Background
Suhaila Noah was born on 26 October 1931, in Muar, Johor, British Malaya. Her father, Mohamad Noah Omar, became the first Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (1959–1964).
Suhaila Noah was born on 26 October 1931, in Muar, Johor, British Malaya. Her father, Mohamad Noah Omar, became the first Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (1959–1964).
She was the mother of Hishammuddin Hussein, who has served as Minister of Defence since 2013 and the Minister of Home Affairs from 2009 to 2013. Suhaila married Hussein Onn in 1948. Their eldest daughter, Datin Roquaiya Hanim, died from breast cancer in 2005.
Hussein Onn served as Prime Minister from 1976 to 1981, making Suhaila the Spouse of the Prime Minister of Malaysia.
In 1977, Suhaila Noah founded the Welfare Association of Wives of Ministers and Deputy Ministers (Bakti), which she headed until 1981. Her husband died on 29 May 1990.
She was awarded the title of "Tun" by the Federal Government of Malaysia in 1990. Suhaila Noah died on 4 October 2014, at 12:30 a.m. in Damansara Specialist Hospital in Damansara Utama, Selangor, at the age of 82.
Her funeral and burial was held at the Makam Pahlawan (Heroes Mausoleum) in Masjid Negara, Kuala Lumpur.
Noah had resided at the family home in Bukit Tunku, Kuala Lumpur.