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 D...
