Malaysian PM's wife dies: news agency

Excerpt from Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Endon Mahmood, the hugely popular wife of Malaysia's prime minister, died on Thursday, following a lengthy battle with breast cancer, national news agency Bernama said.

It quoted Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as saying his wife had died at 7:55 a.m. at his official residence. She was 64.

Endon, as she was affectionately known by most Malaysians, was a huge source of inspiration for Abdullah, and many political analysts say she encouraged him to pursue the leadership.

Abdullah, 65, took power late in 2003, as the chosen successor of veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad. The soft-spoken Endon was diagnosed with breast cancer soon after her twin sister Noraini found out she had the disease in 2002.

Since then, she had made regular trips to the United States for treatment. Endon recently returned home from weeks of treatment in Los Angeles, but immediately went into hospital to guard against secondary infections.