The Woman Who Held Mahathir’s Hand For 70 Years

Dr. Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali had just one complaint about her husband, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad: that he was very shy about holding her hand in public. The man, who remained loyal and faithful to her for more than 70 years, felt a little embarrassed about showing his love for the Malay girl he met at King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore in 1947.

On Mahathir’s 93rd birthday, in an interview with Channel NewsAsia conducted by 10-year-old Kashika Selvam, Siti Hasmah narrated a funny incident about holding hands. She said that he was so shy that once, while driving through a highway toll booth, he pulled back his hand because he didn’t want the toll operator to see them holding hands.

Mahathir ruled Malaysia ruthlessly between 1981 and 2003, during which his critics and detractors were the subjects of sometimes furious political vendettas.

But when it comes to his fidelity and faithfulness to Siti Hasmah, even his critics cannot raise a finger against him.

At home, Mahathir was a loyal husband and an affectionate father, thanks in large part to Siti Hasmah. His daughter, Marina Mahathir, says her mother insisted that the siblings show their love and affection for each other openly by hugging and kissing.

Unlike many other politicians’ wives, Siti Hasmah’s conduct in public never gave a hint that she was the prime minister’s wife. Narrating a poignant incident in the 2019 documentary “M for Malaysia,” Siti Hasmah says: “I was taking my husband to the hospital, not the Prime Minister of Malaysia,” when Mahathir suffered a heart attack in 1989. Like any other devoted spouse, she was more concerned about her husband than the post he occupied.

Six years ago, on November 23, 2019, Malaysians saw a rare sight in Kuala Lumpur: the 94-year-old prime minister taking his 93-year-old wife out on a date. Driving Siti Hasmah in a Proton car, with no protocol or usual entourage, the couple went to a café on Jalan Bukit Bintang, where they had coffee and cake. It looked as if the two students who met at the medical college in Singapore were reliving those moments when they took a bus to Marine Parade to eat their favourite tauhu bakar, kangkong, and squid. The pictures touched such a chord with Malaysians that when Mahathir posted them on his official Instagram page, they received 55,000 likes and 2,000 comments.

Whenever the couple was asked about the secret of their marriage, both said in unison: tolerance. They married after a nine-year courtship. Both were in their thirties when they married. By that point, they were mature enough to understand each other’s goals in life. They never tried to portray themselves as the “perfect couple.” On many occasions, Siti Hasmah insisted that their marriage was like anybody else’s. There were happy moments and sad moments. They fought, made up and went on holidays together, she said.

Unlike others, there was nothing glamorous about this First Couple. They continued working towards their goals and made this marriage very endearing to Malaysians because they showed that accommodation and tolerance are a recipe for a lasting marriage.

On September 28, 2026, Siti Hasmah let go of Mahathir’s hand forever. On physical separation, Rumi once said: “Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.” For 70 years, they were inseparable, and even death cannot separate them.