Rahah Noah

This is a Malay name; the name Noah is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Rahah.
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 82–83)
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]

Rahah's sister, Suhaila, was married to Abdul Razak's successor as prime minister, Tun Hussein Onn.[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Tun Rahah Noah". Ensiklopedia Bahasa Malaysia. JBDirectory. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  2. ↑ "Malaysian PM's visit seeks more "vertical development" in ties with China". BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific - Political. 1 June 2009.
  3. ↑ "Najib's an obedient child, always listen to advice – Tun Rahah". Bernama. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  4. ↑ "Najib’s three beloved ‘swans’". The Malaysian Insider. 31 May 2010.


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