Wife of Malaysia's longest-serving PM Mahathir dies at 100

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 (Reuters) - ‌Siti Hasmah Mohamad ​Ali, ​the wife of Malaysia's longest-serving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, died on Monday, the veteran leader's office said.

• Siti ‌Hasmah, 100, died at the National Heart Institute, state news ⁠agency Bernama said, citing the couple's son Mokhzani Mahathir. No further details were immediately ‌available.

• Often credited with ‌modernising Malaysia, Mahathir, 101, served two stints as premier, totalling more than two decades. During his first tenure between 1981 and 2003, he oversaw ​a period of rapid industrial growth, turning Malaysia into one of Southeast Asia's economic tigers.

• He returned to the top ⁠job in 2018, becoming the country's oldest prime minister after coming out of retirement to ​topple the then-leader Najib Razak, who was involved in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB financial scandal.

• Mahathir's second stint in office ​ended in less than two years after ‌his coalition collapsed in 2020 amid political infighting.

• Mahathir met Siti Hasmah while they were both attending medical ⁠school in Singapore in the late 1940s. The couple, who celebrated 70 years of marriage in August, raised seven children, including businessman Mokhzani, social ⁠activist Marina Mahathir, and politician Mukhriz Mahathir.

• A popular figure in her own ​right, Siti Hasmah was known for her unassuming personality and good humour, which contrasted with her husband's blunt and acerbic style. As a political spouse, she championed ‌public health, family planning and other social causes.

• Mahathir once described her as the backbone to his ‌success, and said he admired her determination to obtain a university ⁠degree, a rarity among ethnic ‌Malay women at the ​time.

• "That, I think, reflects her strength of character," he told CNN in 2018.

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by ‌David Stanway)

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