Cover story: Meet Maria Musa, one of Tatler Asia’s Most Stylish 2024

While Maria says she chooses her clothes “simply,” her choices are far from ordinary. Vintage treasures from Escada, Max Mara and Ralph Lauren fill her wardrobe. “When travelling in Europe, I would buy one or two pieces,” she says, demonstrating how deeply she values pieces that stand the test of time. For example, a pair of Gucci square heels from the 1980s, purchased at half price in Rome and loved for their craftsmanship and timeless design, became her everyday shoes for decades. 

This cultural awareness, refined taste and discernment mirror Maria’s diverse personal history. Born to a multicultural family–she has Italian, French, Spanish and Peruvian heritage—her life took an unexpected turn in 1959 when, as a fourth-year architecture student in Lima, Peru, she met a young international student from Malaysia. This led to a whirlwind romance, including a proposal a few days after they met, followed by a wedding in Europe five months later. 

That was her first marriage, to now-retired politician and former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Musa Hitam, with whom she had three children and who remains a close friend. This bold decision set the stage for a life filled with extraordinary experiences after Musa’s appointment as deputy prime minister. From entertaining King Hussein of Jordan and his family to attending a cocktail party hosted by the President of Iran, her experiences unfurl like a historical docuseries. Yet despite the grandeur and high-profile nature of her life as a politician’s partner, she has remained grounded and focused on what truly matters—her family. 

Read more: Cover story: Meet Eyka Farhana, one of Tatler Asia’s Most Stylish 2024

Maria has managed to keep her family—including her three grandchildren and three-year-old great-grandson—as her home base amid their busy lives, gathering for meals at least once a week. She also makes use of her position as the matriarch, saying she always advises her children and grandchildren to “study as much as you can,” as she subscribes to the power and pursuit of knowledge. She practises what she preaches too, currently learning Mandarin and Italian while already fluent in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Spanish and French.

Ultimately, perhaps what’s most inspiring is Maria’s boundless capacity to live, learn and—as evidenced by her current marriage—love. In a serendipitous twist as dramatic as any romantic novel, at the age of 69, she reconnected with her childhood sweetheart, Arturo Belaunde. 

“He was my boyfriend when I was 17, and when I was 21, he asked me to marry him,” she says. But the timing wasn’t right. Forty-eight years after that youthful proposal, Maria was back in Peru for a tea party reunion with her old classmates when her niece told her that Belaunde had enquired after her after seeing an article about her in the Peruvian newspaper El Comercio. He had told the niece he “could never forget her.” The pair met up soon after that article which led to a reunion, and as Maria puts it, “Before we could say a word, I knew we were not going to part.” 

Maria and Belaunde have now been married for 20 years, living in Mantin, Seremban. Her musings on their love story are incredibly moving: “I’d say I am very lucky to have been able to be in love with a person and that person is in love with [me]. How many people go through life and never find [a partner like that and] love each other so much?”

Living in Mantin, Maria embraces a quieter lifestyle where her schedule prioritises her health and well-being. She enjoys playing golf, works out regularly, and keeps her mind sharp with Sudoku puzzles. “To reach my age well, I think it’s important to stay active,” she says, embodying the vitality that comes from a life well-lived. But even years after her time as a hostess for visiting politicians, she is always impeccably dressed, her hair coiffed and make-up flawlessly applied, even if she’s just enjoying a casual lunch at her daughter Rosana Musa’s house or engaging in community events. “In all the years I’ve known her, I’ve always seen her looking immaculate,” Kaelen tells us. Knowledgeable, intellectually curious, and an engaging communicator, Maria truly embodies the notion that style is not just about appearance but also about the stories you carry and the love you share. 

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