Fatimah Hashim

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Died9 January 2010(2010-01-09) (aged 85)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Resting placeMakam Pahlawan, Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur
Political partyUnited Malays National Organisation (UMNO)
Other political
affiliations
Barisan Nasional (BN)
Spouse
(m. 1943; died 1992)

freedom fighter who later served as a minister in the Malaysian cabinet. Along with her husband, Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Yusof
, they were the first and only couple to both be ministers in the Malaysian cabinet.

Political involvement

The petite-framed freedom fighter, who was the United Malays National Organisation's (UMNO) 315th member, joined the struggle for independence when she was in her 20s. She was head of Kaum Ibu Malaya, later known as Wanita Umno, which is the women's wing of the UMNO. She was the movement's leader for 16 years until 1972.

She saw then that there were inadequate facilities and infrastructure for the people under colonial rule, especially for health care and education. She recalled that during her visits to

Tun Abdul Razak
was a great experience, and they treated each other like family.

From an interview in the Malaysian newspaper The Star:

...I was like a kakak to Senu and adik to Khir Johari. Tunku was like a father to us. We did not fight for independence for the sake of fame. It was for our country.[5]

Achieving independence

On

Tun Sardon Jubir
's house in Kuala Lumpur and the couple took the children around the city.

From The Star interview, she said:

I could not sleep the night before. We had an UMNO ceremony at the Royal Selangor Club field and then went to the stadium in the morning. I felt so proud of what we had achieved. I can still see Tunku at the podium crying out 'Merdeka!'.[5]

She cried that day in the stadium.[5]

Post-independence

After independence, her husband continued to encourage her to be involved in politics.

Abdul Kadir Yusuf
, who was then Attorney-General, was in government service and could not be active in politics. He advised her not to sit at home but to continue fighting and help the poor.

He said that if I wanted to see change, I had to be active and that I had to have a voice in Parliament if I wanted to improve the status of women.[5]

He became her driver and accompanied her to meetings, something that

Tun Abdul Razak
used to tease the couple about.

Fatimah served as

Member of Parliament and later as Welfare Minister in the Malaysian cabinet
. At the same time, her husband became the Law Minister, making them the only couple to serve together in the Cabinet of Malaysia.

Social contributions

Fatimah was the founder and former president of the Malaysia's National Council of Women's Organisations, where she headed the organisation for 24 years.[6]

Family

The former Welfare Services minister had six children, 19 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.

Her eldest daughter, Mariam, was the Director-General of the

Dubai Investment Group's Malaysian division. Her fifth son Abdul Karim is in business and adviser to a few public and private companies. Faridah, her youngest daughter is also an adviser to a Denmark
based investment bank.

Foundation and tribute

The Kadir and Fatimah Foundation recently started conferring the Tun Fatimah Award medal for the best female student active in community work for the first time in September 2007 and will be awarded annually to

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia students. The first recipient was Sharifah Fatimah Syed Omar of Kuala Terengganu.[10]

Death

Tun Fatimah Hashim died from old age on 9 January 2010.

Masjid Negara compounds beside her husband, Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Yusuf
's grave. She was the first woman leader laid to rest there.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

References

  1. ^ Wanita Umno page Archived 16 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b "First Woman Minister Tun Fatimah Dies". Bernama. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  3. ^ "Tun Fatimah Bt Haji Hashim". National Archives of Malaysia. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Tun Fatimah Bt Haji Hashim". National Archives of Malaysia. Retrieved 2 October 2018. (in Malay)
  5. ^ a b c d Edwards, Audrey. "Burning spirit in Fatimah"The Star – Sunday, February 25, 2007
  6. .
  7. ^ Lifestyle Focus: "Brought up with a sense of service"The Star – Sunday, 25 February 2007
  8. ^ "Datuk Ali Kadir returns to Ernst & Young" Archived 23 March 2006 at the Wayback Machine – Ernst & Young Global Limited – 1 March 2004
  9. ^ Ridu, Johannes., Yvonne Chong and James S. "Making the right moves" – AsiaViews – Malaysian Business – 26/IV/July/2007
  10. ^ "Sharifah makes history"[permanent dead link] – the New Straits Times – (c/o NST Online) – 2007/09/03
  11. ^ a b "SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT". Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia). Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  12. ^ "Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 2003" (PDF).