CAN there be anyone who does not love Tun Dr Siti Hasmah?
The news fell like a hammer on Monday morning, striking the nation with the finality of a nail in a coffin: Malaysia has lost her "Mother to the Nation".
Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali lived to 100 — a ripe old age, as many would describe it. But as I mourn her, I think of my own mother who passed away last year at the same age.
A hundred years is a long life, but when it is your mother, it never feels long enough.
We know they cannot stay with us forever. Yet, when they go, something of them remains — in the values they taught us, in the kindness they showed us, in the lives they touched, and in the memories we carry quietly in our hearts.
Dr Siti Hasmah leaves behind a nation of such memories. But she has left us something far more enduring: a way of being Malaysian — with kindness, humility, tolerance, compassion and inclusiveness.
So, I return to my original question: Can there be anyone who does not love Tun Dr Siti Hasmah?
She was a doctor foremost — one of the earliest Malay women doctors in our nation. She chose to serve where she was most needed, working tirelessly in rural clinics in her beloved home state of Kedah, educating the rakyat on hygiene and championing child immunisation.
She did not begin her life of service in the grandeur of national office. She began with people.
And what made her extraordinary was that she never changed. She was the same woman in a village clinic as she was at a state function as the spouse of the prime minister of Malaysia.
Her warmth, grace and humility were never a matter of ceremony. They were simply who she was.
Perhaps that is why Malaysians of every race and religion feel so much affection for her.
For decades, she stood steadfastly beside her husband through his long service to the country — a constant pillar of unwavering support, quiet strength and dignity through the many chapters of Malaysia's nation-building.
But Dr Siti Hasmah was more than the wife of a prime minister. She was, in her own right, a woman who embodied the Malaysia we aspire to be — tolerant, compassionate and inclusive; a Malaysia that celebrates its diversity rather than allowing differences of race and religion to divide us.
It was in recognition of these hallmarks of her true leadership, and of her enduring role as an icon who inspired Malaysians to embrace our multicultural, multiracial and multireligious identity, that the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (Asli) under our chairman Tan Sri Sir Jeffrey Cheah conferred upon her the title “Ibu Negara” on Aug 21, 2019.
The timing was significant. At a moment when narratives of race and religion were increasingly being used to divide our people, Dr Siti Hasmah represented something profoundly different. Her life spoke of service, humanity and unity. She reminded us, simply by the way she lived, that our diversity is not our weakness. It is part of what makes Malaysia who we are.
That same evening, the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation launched the “Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali Scholarship for Creative Arts and Music” with an initial commitment of RM10mil so that her values and legacy could continue to inspire future generations.
The scholarship provides opportunities for talented young Malaysians from all backgrounds to pursue their dreams in the arts and music, bringing people together through creativity, culture and a shared love of the arts. It funds 100% of tuition fees for talented music students at Sunway University pursuing the Diploma in Music, BA (Hons) in Music Performance, and BA (Hons) Contemporary Music (Audio Technology).
And so, her name will continue to live on: not merely in photographs, books or memories of a remarkable woman but also in the Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali Scholars — talented young Malaysians whose lives and dreams are given wings through the gift of music and the arts. Through them, her legacy of grace, humanity and service will continue to inspire generations to come.
Perhaps that is the most beautiful way to honour a life and the legacy we must not allow to fade.
Thank you, Dr Siti Hasmah. Thank you for the life you lived. Thank you for the example you gave. Thank you for reminding us of the Malaysia we can still be.
Rest in peace now, dearest Ibu Negara.
And like all beloved mothers, you will be cherished forever.
PROF DATUK DR ELIZABETH LEE
CEO
Sunway Education Group
(The writer is a veteran in the field of private higher education and is also an advocate for women in leadership. She has been recognised both locally and internationally for her contributions to the field of education.)
