PUTRAJAYA, Sept 28 — The late Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali appeared to sense that her time was drawing near when she told her son, Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, that she was ready to leave her family last night.
Recalling the moment, he said she told him that she was ready to leave everyone before she passed away while receiving treatment at the National Heart Institute (IJN) this morning.
“I was with her last night. At that time, she was already at IJN due to another illness. However, she was very cheerful.
“She told me that she was ready to leave all of us. It seemed that she had placed her trust in God, and this morning, unexpectedly, the hospital informed us that she had suffered a heart problem.
“The doctors performed CPR, but at exactly 9.30am, she left us,” Mukhriz told the media.
He added that Dr Siti had been admitted to IJN since Saturday (September 26), but declined to disclose further details about the complications suffered by his mother.
When asked about his father Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Mukhriz said emotionally that his mother’s passing would undoubtedly affect his father, given that the couple had spent 75 years together.
“Tun Dr Mahathir is at IJN. He is not ill, but accompanied my late mother throughout her stay in hospital,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir said the entire family was still shocked by Dr Siti's passing, as she had been in good spirits when they gathered with her at IJN yesterday.
“We are indeed shocked. There was a major change this morning and, unfortunately, it could not be reversed, and she left us all,” he said, while also expressing his gratitude to everyone who ensured that the burial process proceeded smoothly.
Earlier, Dr Siti's body was laid to rest at Pusara Negara in Precinct 20, in a state funeral ceremony.
She was buried next to the grave of the late Tun Endon Mahmood, the wife of former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Dr Siti died at the age of 100. She was among the earliest Malay women to qualify as medical doctors before dedicating her service to the country’s public healthcare sector.
