Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, the wife of Malaysia’s longest-serving Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, died on Monday at the age of 100, the veteran leader’s office said.

Siti Hasmah died at the National Heart Institute, state news agency Bernama reported, citing the couple’s son Mokhzani Mahathir. No further details were immediately available. Her office said a funeral would be held on Monday evening, with burial at a Muslim cemetery in Putrajaya.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed condolences and said she would be accorded a funeral with full state honours. ‘The nation will continue to remember her motherly figure and appreciate her contributions and services,’ he said in a statement.

Mahathir, 101, served two stints as premier totalling more than two decades, first from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020. He met Siti Hasmah while both were attending medical school in Singapore in the late 1940s, and the couple celebrated 70 years of marriage in August.

She was known for her unassuming personality and humour, and championed public health and family planning. Mahathir once called her the backbone of his success.

Why it matters: her passing closes a chapter on the partnership behind Malaysia’s most dominant modern leader.