 September 2026. Remembering the legacy of Dr Hasmah, ‘Ibu Negara’ Malaysia.
[5] Multimedia University, 25 September 2026. Tun Dr Hasmah Graces Beyond the Stage 2026 with Special Performance.
[6] Perdana Leadership Foundation. Tun Dr Hasmah Bt Mohd Ali, biographical profile.
[7] National University of Singapore, 13 November 2018. Malaysia's PM receives top honour from NUS.
[8] United Nations. Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing 1995, statements by governments.
[9] Bernama, 28 September 2026. Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Leaves Behind A Legacy Of Rural Women Economic Empowerment.
[10] Bernama, 9 October 2019. Matriarch of Thomas Cup '92 walks down memory lane.
[11] Malaysiakini, 5 December 2018. 'He said yes, so can lah!' – Siti Hasmah recounts Imran hand-holding.
[12] The Star, 27 October 2024. 'My name is just Hasmah, not Siti Hasmah'.
Music had remained part of her life right into her hundredth year.
A Medical Career That Broke New Ground
Long before those performances, there was a young woman pursuing medicine. After the Second World War, Dr Hasmah entered Singapore’s King Edward VII College of Medicine on a scholarship. According to the Perdana Leadership Foundation, she was the only Malay woman in her intake. [6]
She graduated in 1955, completed her housemanship at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital and later worked as a medical officer in Alor Setar. Her responsibilities included health programmes for rural communities, with maternal and child health becoming a central part of her career. [6]
The National University of Singapore records that she became the first woman in Malaysia appointed as a medical officer in the Maternal and Child Health Department in 1965. In 1974, she became the first female doctor appointed as State Maternal and Child Health Officer. [7]
Those achievements came years before her husband first became prime minister in 1981. When NUS presented her with its Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2018, it recognised her sustained contribution to public health and her example to women doctors. [3][7]
A Public Role That Went Beyond Being the Prime Minister’s Wife
When her husband became prime minister, Dr Hasmah’s public responsibilities widened. As president of BAKTI, the welfare organisation of ministers’ and deputy ministers’ wives, she worked to educate young people about drug abuse. She attended Nancy Reagan’s First Ladies’ Conference on Drug Abuse in Washington in 1985 and represented Malaysia at an international conference on drug abuse and illicit trafficking in Vienna in 1987. [6]
Women’s opportunities were another part of her national contribution. In September 1995, she led Malaysia’s delegation to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. [6][8]
Her advocacy extended to women whose livelihoods were far from the conference halls. Bernama records her participation in the 1992 Geneva summit on rural women’s economic advancement and her appointment in 1995 to chair the Asia-Pacific regional steering committee for the economic advancement of rural and island women. [9]
In Malaysia, she officiated a rural women’s entrepreneurship seminar in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, organised with Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia and Institut Perkembangan Minda. Education, training, microfinance and entrepreneurship were among the practical routes she supported to improve rural women’s opportunities. [9]
These activities give substance to her years as the prime minister’s wife. Her public role brought attention to issues that touched everyday family life, from young people’s health to women’s ability to earn a living.
The Violin She Returned to After 70 Years
Her interest in education also brought her to Multimedia University, where she served as its first chancellor from 1997 to 2012. That relationship continued long after her tenure ended. [2]
At a university charity hi-tea on her 93rd birthday in July 2019, she played the violin for about 450 guests. The performance lasted 15 minutes, and she also launched an endowment fund to benefit students and researchers. [2]
Singer Adibah Noor pointed out a detail from the previous day. Dr Hasmah had turned up to rehearse.
Even with a birthday to celebrate and decades of public appearances behind her, there was still preparation to do. Then came her advice to the university community, delivered with a joke.
“The retirement age is 95.” [2]
A 'Mother' to Malaysia’s Badminton Players
Her connection with Malaysia’s badminton players offers another memorable glimpse of her personality.
At a 2019 event, Dr Hasmah recalled that doubles partners Cheah Soon Kit and Soo Beng Kiang had not been seeing eye to eye during the 1992 Thomas Cup campaign. Her response, she said, was to speak to them separately and tell each that the other was his best partner. [10]
The pair went on to clinch the winning point against Indonesia, securing Malaysia’s first Thomas Cup victory in 25 years.
Recounting the episode, she described her role as badminton patron as being a mother to the players, helping them work together as a team. Bernama reported that she became tearful when reunited with members of the winning squad 27 years after that victory. [10]
'He Said Yes, So Can Lah!'
A much lighter exchange unfolded during then Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan’s visit to Malaysia in November 2018. As they posed for photographs, Dr Hasmah asked whether she could hold his hand. He agreed, and the video circulated online.
Asked about it afterwards, she offered an explanation with unmistakably Malaysian phrasing.
“He (Imran) said yes, so can lah!” [11]
Her own long partnership began in medical school, where she met Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. They married in 1956, raised a family of seven children and marked their 70th wedding anniversary in August 2026. [3]
'But I’m Just Dr Hasmah'
Yet after decades of being recognised wherever she went, there was still something she wanted to clarify about herself.
In a 2024 podcast interview, she explained that her name was Hasmah. The familiar “Siti” prefix, she said, had been added later, and she asked people to stop using it. The Star reported her simple correction.
“But I’m just Dr Hasmah.” [12]
It is a fitting way to remember her, with the title she earned and the name she wanted. Dr Hasmah, whose service to Malaysia stretched from maternal and child health to women’s opportunities, education and welfare. Alongside those contributions are the stories of a badminton patron bringing players together, a familiar figure beside a prime minister through two eras, and a woman who picked up her violin again at 86 and kept playing.
[1] Bernama via Malay Mail, 7 July 2019. Dr Siti Hasmah wows guests with violin performance.
[2] Bernama via Malay Mail, 12 July 2019. Dr Siti Hasmah celebrates 93rd birthday... by playing the violin for charity.
[3] CNA, 28 September 2026. Siti Hasmah, wife of former Malaysian PM Mahathir, dies aged 100.
[4] Bernama via Malay Mail, 28 September 2026. Remembering the legacy of Dr Hasmah, ‘Ibu Negara’ Malaysia.
[5] Multimedia University, 25 September 2026. Tun Dr Hasmah Graces Beyond the Stage 2026 with Special Performance.
[6] Perdana Leadership Foundation. Tun Dr Hasmah Bt Mohd Ali, biographical profile.
[7] National University of Singapore, 13 November 2018. Malaysia's PM receives top honour from NUS.
[8] United Nations. Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing 1995, statements by governments.
[9] Bernama, 28 September 2026. Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Leaves Behind A Legacy Of Rural Women Economic Empowerment.
[10] Bernama, 9 October 2019. Matriarch of Thomas Cup '92 walks down memory lane.
[11] Malaysiakini, 5 December 2018. 'He said yes, so can lah!' – Siti Hasmah recounts Imran hand-holding.
[12] The Star, 27 October 2024. 'My name is just Hasmah, not Siti Hasmah'.
