Tun Dr Siti Hasmah

 

Dr Siti Hasmah, an accomplished medical professional in her own right, is the loving and graceful wife of former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad

Perhaps best known as the wife of Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister—former premier Mahathir Mohamad—Tun Dr Siti Hasmah is also one of the first Malaysian women to achieve great heights in the country.

She was one of the first Malay woman to read medicine, attending King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore after World War II, where she met her husband. Tun Siti Hasmah subsequently obtained her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree from Universiti Malaya and joined the government health service.

She was the first woman to be appointed both Medical Officer in the Maternal and Child Health Department and State Maternal and Child Health Officer. Tun Siti Hasmah also wrote several articles on family medicine, as well as socio-economic factors associated with pregnancy and child-bearing in Malaysia—all before she was thrust into the public spotlight when her husband became the PM in 1981. Leveraging her position, she focused her efforts on improving public health and literacy, advocating family planning and increasing awareness of the dangers of drug abuse.

She was conferred the highest honorary title of Tun upon her husband’s retirement as prime minister in 2003. Tun Siti Hasmah is a published author, with her memoir My Name Is Hasmah (2016) recounting her upbringing, medical career and her experiences as the wife of the PM. It was a role she would once again assume in 2018 when her husband led a new coalition against the ruling party and won, leading him to be appointed prime minister once more until his resignation in 2020. Like her husband, at the time she was the world’s oldest living person to occupy her role.

Impacted Industries


Awards


2019

Lifetime Achievement Award (Asia Human Resource Development)

2003

Order of the Defender of the Realm

1994

Honorary Doctorate in Public Health (Royal College of Physicians)

1988

Kazue McLaren Award (Asia Pacific Consortium in Medical Science)

Did You Know?


As a little girl, Tun Siti Hasmah actually wanted to be a journalist. She is also an accomplished violinist and pianist.

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