Noor Aishah Mohammad Salim Explained

Honorific Prefix:	Yang Amat Berbahagia Toh Puan
Noor Aishah
Native Name Lang:	ms
Order:	1st
Office:	First Ladies and Gentlemen of SingaporeSpouse of the President of Singapore
President:	Yusof Ishak
Term Start:	9 August 1965
Term End:	23 November 1970
Term Label:	In role
Predecessor:	Position established
Successor:	Yeo Seh Geok
Birth Name:	Noor Aishah binti Mohammad Salim
Birth Date:	21 May 1933
Birth Place:	Penang, Straits Settlements
Parents:	Mohammad Salim Jusoh (father) Fatimah Ali (mother)

Noor Aishah binti Mohammad Salim (born 21 May 1933) is the widow of former President, Yusof Ishak.

She took the role as Spouse of the President of Singapore between 1965 and 1970.

Early life

Noor Aishah was born in Penang in 1933, and was adopted by Mohammad Salim Jusoh (born Barney Perkins) and Fatimah Ali.^[1]

She married Yusof Ishak on 20 November 1949, at the age of 16.^[2]

Other roles

Noor Aishah was patron for the Singapore Red Cross,^[3] the Young Women's Muslim Association,^[4] and the Girl Guides Association.

Girl Guides

Noor Aishah became the first Asian president of the Singapore Girl Guides Association (now Girl Guides Singapore) in 1959. In 1965, she became the patron of the movement.^[5] She was awarded the Laurel Leaf, the highest award of the Singapore Girl Guides' Association, in 1970.^[6]

Veteran Guiding leaders credit her with helping to raise funds for the movement when funding was scarce, and with helping to secure a plot of land for their headquarters in the Clemenceau area in the 1960s. The Girl Guides named the Puan Noor Aishah Award after her.

Awards

Noor Aishah was awarded the Pingat Bakti Chemerlang (Distinguished Service Medal; later replaced by the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang, or Distinguished Service Order) in 1964 for her work in social welfare.^[7]

Notes and References

1. News: Nur Asyiqin Mohamad Salleh. New book launched on Puan Noor Aishah, wife of Singapore's first President Yusof Ishak. 3 August 2017. The Straits Times. 18 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170803224122/http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/new-book-launched-on-puan-noor-aishah-the-wife-of-singapores-first-president-yusof-ishak. 3 August 2017. en.
2. Web site: Puan Noor Aishah. Singapore Women's Hall of Fame. en-GB. 2019-03-05.
3. Web site: First Lady Puan Noor Aishah, Patron of the Singapore Red Cross Society. National Archives of Singapore. 3 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170803230544/http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/9e1b1900-1162-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad. 3 August 2017. First Lady Puan Noor Aishah, Patron of the Singapore Red Cross Society, at a Christmas Party for 70 Handicapped Children at the Red Cross House in Penang Lane..
4. Web site: Lady Noor Aishah, the First Lady and wife of Singapore's first President, Mr. Yusof Ishak, lays the foundation stone of the Young Women Muslim Association's headquarters at Haigsville Drive, 1967. BookSG. National Library Board Singapore. 3 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170803231018/http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/printheritage/image.aspx?id=2482baae-9a3b-4e03-9f4e-18092307b308. 3 August 2017.
5. News: Lee. Venessa. 100 years of Girl Guides in Singapore. 3 August 2017. The Straits Times. 12 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170803225508/http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/100-years-of-girl-guides-in-singapore. 3 August 2017. en.
6. Web site: Puan Noor Aishah receiving the "Laurel Leaf" award, the …. National Archives of Singapore. 3 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170803225721/http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/b6d5c733-1162-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad. 3 August 2017. Puan Noor Aishah receiving the "Laurel Leaf" award, the highest award of the Singapore Girl Guides' Association, at the Istana.
7. News: Chern. Alphonsus. Singapore badges of honour. 3 August 2017. The Straits Times. 13 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20170803224853/http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/singapore-badges-of-honour. 3 August 2017. en.