PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Hasmah Mohamad Ali has called on the public not to refer to her as Siti as it was not her name in the first place.
In a moment of revelation, the wife of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad spoke during the Coffee with Ryan podcast, saying she became a “Siti” when both husband and wife moved to the city.
“I am not a Siti. I was not born as Siti Hasmah. I was born just plain Hasmah,“ the 98-year-old told Prince Court Medical Centre consultant gastroenterologist Datuk Dr Ryan Ponnudurai during an interview which also featured Dr Mahathir recently.
Elaborating further on how she became known as “Siti”, Dr Hasmah sardonically pointed out that some “smart people” gave her the name when the family was transferred back from Alor Star, Kedah to Kuala Lumpur.
“So here was Siti Nur Haliza, Siti this, Siti that, so they just put Siti in front of my name.
“I’m not, I’m just plain Dr Hasmah,“ she stressed, adding that she no hopes that people will not refer to her as Siti in the future.
Dr Mahathir, 99, and Dr Hasmah have been married for 68 years having initially moved to Alor Star following their marriage whilst diving into respective medical careers prior to moving to the capital city as the former delved into politics.
Dr Hasmah holds the distinction as the first woman in the country to be appointed a medical officer in the Maternal and Child Health Department.
Additionally she was also the first Malaysian woman to be appointed a state Maternal and Child Health Officer.
