Rahah Noah
| Yang Amat Berbahagia Tun Rahah Noah | |
|---|---|
| Spouse of the Prime Minister of Malaysia | |
| In office 22 September 1970 – 14 January 1976 | |
| Monarch | Abdul Halim Yahya Petra |
| Prime Minister | Abdul Razak Hussein |
| Preceded by | Tun Sharifah Rodziah Syed Alwo Barakbah |
| Succeeded by | Toh Puan Suhaila Noah |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1933 (age 81–82) Muar, Johor, British Malaya (now Malaysia) |
| Spouse(s) | Tun Abdul Razak (m. 1952; died 1976) |
| Children | Najib Razak (more) |
| Religion | Islam |
Tun Rahah binti Tan Sri Mohammad Noah (born 1933) is the widow of former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak and the mother of current Prime Minister Najib Razak. She is the daughter of Mohamad Noah Omar, former Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat.
Biography
Rahah was born 1933 in Muar, Johor. She is the youngest of Mohamad Noah Omar's ten children. While attending secondary school in Johor Bahru, Rahah was introduced to Abdul Razak Hussein, by then already an active member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), by Taib Andak, a friend of Abdul Razak while studying in London. They married on 4 September 1952.[1]
Abdul Razak became the second Prime Minister of Malaysia 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).[1] In 1976, Razak died in office, leaving Rahah widowed at the relatively young age of 43.
She is the chancellor of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, the university founded in honour of her husband.[1] Since Abdul Razak was the prime minister who established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China, all Chinese ambassadors make a courtesy call on Rahah upon arriving in Malaysia.[2]
In an interview conducted in 2011, Rahah said she spends most of her time attending religious classes with friends.[3]
Family
Abdul Razak and Rahah have five children:[1]
- Mohd Najib (born 1953), the sixth and current Prime Minister of Malaysia.
- Ahmad Johari (born 1954)
- Mohd Nizam (born 1958)
- Mohd Nazim (born 1962)
- Mohd Nazir (born 1964), the current chief executive of CIMB, one of the largest financial services companies in Malaysia
Rahah's sister, Suhaila, was married to Abdul Razak's successor as prime minister, Tun Hussein Onn.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Tun Rahah Noah". Ensiklopedia Bahasa Malaysia. JBDirectory. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ↑ "Malaysian PM's visit seeks more "vertical development" in ties with China". BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific - Political. 1 June 2009.
- ↑ "Najib's an obedient child, always listen to advice – Tun Rahah". Bernama. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ↑ "Najib’s three beloved ‘swans’". The Malaysian Insider. 31 May 2010.