KUALA LUMPUR — The late Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, who was married to former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for 70 years, softened his political image and has long been seen as his pillar of emotional support and stability throughout his life in public office.
Dr Siti Hasmah who died this morning aged 100, and Dr Mahathir, 101, celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary just last month.
Several of their public appearances together throughout Dr Mahathir’s two tenures as prime minister (1981-2003 and 2018-2020) showed their deep affection for each other, even in the spotlight. They never shied from holding hands or teasing each other playfully in public when the occasion allowed it.
In an interview with Bernama in 2018, Dr Mahathir said of his beloved wife, “As you grow older you realise that you cannot change your partner very much and she cannot change me very much and we learn to accept that this is what the person is like”.
Dr Siti Hasmah meanwhile, highlighted the importance of forgiveness for one’s spouse as the key to a lasting marriage.
“People always ask, ‘Don’t you fight?’ Of course we do, and sometimes for stupid reasons. He gets irritated when I cannot see something, and I get upset with him because he cannot hear me — what a pair we are! What we do is to ask for forgiveness as soon as possible. You cannot let a fight drag on for too long, and one party must initiate the process of getting back together,” she said in her autobiography, My Name Is Hasmah.
There are numerous photos and reels of the couple in romantic light captured by the public posted to social media, in addition to those officially released by Dr Mahathir’s social media platforms over the years.
On March 15, 2018, when he first launched his Instagram account, Dr Mahathir chose a photo of the two of them, crediting his wife for “always being by my side”. “As doctors, laughter is indeed the best medicine,” he added in the photo caption.
When his Instagram account hit one million followers, Dr Mahathir again posted a photo of him and Dr Siti Hasmah sharing a laugh while thanking followers for helping his account reach the milestone.
Dr Mahathir, who loves cars and enjoyed taking a spin, has also shared photos and reels of his drives with his wife, with one showing Dr Siti Hasmah sitting behind him and watching him navigate the controls.
The former Langkawi MP who brought development to the island during his first tenure as prime minister, has also made frequent visits there and posted photos of himself, hand-in-hand with Dr Siti Hasmah, as they strolled on a beach.
A photo on social media posted by user @haaziq_mz shows the couple purportedly celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary, and how much both of them valued having fun with each other.
Dr Mahathir and Dr Siti Hasmah married on August 4, 1956, after both studied medicine at the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore.
There, “they struck a relationship which grew day by day”, states her biography on the Perdana Leadership Foundation website — one that endured seven decades and became an example and inspiration to many couples. – September 28, 2026