Rahah Noah


Rahah binti Mohamed Noah was the wife of the second Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and the mother of sixth Prime Minister Najib Razak. Her father Mohamed Noah Omar was the first Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house of parliament, and the third President of the Dewan Negara, the upper house of parliament.

Biography

Rahah was born on 11 June 1933 in Muar, Johor. She was the youngest of Mohamed Noah Omar's ten children. While attending secondary school in Johor Bahru, Rahah was introduced to Abdul Razak Hussein, who was an active member of the United Malays National Organisation. This organization was founded by Taib Andaka, a friend of Abdul Razak, while studying in London. They married on 4 September 1952.
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. In 1976, Razak died in office, leaving Rahah widowed at a relatively young age of 43.
She was the chancellor 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, 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 following a short illness, at the age of 87. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad 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 near Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur beside the grave of her sister Tun Suhailah Mohamed Noah, who died on 4 October 2014.

Family

Abdul Razak and Rahah had five children:

Honours of Malaysia

Rahah has been portrayed in a documentary, theater and films. She was portrayed by Fauziah Latiff in the theater Tun Razak Musical and a film played by Faezah Elai in Tanda Putera.