Tun Suhailah leaves behind rich legacy for women

The late Tun Suhailah Mohamad Noah, the widow of Malaysia's third prime minister Tun Hussein Onn, has contributed a great deal for the well being of the people, especially women in her lifetime.

The prime minister's wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, said Suhailah's passing certainly left its mark not only on the family but on the nation as a whole.

"We pray her spirit is placed among the faithful," she told reporters when met at Suhailah's burial ceremony at the Heroes’ Mausoleum at the National Mosque here Saturday.

Her husband, the late Hussein Onn, who died on May 29, 1990, in San Francisco, United States, of a heart attack was also laid to rest there.

The late Suhailah, 82, mother of Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, died about 12.30am Saturday and was laid to rest at about 2.25pm.

Meanwhile, former International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz said she was very close to the deceased and that they worked hand in hand to establish the Welfare Association of Wives of Ministers and Deputy Ministers (Bakti) when she (Rafidah) was the deputy finance minister in 1977.

She said the deceased's goal to set up Bakti had a noble objective, that is, to do something beneficial to the community in this country.

Bakti was registered on May 16, 1977, and it aimed to synergize efforts of the wives of the country's leaders to help all those in need.

Suhailah was president of Bakti for five years, contributing in various charitable activities with other Bakti members to help the less fortunate.

According to a grandson of the deceased, Onn Hafiz Ghazi, the late Suhailah was in hospital for two weeks due to lung and kidney complications.

"On behalf of our family, we express our sincere appreciation to all who prayed for the deceased. We also want to say a big thank you to the funeral management. Together we also pray that the spirit of the deceased is placed among the faithful," he said.

Meanwhile, Wanita Umno chief, Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, described the late Suhailah as a wife who always supported and stood behind her husband during the late Hussein Onn's administration from 1976 to 1981.

"The deceased was a first lady of Malaysia to be respected and loved. Constantly giving strength to Tun Hussein Onn and she has contributed a lot to the development of women, especially her involvement in the Girl Guides," she said.

Malaysian Government Pensioners Association president Tan Sri Wan Mahmood Pawan Teh, a friend of the late Suhailah, said she was a soft spoken person, approachable and interacted with people regardless of rank or status.