First Lady of Malaysia
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| First Lady of Malaysia |
|
| Style | Datin Paduka Seri |
|---|---|
| Residence | Seri Perdana |
| Inaugural holder | Sharifah Rodziah Syed Alwi Barakbah |
| Formation | 31 August 1957 |
The First Lady of Malaysia is the unofficial title referring to the wife of the Prime Minister of Malaysia. It is following the style of the United States where the wife of the President of the United States is known as the First Lady of the United States. While the President of the United States is the Head of State of the United States, the Prime Minister of Malaysia is not the Head of State of Malaysia. Malaysia has a Queen (DYMM SPB Raja Permaisuri Agong) who takes precedence over all other Malaysians after the King (DYMM SPB Yang DiPertuan Agong). Thus the title of First Lady does not exist in Malaysia except to indicate that someone is the wife of the Prime Minister. The same applies in the United Kingdom where the wife of the Prime Minister is simply the wife of the Prime Minister and not the First Lady of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. That singular privilege belongs to HM The Queen.
The current First Lady is Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor, whom married to Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak.
In addition, there are currently four former First Ladies still living: Tun Rahah Noah, Toh Puan Suhaila Noah, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah and Tun Jeanne Abdullah nee Danker.
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[edit] Role of the First Lady
The First lady is not an elected position, carries no official duties, and brings no salary. However, she does receive some allowance as recognition of her time and energy put into being the First Lady.
As First Lady, she attends many official ceremonies and functions of state either along with or representing the Prime Minister. There is a strict taboo against the First Lady holding outside employment while serving as First Lady.
Following the Asian value system, where the woman is the guiding light and pillar of the household, the First Lady also represents family values and is taken as a motherly.
The First Lady frequently participates in humanitarian and charitable work. It became increasingly common for first ladies to select specific causes to promote, usually ones that are not politically divisive. It is common for the First Lady in Malaysia to form organisations and hire a staff to support these activities.
[edit] Trivia
- The second and third First Ladies of Malaysia are siblings.
- The sixth First Lady was formerly married to a younger brother of the fifth First Lady.
- Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is the first Prime Minister to have two First Ladies under his administration.
[edit] List of First Ladies of Malaysia
| # | First Lady | From | To | Prime Minister |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sharifah Rodziah Syed Alwi Barakbah | 1957 | 1970 | Tunku Abdul Rahman |
| 2. | Tun Rahah Noah | 1970 | 1976 | Tun Abdul Razak |
| 3. | Toh Puan Suhaila Noah | 1976 | 1981 | Tun Hussein Onn |
| 4. | Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali | 1981 | 2003 | Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad |
| 5. | Tun Endon Mahmood Ambak | 2003 | 2005 | Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi |
| 5. | Tun Jeanne Abdullah | 2007 | 2009 | Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi |
| 7. | Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor | 2009 | Incumbent | Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak |
[edit] Controversy
Constitution of Malaysia (formally known as the Federal Constitution of Malaysia) Article 32 (2) says that the Consort of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (to be called the Raja Permaisuri Agong) shall take precedence next after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong over all other persons in the Federation. In other words, the Raja Permaisuri Agong should be the "First Lady" of Malaysia instead of the Prime Minister's spouse.
[edit] Notes
As of Tun Abdullah primeirship, there has not been a precedent in Malaysia where someone other than the wife of the Prime Minister served as First Lady. Even when the then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's first late wife, Tun Endon Mahmood Ambak died due to breast cancer or during her long absences in the United States for treatment, there was nobody who was officially designated as first lady in her absence.
On the mean while, the helm of many of Endon's charities and cultural organisations were taken over by Nori Abdullah, Abdullah Badawi's only daughter. While for official functions or government-related organizations, the wife of the then Deputy Prime Minister Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak, Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor filled in.
