Asmah Laili

Asmah Laili began working at Singapore Broadcasting Corporation in 1959,^[1] as a protégée of Zahrah Za'ba, the company's first female executive.^[2] Asmah anchored programs on Warna 94.2FM, and was an executive producer for the Malay radio station in Singapore, working with writer Jah Lelawati among others.^[3] She was the first woman to work as a television presenter in Singapore, and was a mentor to aspiring female broadcasters who followed.^[4] She retired from broadcasting in 1997.^[5] In 2003, she was the subject of an episode of Ikon wanita, a documentary series on Muslim women in Singapore.^[6]

As a celebrity chef, she was known affectionately as "Mami Asmah", and demonstrated Malay cookery on radio and television shows in Singapore,^[7] as host of Sedap and Dapur Mami. She also wrote cookbooks.^[4][8] In 2009 she released a cooking DVD, Tanya Mami (Ask Mami).^[9]

Asmah Laili married in 1967,^[10] and had two children; she lived in Bedok.^[1] She died at Changi General Hospital in 2019, aged 78 years, from lung disease. Her body was interred at Choa Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery after her death.^[4][5]