It is with sadness that we report that Datuk Aishah Sheikh Ahmad, President of the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA), passed away earlier today. She had performed her umrah and was due to return to Malaysia from Jeddah tomorrow.

Datuk Aishah was one of the longest-serving people in the Malaysian auto industry which she spent her entire working life in. She entered the industry in the mid-1970s after graduating from MARA, starting off as an executive trainee at the Inchcape Motor Group. She moved through the group in various roles in marketing and was the first woman to attain the position of Group Marketing Services Manager in the late 1970s.

With the withdrawal of the Inchcape Group from the Malaysian auto industry in the early 1980s, Datuk Aishah then moved to Sime Darby in 1981 where she was Fleet Sales Manager in AMIM, the subsidiary handling Ford vehicles. Over the years, she would continue to take on various roles in the Sime Darby Motors Group, with the most recent being Head of Corporate Affairs.

While with the Sime Darby Motors Group, Datuk Aishah was involved in some of the brands handled by the group, such as Ford, Jaguar and Land Rover, and was also CEO of Sime Darby Auto Imports Sdn Bhd.

However, Datuk Aishah was more well known in public as President of the Malaysian Automotive Association, a position she held from 2000. In fact, just recently, she presented the report on the auto industry’s 2022 sales and production which was its best ever in its history.

As President of the MAA, Datuk Aishah also represented Malaysia in regional automotive groups. She was also Chairman of the Automotive Federation of Malaysia (since 1998) and represented the industry in engagements with the government on formulating policies and addressing various issues.

May Allah bless her soul and place her in Jannah.