AN affectionate wife who made herself popular because of her modest ways – that was how former Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman once described the late Tun Suhailah Mohammad Noah, wrote Zainah Anwar in her book Legacy of Honour (Yayasan Mohamad Noah, Kuala Lumpur, 2011), a tome tracking three generations of political leaders in Johor’s illustrious political family – Datuk Ja’afar Mohamed, Datuk Onn Ja’afar and Tun Hussein Onn.
The daughter of the Dewan Rakyat’s first speaker Tan Sri Mohammad Noah Omar, she was always admired for the way she and the late Tun Hussein Onn brought up their six children, Datin Roqiyah Hanim (deceased), Puan Seri Dr Suraiya Hanim, Rozia Hanis, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin, Dr Rozita Halina and Datuk Haris Onn.