Saturday April 20, 2013
Umno veteran Aishah Ghani dies at age 89
By AUSTIN CAMOENS
austin@thestar.com.my
KUALA LUMPUR: Umno veteran, the late Tan Sri Aishah Ghani (pic), had been looking forward to voting in this general election.
Her eldest son, Shairudin Abdul Aziz, said before her passing, she had told him that she was eager to vote in the elections.
“She loved politics, referring to it as her drug' whenever we talked about it. She would always tell us about the candidates she liked as well as disliked,” he said.
Describing his mother as a “woman with a fiery spirit”, Shairudin said Aishah, 89, passed away at the Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur Hospital at 12.50pm yesterday.
“Her health was failing after she fell during a visit to the Koperasi Jayanita office about three months ago. According to doctors, she had fluid in her lungs after she ruptured a kidney in the fall,” he said when met outside the family home at Bukit Ledang here.
Aishah, who leaves behind four children, 12 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, was a strict disciplinarian with high regard for family values, he added.
She was born on Dec 15, 1923 at Kampung Sungai Serai in Hulu Langat.
After studying journalism at the Regent Street Polytechnic in London, she worked in Berita Harian and was an editor with the NST group until her resignation to take up the post of Wanita Umno deputy chief in 1963.
The first Malaysian woman to be appointed senator in 1962, Aishah was also the country's first female representative at the United Nations General Assembly that same year.
She was Welfare Minister between 1973 and 1984.
Among those who came to pay their respects were former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim and former International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.
Dr Mahathir said Aishah was a strong woman in politics at a time when there were not many female politicians.
Dr Rais said he would speak to Wanita Umno to organise a special event to honour Aishah's achievements.
Her funeral was held at 6pm at the Bukit Kiara Muslim cemetery.
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