Tengku Puteri Zainah

Tengku Puteri Zainah binti Tengku Eskandar was born in 1956, according to Malay Wikipedia and memorial notices circulated after her death. A precise birth date and birthplace have not been made public. She was the daughter of Tengku Eskandar, also referred to in 2004 reporting as Tengku Eskandar Sharifudin, and was described by The Star as a Kelantan princess. In later years she was widely styled Yang Mulia Tengku Puteri Zainah. Family and official notes also used the nicknames Ku Ri and Kui Yie. Little else about her childhood has been published.

Details of Tengku Puteri Zainah's schooling and any later studies have not been made public in the obituaries and biographical notes consulted for this profile.

Tengku Puteri Zainah did not hold a widely documented public office of her own. Her public identity was that of a Kelantan princess and, from 1976 to 1987, the wife of Najib Razak during the years he entered Parliament, served as a deputy minister, and became Menteri Besar of Pahang. After their divorce she remained largely out of the political spotlight, even as Najib later became deputy prime minister and prime minister. In 2004 she appeared in society reporting as the host of a reception at the JW Marriott Grand Ballroom for the wedding of her eldest son, Nizar. In later years she was most often mentioned as the mother of Pahang assemblyman and executive councillor Mohamad Nizar Najib.

She married Najib Razak in 1976. They had three children: Mohamad Nizar Najib, born 11 May 1978; Mohd Nazifuddin Najib; and Puteri Norlisa Najib (also spelled Putri Norlisa). The marriage ended in divorce in 1987, after which Najib married Rosmah Mansor. Tengku Puteri Zainah remained the mother of Najib's three eldest children. Nizar married Nur Sharmila Shaheen in 2004, and they have five children. Everyday details of where Tengku Puteri Zainah lived, and of her private routines, were not made public.

Published accounts do not record extensive public statements of her political or personal views. The tributes offered by her son after her illness and death were framed in Islamic prayer, asking God to forgive her, have mercy on her, and place her among the inhabitants of Jannatul Firdaus. Those tributes present her as a mother remembered for love, sacrifice and prayer rather than for a public programme or manifesto.

Tengku Puteri Zainah's public legacy rests on her place in a Malay royal family and on the family she raised with Najib Razak. Through her children she is connected to a later generation of Malaysian public life, especially Nizar's work as Peramu Jaya assemblyman and Pahang executive councillor. News coverage of her death noted how often she was introduced only as a former wife of a prime minister, even as her son described a lifetime of maternal care that, in his words, nothing could repay.

She was styled Yang Mulia Tengku Puteri, a royal form of address, and was described as a Kelantan princess. No separate list of civil honours awarded to her personally was widely published in the obituaries consulted for this profile.

During her lifetime she appeared only occasionally in Malaysian newspapers, including wedding coverage in 2004. Her final illness and death in November 2026 were reported by Malay Mail, The Star, the New Straits Times, Malaysiakini, Berita Harian, Sinar Harian, Free Malaysia Today and The Straits Times, among others. Her son announced both her death and the completion of her burial on social media, and those posts were widely quoted.

On 4 November 2026, Mohamad Nizar Najib said his mother was in critical condition in the intensive care unit at Gleneagles Hospital Ampang and asked the public to pray for her recovery. On 5 November 2026 he announced that she had died. She was 70, according to Malay Mail, The Star, The Straits Times and Malaysiakini; a few outlets initially gave her age as 65. The cause of death was not made public. A statement carried on Najib Razak's Facebook page, reported by the New Straits Times, described her as an important part of his life and the mother of their children, and said he was unable to be with the family at that time. On 6 November 2026, Nizar said the burial had been completed and thanked those who had come to pay their last respects. The exact cemetery was not named in published reports.