Rahah binti Mohamed Noah ( Jawi: راحة بنت محمد نوح‎; 11 June 1933 – 18 December 2020) was the wife of the second Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein (1922–1976) and the mother of sixth Prime Minister

Najib Razak Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak (, ; born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009 to 2018. In 2020, he was convicted of corruption in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal, on ...

. Her father Mohamed Noah Omar (1898–1991) was the first Speaker of the

Dewan Rakyat The Dewan Rakyat (; Jawi script, Jawi: ), is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Malaysia, Parliament which is the federal legislature of Malaysia. The chamber and its powers are established by Article 44 of the Constitu ...

, the lower house of parliament, and the third

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Dewan Negara The Dewan Negara (; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia, consisting of 70 senators of whom 26 are elected by the State legislative assemblies of Malaysia, state legislative assemblies, with two senators for ea ...

, the upper house of parliament.

Biography

Rahah was born on 11 June 1933 in Muar,

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 ...

. She was the youngest of Mohamed Noah Omar's ten children. While attending secondary school in

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...

, Rahah was introduced to

Abdul Razak Hussein Abdul Razak bin Dato’ Hussein (; 11 March 1922 – 14 January 1976) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the second prime minister of Malaysia from 1970 until his death in 1976. He also served as the first Deputy Prime Minis ...

, who was an active member of the

United Malays National Organisation The United Malays National Organisation (Abbreviation, abbrev: UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a Conservatism, conservative, Nationalism, Malay nationalist political party in Malaysia. As the oldest national political party in the country (since its ince ...

(UMNO). This organization was founded by Taib Andaka, a friend of Abdul Razak, while studying in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. They married on 4 September 1952. Abdul Razak became the second

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 ...

in 1970. As the prime minister's spouse, she served as President of the Girl Guides Association of Malaysia and patron of the Muslim Women's Action Organisation (Pertiwi). In 1976, Razak died in office, leaving Rahah widowed at a relatively young age of 43. She was the

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, the university founded in honour of her husband. Since Abdul Razak was the prime minister who established diplomatic relations with the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, all PRC ambassadors made a courtesy call on Rahah upon arriving in Malaysia. In an interview conducted in 2011, Rahah said she spent most of her time attending religious classes with friends.

Death

Tun Rahah died on 18 December 2020 at the Prince Court Medical Centre 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 ...

following a short illness, at the age of 87. Former Prime Minister

Mahathir Mohamad Mahathir bin Mohamad (; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author and doctor who was respectively the fourth and seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, prime minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and from 2018 to 2020. He was the ...

described Tun Rahah as among the last from the independence generation who contributed invaluable services and sacrifices for the country. Mahathir was among the national leaders and acquaintances present to pay their last respects to Tun Rahah. She was laid to rest at the

Makam Pahlawan The Makam Pahlawan (Malay language, Malay for Heroes' Mausoleum) is the burial ground of several Malaysian leaders and politicians. It is located near the Malaysian national mosque, Masjid Negara, in the national capital, Kuala Lumpur. Construc ...

(Heroes' Mausoleum) near

Masjid Negara The National Mosque of Malaysia (; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It has a capacity for 15,000 people and is situated among of gardens. Its key features are a minaret and a 16-pointed star concrete main roof. ...

beside the grave of her sister Tun Suhailah Mohamed Noah, who died on 4 October 2014.

Family

Abdul Razak and Rahah had five children: *

(born 1953), the sixth

. In 2020, Najib was convicted of corruption in relation to the 1MDB scandal during his premiership. * Ahmad Johari (born 1955) * Mohd Nizam (born 1957), the son-in-law to former

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

from 1970 to 1981 as well as

Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak The Governor of Sarawak, officially Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sarawak (''Malay: Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak'') is the ceremonial head of state of Sarawak, Malaysia. The is styled (). The official residence of the governor is The Astana, loc ...

from 1981 to 1986, Tun

Abdul Rahman Ya'kub Abdul Rahman bin Ya'kub (; 3 January 1928 – 9 January 2015) was a Malaysian politician of Melanau descent from Mukah. He was the third Chief Minister of Sarawak and the fourth Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak (Governor of Sarawak). He is als ...

, being married to one of his daughters, Khadijah. * Mohd Nazim (born 1963), businessman cum husband to former tv presenter and AIDIJUMA entrepreneur, Norjuma Habib Mohammed. * Mohd Nazir (born 1965), the former chief executive of

CIMB CIMB Group Holdings Berhad () is a Malaysian universal bank headquartered in Kuala Lumpur and operating in high growth economies in ASEAN. CIMB Group is an indigenous ASEAN investment bank. CIMB has a wide retail branch network with 1,080 branch ...

, one of the largest financial services companies in South-East Asia.

Honours

Honours 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 () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on 15 April 1966 and gazetted on 30 June 1966 ...

(SSM) – Tun (1976) * : ** MY-SAR Order of the Star of Sarawak - 2 ribbon PNBS -JBS-PBS-ABS-BBS

Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of Sarawak (PNBS) – Dato Sri (2002) * : ** MY-PAH Order of the Crown of Pahang - Grand Knight - SIMP

Grand Knight of the

Order of the Crown of Pahang The Esteemed Order of the Crown of Pahang ( Malay: '' Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Pahang Yang Amat Mulia'') is a knighthood order of the Sultanate of Pahang. History The order was founded by Sultan Abu Bakar on 27 December 1968. It is awarded ...

(SIMP) – formerly ''Dato, now Dato' Indera (1973) * : ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - SPDK

Grand Commander of the

Order of Kinabalu The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu (Malay: ''Darjah Yang Amat Mulia Kinabalu'') is the only order conferred by the Governor of Sabah, Malaysia. Background The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu is established by virtue of Section 3(a) of State Honou ...

(SPDK) – Datuk Seri Panglima (1974)

Places named after her

Several places were named after her, including: *Taman Tun Rahah,

Bukit Katil Bukit Katil is a mukim and town in Melaka Tengah District, Malacca, Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional mona ...

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

*Dewan Besar Tun Rahah,

*Masjid Ar-Rahah,

Kampung Kerinchi Bangsar South ( Malay: ''Bangsar Selatan'') is an integrated property development project which sits on the former Kampung Kerinchi site in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is renamed of Kampung Kerinchi from the developer to upscale the value of land ...

* SMKA Tun Hajah Rahah,

Sabak Bernam The Sabak Bernam District is a district and a parliamentary constituency in north-western Selangor, Malaysia. It covers an area of 997 square kilometres, and had a population of 103,153 at the 2010 Census (excluding foreigners). It is situated at ...

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 ...

In popular culture

Rahah has been portrayed in a documentary, theater and films. She was portrayed by

Fauziah Latiff Siti Fauziah Sheikh Abdul Latiff, better known as Fauziah Latiff, is a Malaysian singer and actress. One of Latiff's first public performance was at a charity concert at Stadium Merdeka in 1987. Talent scouts from Happy Records spotted her and ...

in the theater Tun Razak Musical (2010) and a film played by Faezah Elai in Tanda Putera (2013).

References

{{Authority control 1933 births 2020 deaths People from Muar Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian people of Bugis descent Spouses of prime ministers of Malaysia Spouses of deputy prime ministers of Malaysia Grand Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Grand Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu Knights Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak