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PETALING JAYA: Rahah Mohamed Noah, wife of Malaysia’s second prime minister, Abdul Razak, and mother of the sixth prime minister, Najib Razak, has died.
She was 87 years old.
It is understood that Rahah, who has also been conferred the title of Tun, had been ill for some time.
Born in Muar, Johor, Rahah was the youngest of four children of the Johor nobleman, Mohamed Noah Omar. His sister, Suhailah, was married to the country’s third prime minister, Hussein Onn.
His father had an illustrious career, serving in the civil service and as a magistrate, as did Johor Bahru Timur MP. Later, Noah became the country’s first Dewan Rakyat speaker and the co-founder of Genting Highlands Bhd.
But life was not always easy for the family, as recounted in a book that documents the life of Rahah and her sisters Suhailah and Fakhriah, entitled “The Three Swans.”
During the Japanese occupation, the sisters’ education was interrupted and they even accompanied their parents to the jungles of Kempas, Johor.
“My mother remembers the terrible food in the jungle. The family was happy when they returned to Muar when the Japanese appointed Haji Noah as a magistrate. Even during these difficult times, the Three Swans maintained their dignity and remained friendly, ”Najib said during the book’s launch in 2010.
In 1952, Rahah married Pahang’s secretary of state, Razak, who would become the country’s second prime minister.
During this time, she served as a sponsor of the Muslim Women’s Action Organization (Pertiwi) and was president of the Malaysian Girl Guides Association.
Later, she served as rector of the Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, one of the first private universities in the country, and was named after her husband.
Rahah and Razak had five children, Najib, Ahmad Johari, Nizam, Nazim and Nazir, the oldest being the country’s sixth prime minister and the youngest being the executive director of CIMB.
At the age of 43, Rahah had to take on the role of her husband as the father of her children when Razak died of leukemia.
His body will be taken to Masjid Ar-Rahah, Kuala Lumpur, before being buried at Masjid Negara tonight.
