Malaysia will once again have a First Lady when Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Jeanne Abdullah tie the knot tomorrow.

The akad nikah or marriage solemnisation ceremony will be held at the premier's official residence Seri Perdana, in Putrajaya, tomorrow afternoon.

According to a Bernama report, the time of the wedding was revealed by Abdullah this morning when he corrected Internal Security Ministry secretary-general Abdul Aziz Yusof on the matter.

During a speech at a function in Putrajaya, Abdul Aziz said the ceremony will be held in the morning, however, Abdullah, who was also present, remarked: "It's at noon."

Previously, the Prime Minister's Office had only disclosed the date of the wedding but did not specify the time.

The wedding will be a modest affair and attended by close relatives.

Rumours of the wedding had been making the rounds for a long time, but Abdullah had consistently brushed it off.

Two days ago, the 67-year-old prime minister confirmed that he would be marrying Jeanne, 53, who is the former sister-in-law of Abdullah's late wife, Endon Mahmood.

Endon, who married Abdullah in 1965, had passed away on October 20, 2005 due to cancer. The couple have two children.

When announcing his marriage plans, Abdullah said: "My love for Endon remains as strong as ever but I have fallen in love with this one."

"I believe that God has created in your heart many spaces for many people that you can love as much as you want."

Meanwhile former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said he hoped Abdullah and Jeanne would have a happy married life together.

"As he (Abdullah) has lost his wife, it is `harus' (allowable in Islam) for him to get married again and I wish to congratulate him and pray for him to have a happy married life," he told reporters.

Family members happy

Jeanne was previously married to Endon's younger brother Othman Mahmood. They have two daughters.

Jeanne, who is of Portugese-Eurasian descent, was the supervisor of the deputy premier's official residence when Abdullah held that post, and later managed Seri Perdana.

Her daughters, Nadiah and Nadine, have also expressed joy over their mother's decision to wed the prime minister.

"We are both very glad for our mum and the prime minister," Nadiah was quoted as saying by Bernama .

She said that two good people had managed to find each other and the most important thing is that they are happy and be able to look after each other.

Nadiah and Nadine, on behalf of their mother, thanked their family, friends and the public for their warm wishes and blessings.

"We are very grateful for all the support, said Nadiah, 29,who runs a visual communications company in Kuala Lumpur. Her sister Nadine, 27, is involved in the fashion industry.

Abdullah's family members have also expressed happiness over the marriage.

Although, the prime minister said he and his wife-to-be have not discussed their honeymoon plans, Jeanne is expected to follow Abdullah to Brunei on Monday to attend the wedding of Brunei Sultan Hassanah Bolkiah's daughter.