Malaysia Edition: Mahathir weeps as Malaysia mourns Hasmah

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The passing of Hasmah Ali on Monday brought the nation to a near standstill, amid the ratcheting politicking as Malaysia enters its pre-election phase.

She had just turned 100 in July. The real milestone that tugged at heartstrings, however, was the ending of her 70 years of marriage to Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad.

Many have called Mahathir – who led the nation for 24 years – iron-fisted and Machiavellian. Yet, whenever they were seen together, they were always the sweetest couple in the room. And it was clear how much he leaned on her for moral and emotional support. An accomplished medical doctor herself, Hasmah was the embodiment of the phrase “behind every successful man, there stands a woman”.

As leaders across the political divide and even royalty came to pay their respects, the 101-year-old Mahathir openly wept. Having himself been admitted to hospital on Wednesday for observation, many will wonder how much longer he can go on without the love of his life.

When Mahathir became prime minister for a second time in 2018, he travelled to Singapore on a working trip for the ASEAN Summit, and to visit his alma mater, the National University of Singapore. He and Hasmah also attended an orchid-naming ceremony at the Istana, where a hybrid – Dendrobium Mahathir Siti Hasmah – was jointly named after them.

In his room at Shangri-La during that trip, Mahathir granted The Straits Times his first interview since returning as prime minister. Despite their tight schedule, as we were about to take our leave, Hasmah asked if we had eaten breakfast. She gestured to the spread in front of her, which was mostly going to be left untouched, given her and Mahathir’s famously disciplined appetites.

Her grace, generosity and thoughtfulness will be missed, even as Malaysian politicians behave in stark contrast as a general election is due in about 15 months.

Melaka will be the fourth state to go to the polls in a year, and various parties are scrambling to make or break alliances – past friendships or grievances be damned. Despite UMNO and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) having allied to achieve thumping wins at the Johor and Negeri Sembilan votes, there is no certainty that this cooperation will continue in Melaka or even at the federal level.

Meanwhile, after all the howls of betrayal when Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia left Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition in 2020, the two sides are actively flirting with the idea of consolidating their base against the UMNO-PAS alliance.

Conversely, having been on good terms with UMNO for nearly four years in a so-called unity government, the PH-led government is now putting pedal to the metal to unearth various scandals involving Malay institutions under UMNO’s watch.

Meanwhile, Transport Minister Anthony Loke has delayed his promise to resign from the Cabinet after UMNO’s former prime minister Najib Razak secured conditional house arrest from the Pardons Board. The secretary-general of the largest ruling party now says that despite tendering his resignation to Anwar, it will take effect only after Najib walks out of Kajang Prison. This requires Najib to stump up RM50 million (S$15.6 million) to pay a fine that is part of his sentence related to the 1MDB scandal.

There will be more thrills and spills to come as Anwar seeks a second term in charge. Rest assured, ST’s Malaysia bureau will get our hands dirty and feet wet until Malaysia votes. Let us know what you think of our coverage from the past week after checking out some of our best stories below.