Muhammad Fuad Stephens | |
|---|---|
| محمد فؤاد ستيفنس | |
 | |
| 1st & 5thChief Minister of Sabah | |
| In office 18 April 1976 – 6 June 1976 | |
| Governor | Mohd Hamdan Abdullah |
| Deputy | Harris Salleh |
| Preceded by | Mohammad Said Keruak |
| Succeeded by | Harris Salleh |
| In office 16 September 1963 – 31 December 1964 | |
| Governor | Mustapha Harun |
| Deputy | Samson Sundang Gunsanad |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Peter Lo Sui Yin |
| 3rdYang di-Pertua Negara of Sabah | |
| In office 16 September 1973 – 28 July 1975 | |
| Chief Minister | Mustapha Harun |
| Preceded by | Pengiran Ahmad Raffae |
| Succeeded by | Mohd Hamdan Abdullah |
| 6thMalaysian High Commissioner to Australia | |
| In office 1968–1973 | |
| Preceded by | Mohamed Baba |
| Succeeded by | Awang Hassan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Donald Aloysius Marmaduke Stephens (1920-09-14)14 September 1920 Kudat,British North Borneo (nowSabah, Malaysia) |
| Died | 6 June 1976(1976-06-06) (aged 55) Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia |
| Resting place | Makam Pahlawan,Masjid Negeri Sabah, Kota Kinabalu |
| Political party | United National Kadazan Organisation (UNKO) United Pasokmomogun Kadazan Organisation (UPKO) Sabah People's United Front (BERJAYA) |
| Spouse(s) | Ida (married 1950–1957)[1] Rahimah Stephens (Cecilia June Lutter)[2] |
| Children | Johari (John Benedict; adopted–1952–1976)[3] Affendi (Richard Bernard; 1958–2009) Asgari (James Denis; born 1960) Faridah (Jean Heather; born 1962) Fauziah (Elma; adopted–born 1958)[4] |
| Parents |
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Muhammad Fuad Stephens, (bornDonald Aloysius Marmaduke Stephens; 14 September 1920 – 6 June 1976)[5] was aMalaysianpolitician who served as the 1st and 5thChief Minister of Sabah from September 1963 to December 1964 and again briefly from April 1976 to his death in June 1976, 3rdYang di-Pertua Negara of Sabah from September 1973 to July 1975, 6thHigh Commissioner of Malaysia to Australia from 1968 to 1973. In addition, he also served as the 1stHuguan Siou or Paramount Leader of theKadazandusun community. He played a role in bringing Sabah into the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. While he was initially against the idea of Sabah joining in the Federation, given British concerns about the stability of the region and their move to relinquish all their colonies in the post WWII era, he was gradually convinced to work towards it. He held the chief minister's post from 16 September 1963 until 31 December 1964 when he was forced to resign; and again in 1976 for 54 days from 15 April.
During his second term as Chief Minister (which began on 15 April 1976) he died in a controversial accident on 6 June 1976 dubbedDouble Six Crash, inKota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah. He was a passenger in an Australian madeNomad aircraft which crashed and killed everyone on board, including his son Johari. His body was buried at the State Mausoleum near theSabah State Mosque,Kota Kinabalu.
Stephens was born on 14 September 1920 inKudat. His father, Jules Stephen Pavitt (later known as Jules Pavitt Stephens, Snr.), was of mixed parentage, half-Kadazan and half-British. Jules was born and brought up in North Borneo in the district ofPapar. Jules' father, Ernest Alfred Pavitt was born inAkaroa,New Zealand but had ancestral roots inColchester,Essex,England,United Kingdom.[6] When Ernest Alfred Pavitt left North Borneo to live in New Zealand, Jules dropped the name Pavitt and made his surname Stephens. Fuad Stephens' mother, Edith Cope, was of mixed Japanese, British and Dusun ancestry fromKinabatangan,Sandakan. Stephens had five siblings; two younger sisters and three younger brothers. Two of them, John and Martin, died in infancy. A third, Leo Benedict was born in 1926 and later became the President of theDewan Negara from 1985 to 1988 amongst other accomplishments.[7] His sisters were Esther (born in 1928) and Agnes (born in 1930).
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Donald Stephens founded the political partyUnited National Kadazan Organisation (UNKO) in August 1961. He played a key role in negotiating the independence of Sabah and the formation of Malaysia, together withTun Mustapha ofUnited Sabah National Organisation (USNO),Lee Kuan Yew ofSingapore andTunku Abdul Rahman, the thenPrime Minister of Malaya. The formation of Malaysia was finally achieved on 16 September 1963, which is today known asMalaysia Day. He became Sabah's first Chief Minister as UNKO together with USNO andSabah Chinese Association (SCA) formed the Sabah Alliance coalition to rule the newGovernment of Sabah.[citation needed]
In 1964, Donald Stephens stepped down as Chief Minister to become the first Malaysian federalcabinet member from Sabah. He was replaced byPeter Lo Sui Yin of SCA. Stephens became the minister in charge of Sabah affairs under the Prime Minister's department.[8]
Stephens saw Malaysia as the federation of four countries - Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore - as equal partners, as opposed to the eleven states making up theFederation of Malaya, which had less autonomy.[9]
Following Singapore's exit from Malaysia, Stephens sought a review of Sabah's participation in the federation,[10] although he was not seeking secession.[11] However, this was rejected by the federal government, which feared that such a move would endanger the federation as a whole.[12]
In 1973, Fuad Stephens was appointed as the governor of Sabah, known as theYang di-Pertua Negara (the post was later downgraded after 1976 toYang di-Pertua Negeri).[13] He held this position until 1975. Later that same year, Tun Fuad Stephens together withHarris Salleh formed the new political partySabah People's United Front (BERJAYA). They won the 1976 state election, defeating Tun Mustapha's USNO and becoming the new government of Sabah. Tun Fuad Stephens became Sabah's fifth Chief Minister. Forty-four days later, he died in a plane crash.[citation needed]
On 6 June 1976 ("Double Six"), Tun Fuad Stephens and several cabinet members boarded a flight fromLabuan heading towardsKota Kinabalu. About 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) fromKota Kinabalu International Airport, the plane crashed killing everyone on board.
The site of the plane crash is marked by a memorial calledDouble Six Monument constructed not long after the accident. The site is located in the Sembulan area near the Grace Garden housing complex in Kota Kinabalu across Jalan Coastal Highway from Sutera Harbour resort.
Stephens converted to Islam on 7 January 1971, while he was a Malaysian High Commissioner to Australia, together with his wife and five children atTun Mustapha's residence. Stephens said that he and Mustapha were "blood brothers" when they pricked their fingers in August 1969. He and his family also had close ties with Mustapha's family. Stephens also considered the religion to be a unification factor in Sabah and also in Malaysia as a whole to bring prosperity and happiness to the country.[14] Stephens adopted the name 'Muhammad Fuad', the latter meaning "heart" inArabic. Stephens was also encouraged to renounce his surname at the time of his conversion but declined to do so.[4] From 1968 to 1973, he held the post ofHigh Commissioner of Malaysia to Australia. On 14 March 2022, his widow Toh Puan Rahimah Stephens died of a heart attack at a private hospital where she was admitted after a fall at her house at the age of 92. Rahimah was also State Minister of Welfare of Sabah and Member of theSabah State Legislative Assembly (MLA) forKiulu. She was the first woman to be appointed to the state ministerial position. Chief Minister of SabahHajiji Noor also visited her family to pay his last respects and convey his condolences, he was accompanied by state government officials and state assemblymen. She was later laid to rest at the Kampung Likas Muslim Cemetery. The funeral was held in the presence of close family members.[15][16][17]
Malaysia :
Commander of theOrder of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) –Tan Sri (1970)[18]_-_SMN.svg)
Grand Commander of theOrder of the Defender of the Realm (SMN) –Tun (1975)[19]
Sabah :
Grand Commander of theOrder of Kinabalu (SPDK) –Datuk Seri Panglima (1963)[20]
Sarawak :.png)
Knight Commander of theMost Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak (PNBS) –Dato (1964)[21]Several places were named after him, including:
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New creation | Chief Minister of Sabah 1963–1964 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Sabah 1973–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief Minister of Sabah April 1976 – June 1976 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
