Pictures of Shamshiah Fakeh and her husband Ibrahim Mahmoud

Today I heard the news of the passing of Shamshiah Fakeh. She died age 84. i was due to meet her but I did not make it and now she is gone forever. I've just finish my Surah yasin and Fatihah for her, it is the best i can do. I do not know her, but she was married to my grandfather briefly. i would like to have meet her. She died this morning at 9 am of old age. My fatihah goes to her and condolences to her family.

Tuesday October 21, 2008
Red leader dies at 84
By MARTIN VENGADESAN
Shamsiah Fakeh
KUALA LUMPUR: Shamsiah Fa­­keh , the communist leader who spent nearly 40 years in exile in China, died at 9am yesterday at her home at Jalan Kuchai Lama here following a lung infection. She was 84.
Her businessman son Jama­luddin Ibrahim, 46, said: "She was in Hospital UKM for more than 20 days and finally she told us she felt it was her time to go and requested a discharge.
Within five days she passed away.
"She made a real contribution to the country before independence and we are proud of her. She was known as a communist, but her basic belief was to fight for a better life for the people.
"Even though she was in poor health, she maintained an interest in Malaysian politics. She still wanted the structure of the country to reform so that a just society could be developed.
"She believed that equality of the races was important for our progress. These were the values that she passed on to her own family.
The past: Shamsiah and Ibrahim posing for photographs at Bei Hai Park in Beijing in 1957.
"She belonged to a dying generation, she was a woman ahead of her time."
An important figure in the struggle before Independence, Shamsiah led the Angkatan Wanita Sedar (better known as Awas, Malaya's first nationalist women's organisation) in the post World War II-era before joining the armed struggle of the Communist Party of Malaya in 1948.
After eight years in the jungle, she was sent to China in 1956 before returning to Malaysia in 1994.
The Kuala Pilah native, whose life was documented in the recent book Shamsiah Fakeh: Dari AWAS ke Rejimen Ke-10, was married five times and her husbands included nationalist leader Ahmad Boes­tamam and fellow CPM leader Ibrahim Mohamad.
Shamsiah was in poor health following a stroke in 1999 and in the years prior to her death was barely able to speak or walk.
She is survived by two sons and four grandchildren.
Shamsiah Fakeh meninggal dunia
KUALA LUMPUR 20 Okt. - Bekas pemimpin Parti Komunis Malaya (PKM), Shamsiah Fakeh, 84, atau nama sebenarnya Shamsiah Sutan meninggal dunia akibat sakit tua dan jangkitan pada paru-paru, di kediaman anaknya di Kondominium D'Tropicana, Jalan Kuchai Lama di sini.
Beliau yang juga bekas Ketua Angkatan Wanita Sedar (Awas), sebuah parti politik sayap kiri kepada Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM), menghembuskan nafas terakhir pada pukul 9 pagi.
Salah seorang anaknya, Jamaluddin Ibrahim, 46, memberitahu, ibunya sudah dapat merasakan akan pergi buat selama-lamanya dengan meminta dikeluarkan dari Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) pada Sabtu lalu.
''Beliau memang sudah berpesan kalau boleh mahu meninggal dunia di rumah anaknya daripada di hospital,'' katanya.
Menurutnya lagi, arwah ibunya berada dalam keadaan baik semasa hari pertama di rumah selepas keluar dari hospital semalam.
Jenazah selamat dikebumikan di Tanah Perkuburan Orang Islam Sungai Besi selepas solat asar.
Shamsiah Fakeh dilahirkan pada 1924 di Kuala Pilah dan mendapat pendidikan awal di Sekolah Agama Rahmah Al-Yunusiah, Padang Panjang, Sumatera.
Beliau merupakan antara tokoh perjuangan kemerdekaan yang dilabel dalam golongan kelompok kiri seangkatan dengan Ahmad Boestamam, Ishak Muhammad dan Burhanuddin Helmi.
Selepas menubuhkan Awas, pertubuhan parti politik itu diharamkan di bawah Undang-Undang Darurat yang diisytiharkan British pada 20 Jun 1948, telah memaksa beliau melarikan diri ke hutan dan menyertai perjuangan bersenjata PKM.
Kemudian, beliau bersama rakan sekutunya bergerak ke sempadan Malaysia-Thailand pada tahun 1953.
Berkahwin dengan Ibrahim Mohamad pada 1 Jun 1956, beliau dikurniakan tiga orang anak, Shamsuddin, Kamaruddin dan Jamaluddin.
Setelah sekian lama bersama PKM, akhirnya beliau menyerah diri kepada kerajaan Malaysia pada tahun 1980 mengikut jejak langkah bekas Pengerusi PKM, Musa Ahmad.
Beliau pulang ke tanah air pada 1994 bersama suami dan anak-anaknya setelah mendapat kebenaran kerajaan Malaysia.
Former woman communist leader dies

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Shamsiah Fakeh had spent nearly 40 years in exile in China with her husband, Ibrahim Mohamad, another top CPM leader.
KUALA LUMPUR: Shamsiah Fakeh, the former top woman leader of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), died at her home yesterday after slipping into unconsciousness on Sunday night at her Tropicana Condominium unit in Jalan Kuchai Lama. She was 84.
Shamsiah had told her 46-year-old son, Jamaluddin Ibrahim, that she had wanted to die at home, surrounded by family members. She had said this after being hospitalised for 22 days for lung infection.Jamaluddin told the New Straits Times that Shamsiah was discharged on Friday.Shamsiah, from Kuala Pilah, was buried at the Sungai Besi Muslim cemetery after Azar prayers yesterday.
She is survived by two sons and four grandchildren. Her eldest son had died before her.She had been a member of Angkatan Wanita Sedar (Awas), Malaya's first nationalist women's organisation, between 1945 and 1946.When the government banned the organisation, Shamsiah and several others hid in the jungles and joined the CPM.Shamsiah had spent nearly 40 years in exile in China with her husband, Ibrahim Mohamad, who was also a top CPM leader. They had been sent by the CPM to China in 1956 to study ways of recruiting more members.However, they were dismissed from the party in 1968 while staying in Beijing. They were given political asylum, without citizenship, by the Chinese government.The couple and their three sons returned to Malaysia in 1994, having spent nine years appealing to be allowed to come home. Shamsiah, whose life was documented in the recent book "Shamsiah Fakeh: Dari AWAS ke Rejimen Ke-10", was married five times.