KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Najib Razak said that his late mother, Tun Rahah Mohamed Noah, had always reminded him to preserve the family’s good name.
He said he had always held on to Tun Rahah’s advice throughout his career and would continue to do so.
“She had always reminded me to work hard and to be fully dedicated to whatever I was doing.
“For my mother, it was important to preserve and defend the family’s good name always, although sometimes it is unavoidable that one may be criticised when in politics.
“But the truth will prevail eventually,” he told reporters after Rahah’s state funeral at the Heroes’ Mausoleum in Masjid Negara.
Najib said he had shared many memorable moments with his mother after he joined politics when he was just 23 years old.
“She gave me moral support whenever I made any political decision.
“She was very loving and kind, bringing up the five of us (siblings) until we became successful in our careers,” he added.
Najib said Rahah had been the siblings’ strength after their father, second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein, passed away in 1976.
Besides Najib, Tun Rahah is survived by four other sons, Ahmad Johari, Nizam, Nazim and Nazir.
Tun Rahah was buried beside her sister Suhailah, who passed away in 2014. She was Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein’s mother and wife of the third Malaysian prime minister, Hussein Onn.