Tun
TUN or tun may refer to:
Biology
* Tun shells, large sea snails of the family ''Tonnidae''
* Tun, a tardigrade in its cryptobiotic state
* Tun or Toon, common name for trees of the genus '' Toona''
Places
* Tun, Sweden, a locality in Västra G ...
Fatimah binti Hashim ( ms, فاطمة بنت هاشم, label=
Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 25 December 1924 – 9 January 2010
) was a Malaysian
freedom fighter
A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...
who later served as a minister in the Malaysian cabinet. Along with her husband, Tan Sri
Abdul Kadir Yusof
Abdul Kadir Yusof ( ms, عبدالقادر بن يوسف, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 10 September 1917 – 18 April 1992) was a Malaysian politician. A lawyer by profession, Abdul Kadir held the posts of Attorney General and Soli ...
, 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
The United Malays National Organisation (Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its in ...
'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
Kota Bharu
Kota Bharu, colloquially referred to as KB, is a town in Malaysia that serves as the state capital and royal seat of Kelantan. It is situated in the northeastern part of Peninsular Malaysia and lies near the mouth of the Kelantan River.
The t ...
, she had to wait for the water level to subside before she could cross the river to visit villagers because there were no bridges. Fatimah said that working alongside luminaries such as
Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...
, Tan
Khir Johari
Tan Sri Mohamed Khir bin Johari ( ms, محمد خير بن جوهري, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 29 January 1923 – 19 November 2006) was a Malaysian politician and the former Malaysian Minister of Education.
Born on 29 Januar ...
and
Tun Abdul Razak
Tun Haji Abdul Razak bin Dato' Hussein ( ms, عبد الرزاق بن حسين, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 11 March 1922 – 14 January 1976) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia f ...
was a great experience, and they treated each other like family.
From an interview in the Malaysian newspaper ''
The Star
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'':
Achieving independence
On
Hari Merdeka (Independence Day), 31 August 1957, Fatimah traveled with her three eldest children her husband, the late Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Yusuf, in a car from
Ipoh
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak
, pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth
, pushpin_mapsize = 275px
, pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia
, coordinates ...
to
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
to celebrate
Malaya
Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia:
Political entities
* British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
's emergence from British rule. Fatimah attended the ceremony at
Stadium Merdeka
The Stadium Merdeka (also known as Merdeka Stadium/; English: Independence Stadium) is a stadium based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is known as the site of the formal declaration of independence of the Federation of Malaya on 31 August 1957. ...
with her husband. They stayed at the late
Tun Sardon Jubir
Tun Sardon bin Jubir ( ms, سعدون بن زبير, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 19 March 1917 – 14 December 1985) was a Malaysian politician. He served as Minister of Health, Minister of Works and Communications and was the Ya ...
's house in Kuala Lumpur and the couple took the children around the city.
From ''
The Star
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' interview, she said:
She cried that day in the stadium.
Post-independence
After independence, her husband continued to encourage her to be involved in politics.
Abdul Kadir Yusuf
Abdul Kadir Yusof ( ms, عبدالقادر بن يوسف, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 10 September 1917 – 18 April 1992) was a Malaysian politician. A lawyer by profession, Abdul Kadir held the posts of Attorney General and Soli ...
, 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 became her driver and accompanied her to meetings, something that
Tun Abdul Razak
Tun Haji Abdul Razak bin Dato' Hussein ( ms, عبد الرزاق بن حسين, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 11 March 1922 – 14 January 1976) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia f ...
used to tease the couple about.
Fatimah served as
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
and later as Welfare Minister in the
Malaysian cabinet
The Cabinet of Malaysia ( Malay: ''Jemaah Menteri Malaysia'') is the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia. Led by the Prime Minister, the cabinet is a council of ministers who are accountable collectively to the Parliament. According ...
. 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.
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
National Library of Malaysia
The National Library of Malaysia (Malay: ''Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia'') (PNM) is a library established under the National Library Act 1972 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The National Library is responsible for providing a collection of knowled ...
and is now retired. Her second son, Mohamed Shah, has now retired as Chairman of McDonald's Malaysia (division of
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
), and founder of
Ronald McDonald
Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. He inhabits the fictional world of McDonaldland, with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird and ...
's Charity Club (RMCC) Malaysia. Her third son, Dato Professor Emeritus Dr Khalid Abdul Kadir was previously the director of
Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz UKM or HCTM, formerly known as ''Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia'' (HUKM), is one of the five university hospitals in Malaysia. It is located in Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur and is administered by Unive ...
, Kuala Lumpur, and is now the Head of Clinical School at
Monash University Malaysia
Monash University Malaysia, the Malaysian campus of Monash University opened in 1998 and is located in Bandar Sunway, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. It is the first foreign university in Malaysia. Monash University Malaysia is one of several ...
.
[Lifestyle Focus]
''"Brought up with a sense of service"''
– The Star
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
– Sunday, 25 February 2007 Her fourth son Datuk Ali Abdul Kadir is an accomplished accountant who has held such prestigious positions as chairman of Ernst & Young Malaysia, a short stint as chairman of the
Securities Commission, and recently retired as Chairman of
Dubai Investment Group
Dubai Group is an Emirati investment company based in the United Arab Emirates, and a subsidiary of Dubai Holding. The company was founded in 2000 as the Investment Office, and was renamed Dubai Group in 2005. Through its companies, the group fo ...
'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
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of 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 Malaya
The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...
,
Universiti Teknologi Mara
The MARA Technological University (Malay: ''Universiti Teknologi MARA''; Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي تيكنولوڬي مارا; abbr. UiTM) is a public university based primarily in Shah Alam, Selangor. It was established to help rural Mal ...
and
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
, image_name = UTM-LOGO.png
, image_size =
, caption = Seal
, latin_name =
, motto = Kerana Tuhan Untuk Manusia
, mottoeng = In the Name of God for Mankind
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public research university
, affiliatio ...
students. The first recipient was Sharifah Fatimah Syed Omar of
Kuala Terengganu
, image_seal = Seal of Kuala Terengganu City Council.png
, image_flag = Flag of Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu.svg
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = From top, left to right:The Crystal Mosq ...
.
Death
Tun Fatimah Hashim died from old age on 9 January 2010.
Her body was laid to rest at
Makam Pahlawan
The Makam Pahlawan (Malay for Heroes' Mausoleum) is the burial ground of several Malaysian leaders and politicians. It is located near the Malaysian national mosque, Masjid Negara in the national capital, Kuala Lumpur. Construction of the mauso ...
in the
Masjid Negara
The National Mosque of Malaysia ( ms, Masjid Negara Malaysia) is a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It has a capacity for 15,000 people and is situated among of gardens. Its key features are a minaret and a 16-pointed star concrete main ...
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
* :
** Commander of the
Order of the Defender of the Realm
The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace o ...
(PMN) – Tan Sri (1958)
* :
**
![Malaysian Commemorative Medal ribbon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Malaysian_Commemorative_Medal_ribbon.gif)
Recipient of the
Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Gold) (PPM) (1965)
**
![Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia - SSM](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Order_of_Loyalty_to_the_Crown_of_Malaysia_-_SSM.svg)
Grand Commander of the
Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign.
The order was instituted on ...
(SSM) – Tun (2003)
References
{{Authority control
1924 births
2010 deaths
Government ministers of Malaysia
Members of the Dewan Rakyat
Malaysian people of Malay descent
Malaysian Muslims
People from Johor
People from Muar
United Malays National Organisation politicians
Women members of the Dewan Rakyat
Women in Kedah politics
Grand Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm
Women government ministers of Malaysia