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 ( ms, Perdana Menteri Malaysia; ms, ڤردان منتري مليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is the head of government of Malaysia. The prime minister directs the executive branch of the fede ...

Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Tun Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi ( Jawi: عبد الله بن احمد بدوي; born 26 November 1939) is a Malaysian politician who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia from October 2003 to April 2009. He was also the sixth president ...

. She died from

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

on 20 October 2005.

Early life

Endon was born to Datuk Mahmood Ambak, a Malay man, and Datin Mariam Abdullah, a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

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 its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

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

Perak Perak () is a 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, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

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, now Methodist National Type Primary School. She later went on to attend St Mary's secondary school in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

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 servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

in 1976. Together with Abdullah, Endon had two children: son Datuk Kamaluddin Abdullah, a business tycoon (married to Azrene) and a daughter, Nori Abdullah (married to

Khairy Jamaluddin Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar ( Jawi: ; born 10 January 1976) is a Malaysian politician. He most recently served as Minister of Health in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob from August 2021 t ...

). 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 an National costume of Indonesia, Indonesian technique of Resist dyeing, wax-resist dyeing applied to the whole cloth. This technique originated from the island of Java, Indonesia. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of ...

and

songket ''Songket'' is a '' Tenun'' fabric that belongs to the brocade family of textiles of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It is hand-woven in silk or cotton, and intricately patterned with gold or silver threads. It is hand-woven in ...

. 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 underwent a radical mastectomy on 18 April 2002, which was followed by 33 sessions of radiation and a series of physiotherapy sessions at St. John's Medical Center, Los Angeles, California. She discovered she had

in 2003 while her twin sister Noraini who had earlier been diagnosed with the disease died in January 2003. She left for St. John's Medical Center in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

for treatment, returning again in June 2005 for

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

. She returned to Malaysia on 2 October 2005. She was later brought home to Seri Perdana to be with her family after spending two weeks in Putrajaya Hospital. On 20 October 2005, aged 64, Endon died after a long battle with breast cancer. The funeral was conducted at the Prime Minister's residence and the Putra Mosque (where the funeral prayers are conducted), both in Putrajaya. Endon was buried at the Muslim cemetery in

Taman Selatan Taman Selatan or Southern Park is a cemetery in Precinct 20, Putrajaya, Malaysia. It is analogous to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC, United States. Features It is located at Precinct 20 and it occupies 192.38 hectares. The site ha ...

, Precinct 20, Putrajaya.

Honours

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia , image_name = UTM-LOGO.png , image_size = , caption = Seal , latin_name = , motto = Kerana Tuhan Untuk Manusia , mottoeng = In the Name of God for Mankind , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , affiliatio ...

conferred Endon Mahmood the

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 ho ...

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at th ...

in August 2004. Endon Mahmoud was conferred the Tun Fatimah Award by the National Council of Women's Organisations on 24 August 2004 for her service to the community. She was posthumously conferred the

Seri Setia Mahkota Malaysia Seri or SERI may refer to: People *Jean Michaël Seri, an Ivorian professional footballer Places *Seri Yek-e Zarruk, Iran *Seri, Bheri, Nepal *Seri, Karnali, Nepal *Seri, Mahakali, Nepal *Seri, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India Oth ...

(SSM) which carries the title ' Tun' on 6 June 2009 in conjunction with the birthday of the

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The o ...

Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin.

Honour of Malaysia

* : **

Grand Commander of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted o ...

(S.S.M.) - Tun (2009) * : ** MY-SEL Order of the Crown of Selangor - Knight Grand Commander - SPMS

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor (S.P.M.S.) – Datin Paduka Seri (2002) * : ** MY-PAH Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang - Grand Knight - SSAP

MY-PAH Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang - Grand Knight - SSAP

Grand Knight of the

Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang The Most Illustrious Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang ( Malay: ''Darjah Kebesaran Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang Yang Amat Di Mulia'') is a knighthood order of the Sultanate of Pahang. History The order was founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah on 24 Oc ...

(S.S.A.P.) – Dato' Sri (2002) * : ** MY-KEL Order of the Crown of Kelantan - Star of Muhammad

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Kelantan (S.P.M.K.) – Dato' (2004) * : ** MY-NEG Grand Order of Tuanku Jaafar - SPTJ

Knight Grand Commander of the Most Blessed Grand Order of Tuanku Jaafar (S.P.T.J.) – Dato' Seri (2005)

Places named after her

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

Skudai Skudai (also spelled Sekudai) is a suburb in Iskandar Puteri, Johor Bahru District, Johor, Malaysia. Skudai is part of the new growth corridor of southwest Johor. Its population ranges between 160,000 and 210,000. It houses the Paradigm Mall Joh ...

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the northwest. Johor shares maritime b ...

. * 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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmood, Endon 1940 births 2005 deaths Deaths from breast cancer Malaysian people of Japanese descent Malaysian people of Malay descent Spouses of prime ministers of Malaysia Spouses of Deputy Prime Ministers of Malaysia Deaths from cancer in 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