KUALA LUMPUR: Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, the wife of Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and a public health advocate, died on Monday at the age of 100, the veteran leader’s office said.

Siti Hasmah would be buried at a cemetery in Malaysia’s administrative capital Putrajaya, Mahathir’s office said.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed his condolences on Siti Hasmah’s passing, and said she would be accorded a funeral with full state honours.

“The nation will continue to remember her motherly figure and appreciate her contributions and services,” Anwar said in a statement.

Her surviving husband Mahathir, 101, is credited with modernising Malaysia. He served two stints as premier, totalling more than two decades.

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2026