Tun Endon binti Mahmood Ambak ( Jawi: هند بنت محمود أعماق; 24 December 1940 – 20 October 2005) was the first wife of the 5th

Prime Minister of Malaysia The prime minister of Malaysia (; ) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia, federal government. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the prime minister who is a membe ...

, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. She died from

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

on 20 October 2005.

Early life

Endon was born to Datuk Mahmood Ambak, a Malay man, and Datin Mariam Abdullah, a Japanese woman. Endon had ten other siblings, including her twin sister Noraini as well as other sisters Nonni, Rahmah and Aizah. She was born in Klang,

Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...

on 24 December 1940. Endon's father worked as a mining assistant in the Department of Mines, and subsequently transferred to

Perak Perak (; Perak Malay: ''Peghok'') is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kel ...

to help oversee about 60 mines in the district of Kampar. Endon spent much of her childhood days in Kampar and received her early education at the Anglo Chinese School. She later went on to attend St. Mary's School in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

Marriage

Endon met Abdullah while she was working at the Federal Establishment Office (now the Public Service Department) in the 1960s and they were married in 1965. Endon later retired from

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

in 1976. Together with Abdullah, Endon had two children: son Datuk Kamaluddin Abdullah, a business tycoon (married to Azrene, now Fareshah) and a daughter, Nori Abdullah (married to Khairy Jamaluddin). Both Abdullah and Endon had four grandchildren.

Social contributions

Endon is noted for her contributions to traditional fabric art such as the

batik Batik is a dyeing technique using wax Resist dyeing, resist. The term is also used to describe patterned textiles created with that technique. Batik is made by drawing or stamping wax on a cloth to prevent colour absorption during the dyein ...

and songket. For example, she launched Campaigns and exhibitions such as the "Batik Extravaganza" which was held in early December 2003 and the Malaysian Batik Movement, "Creation for the World". She was also a patron of the theatre.

Illness and death

Endon Mahmood was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003, shortly before the death of her twin sister, Noraini, who had also been diagnosed with the disease and passed away in January of the same year. Before this, Endon had undergone a radical mastectomy on 18 April 2002, followed by 33 sessions of radiation therapy and subsequent physiotherapy at Saint John's Health Center in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. She continued receiving treatment in Los Angeles, returning there in June 2005 for chemotherapy. She returned to Malaysia on 2 October 2005 and was later transferred to Seri Perdana, the Prime Minister's official residence, after a two-week stay at Putrajaya Hospital. Endon died on 20 October 2005 at the age of 64 after a prolonged illness. Her funeral was conducted at Seri Perdana and the Putra Mosque in

Putrajaya Putrajaya (), officially the Federal Territory of Putrajaya (), is the administrative centre of Malaysia. The Seat of government, seat of the Government of Malaysia, federal government of Malaysia was moved in 1999 from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajay ...

, where the funeral prayers were held. She was buried at the Muslim cemetery in Taman Selatan, Precinct 20, Putrajaya.

Honours

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia conferred Endon Mahmood an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

in August 2004. On 24 August 2004, Endon Mahmood was awarded the Tun Fatimah Award by the National Council of Women's Organisations in recognition of her contributions to community service. She was posthumously conferred the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (Seri Setia Mahkota Malaysia, SSM), which carries the honorific title Tun, on 6 June 2009 in conjunction with the official birthday of the

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The King of Malaysia, officially ''Yang di-Pertuan Agong'' ( Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ), is the constitutional monarch and Figurehead, ceremonial head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957, when the Federation of Malaya gained ...

, Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.

Honour of Malaysia

* : **

Grand Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (SSM) – Tun posthumously (2009) * : ** MY-KEL Order of the Crown of Kelantan - Star of Muhammad

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Kelantan (SPMK) – Dato' (2004) * : ** MY-NEG Grand Order of Tuanku Jaafar - SPTJ

Knight Grand Commander of the Grand Order of Tuanku Jaafar (SPTJ) – Dato' Seri (2005) * : ** MY-PAH Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang - Grand Knight - SSAP

Grand Knight of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (SSAP) – Dato' Sri (2002) * : ** MY-SEL Order of the Crown of Selangor - Knight Grand Commander - SPMS

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor (SPMS) – Datin Paduka Seri (2002)

Places named after her

Several places and honours were named after her, including: * Kolej Datin Seri Endon, a residential college at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai,

Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...

. * Piala Seri Endon, batik and kebaya competition.

References

External links

* * *
1,849 conferred royal awards on King's birthday The Star (Malaysia), 6 June 2009
{{Authority control 1940 births 2005 deaths Deaths from breast cancer in Malaysia Malaysian people of Japanese descent Malaysian people of Malay descent Spouses of prime ministers of Malaysia Spouses of deputy prime ministers of Malaysia Malaysian Muslims Grand Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor