Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah were among those who paid their last respect to Rahah Mohamed Noah, the mother of sixth prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
Rahah, who passed away at age 87 yesterday, was the wife of the second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein.
Mahathir and Najib are bitter rivals, but they set aside their political disagreements for the funeral proceedings at Ar Rahah Mosque in Kampung Kerinchi, Kuala Lumpur.
Both men met briefly and were seen speaking to each other.
Rahah’s remains, which arrived at the mosque at 7.50am, was bathed and wrapped in a shroud before the public was allowed to pay their last respect at 9am.
Mahathir arrived at 9.05am and was accompanied by his wife Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali and son Mukhriz Mahathir.
Only a limited number of people were allowed to pay their respect due to the standard operating procedure to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Rahah will be laid to rest at the Heroes’ Mausoleum near the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur, alongside her late husband.
Mahathir was Abdul Razak’s protégé. The latter had brought Mahathir back from the political wilderness in the 1970s after he was expelled from Umno for going against first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Mahathir previously said he endorsed Najib as the sixth prime minister out of gratitude to Abdul Razak.
Mahathir appeared visibly sad with tears running down his eyes when he paid his last respects to Rahah.
He told Bernama that Rahah was the last of the ‘Merdeka’ generation and that she had made invaluable and immense contributions to the country.
“(She is among the) ‘Merdeka’ (independence) generation…not many people who are from the Merdeka generation (generation which witnessed the country gain its independence) are still alive.
“Perhaps, she was among the last (of the Merdeka generation).
“She helped Tun Razak when he was the Prime Minister,” said Mahathir.
Meanwhile, opposition MPs spotted paying their last tribute to Rahah included Fahmi Fadzil of PKR, Teresa Kok and Yeo Bee Yin of DAP, as well as Ketari assemblyperson Young Syefura Othman.
