Of the Asia-Pacific Ladies Friendship Society, Nora Marzuki said, "One of its main objectives is to raise funds for charity, and this is very dear to my heart. . . . In this day and age, when there are so many unfortunate and disastrous events, our efforts in raising funds can go a long way towards alleviating suffering."
Nora, wife of the ambassador of Malaysia to Japan, is chairwoman of the ALFS Asian Festival 2002 Committee. With her cochairwoman, Chansuda Gibson, wife of the New Zealand ambassador, Nora is the right person in the right job. She is observant, imaginative and unfussed, with a ready quick sympathy. Her 28 years of being a diplomatic wife have given her, she said, "wide experience of different kinds of people from different parts of the world. I am grateful."
Born in Kuala Lumpur, Nora is a third-generation Malaysian whose grandparents on both sides of her family were from China. As well as her own language, she speaks three Chinese dialects, Spanish and English, which was the medium of her education. From the Anglican school that she attended, she worked briefly as a secretary. Then she married.