She said she had been vaccinated in her capacity as a senior citizen and not because she was the wife of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is Langkawi MP.

Members of Parliament are listed among frontliners who have priority to receive the vaccine in the first phase of the immunisation campaign.

Senior citizens and others in the high-risk category are scheduled to receive their vaccinations from April onwards.

“I came not as Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s wife but as a senior citizen to encourage others, especially those in Langkawi to get vaccinated. I believe there are those who are wary about getting themselves vaccinated as they do not understand or are not aware. I allowed myself to get inoculated to encourage others to do the same,” she said in a video in conjunction with International Women’s Day.

Siti Hasmah, 95, and Mahathir, 96, were among the oldest recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

She encouraged Malaysians to register for the vaccine before deciding whether or not they want to get inoculated. “Who knows, after they see me getting my shot and remain healthy, they may change their mind.”

She said the jab felt like an “ant bite” that did not hurt, although she felt the needle going into her left arm. “But after that, I felt nothing, and when I got back, I could play the violin,” she said.