Mata Ayer assemblywoman Wan Badariah Wan Saad had been looking forward to a family holiday with her husband and three children after the Perlis State Legislative Assembly sitting, but her plans were cut short by her sudden death at Hospital Tuanku Fauziah (HTF) on Saturday.
Her husband, Sabry Saad, 52, said the 50-year-old politician had shown no obvious signs of serious illness and was still joking and chatting as usual on Friday.
He said Wan Badariah had recently been speaking more frequently over the phone with their second child, an 18-year-old daughter studying for her foundation programme at the International Islamic University Malaysia, as well as their eldest daughter and youngest son, who are both in Perlis.
“She had been looking forward to spending time with us during the holidays after the state assembly sitting,” he told reporters at HTF’s Forensic Unit.
The Perlis State Legislative Assembly is scheduled to convene on Nov 27 for the tabling of the 2027 state budget, before continuing from Nov 30 to Dec 2.
Sabry said his wife had been feeling tired for several days, but her condition did not appear serious until about 9am on Saturday, when she suddenly became unwell.
He said the family rushed her to HTF’s Emergency Department at around 10.30am, by which time she was no longer able to speak.
“When we arrived at the emergency department, she was put to sleep. Her oxygen levels and blood pressure then continued to drop, and doctors performed CPR several times before they could do no more. She passed away at 4.26pm,” he said.
Sabry added that Wan Badariah had a thyroid condition and was taking medication for it, but he never expected her condition to deteriorate so suddenly.
He said her body was expected to be buried at the Kampung Padang Siding Muslim Cemetery in Arau after funeral prayers at 11am tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Perlis Menteri Besar Abu Bakar Hamzah extended the state government’s condolences to Wan Badariah’s family and PAS leadership following the death of the party’s elected representative.
“On behalf of the state government, we feel this is a great loss. We pray that Allah grants her soul mercy and places her among the faithful. We also pray that her family remains calm and patient,” he said.
Wan Badariah contested the Mata Ayer seat under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) ticket in the 15th General Election (GE15), securing 4,419 votes.
She defeated Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Siti Berenee Yahya, who received 2,398 votes, and Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Amran Kamaruddin, who obtained 794 votes, with a majority of 2,021 votes.
