After discharge from hospital, tearful Malaysian ex-PM Mahathir visits wife Siti Hasmah’s grave
PETALING JAYA: On the way home from the National Heart Institute on Thursday (Oct 1), the former two-time Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, visited the grave of his wife, Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali.
Photos of Dr Mahathir from the Malay-language daily Sinar Harian showed the 101-year-old former leader in tears. He is said to have offered prayers and scattered flowers during the visit.
Reports say he arrived at around 11:00 on Thursday morning and stayed for about 20 minutes.
The writer and social-political activist Marina Mahathir, the eldest child of Dr Mahathir and Siti Hasmah, visited the grave earlier that day.
Siti Hasmah passed away at around 9:20 am on Monday (Sep 28) at the age of 100. After a state funeral on the same day, she was laid to rest at Pusara Negara.
On the following day, Dr Mahathir was hospitalised at the National Heart Institute for observation and routine treatment.
Sufi Yusoff, his press secretary, told the New Straits Times on Sept 30, “He is exhausted from the emotional ups and downs, the hot weather and a lack of rest. All of that is not a good combination for someone who is 101 years old.”
He added that after his wife’s passing, Dr Mahathir had not been getting enough rest.
Mokhzani Mahathir, Dr Mahathir’s son, sounded a more reassuring note, saying on the same day that the former Prime Minister was “okay” and that there was “no cause of concern” over his hospitalisation, though he acknowledged how stressful the past few days had been for his father.
Siti Hasmah’s death was followed by an outpouring of condolences from Singaporean leaders, including Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and former President Halimah Yacob.
Born on Jul 12, 1926, she became one of the first women doctors in Malaysia after graduating from King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore in 1955.
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In the same year, she joined Malaysia’s Health Ministry, and by 1974, was appointed as the first female state medical officer responsible for maternal and child health.
She married Dr Mahathir in 1956, and the couple went on to have seven children.
Alongside her husband’s high-profile political career, Siti Hasmah also made a name for herself as a champion of public health, maternal and child healthcare, family welfare, women’s development and drug prevention. /TISG