Rahimah Stephens (22 October 1930 – 14 March 2022) was a Malaysian politician. She was the Member of

Sabah State Legislative Assembly The Sabah State Legislative Assembly ( ms, Dewan Undangan Negeri Sabah, Kadazandusun: ''Langga' Tinukuan Pogun Sabah'') is a part of the legislature of Sabah, Malaysia, the other being the governor of Sabah. The assembly meets at the Sabah S ...

for Kiulu from 1976 to 1985. She was also the wife of

Fuad Stephens Muhammad Fuad Stephens, (born Donald Aloysius Marmaduke Stephens; 14 September 1920 – 6 June 1976) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 1st and 5th Chief Minister of Sabah from September 1963 to December 1964 and again briefly from A ...

, the first

Chief Minister of Sabah The Ketua Menteri Sabah or Chief Minister of Sabah is the head of government of the Malaysian state of Sabah. Since September 2020, the position has been held by Hajiji Noor from the Malaysian United Indigenous Party (BERSATU), Perikatan N ...

Participation in NGO

Rahimah was active in the Sabah Anti Tuberculosis Association (SABATA),

Malaysian Red Crescent Society The Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) ( ms, Bulan Sabit Merah Malaysia (BSMM)) is a voluntary humanitarian organization that seeks to promote humanitarian values, as well as provide service and public education in disaster management, as we ...

, Inner Wheel Club, National Stokees Association, and Senior Citizen Association. She was also the founder of Sabah Heart Fund (SOS).

Politics

In 1961, Rahimah became the first Chief of Women's Wing in

UPKO The United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation ( ms, Pertubuhan Kinabalu Progresif Bersatu; abbrev: UPKO) is a multiracial political party based in Sabah, Malaysia. The party was rebranded from its previous party's name, United Pasokmomogun ...

, the party established by her husband, Tun Fuad Stephens. After that, she joined

BERJAYA Sabah People's United Front or in Malay ''Parti Bersatu Rakyat Jelata Sabah'' is more commonly known by its abbreviation BERJAYA, was a political party based in the state of Sabah, Malaysia. BERJAYA was formed by former United Sabah National Or ...

together with his husband and became the Chief of Women's Wing of BERJAYA. She was then elected to become the Member of

for Kiulu after a by-election, caused by the death of her husband. On 17 July 1976, she was appointed as the Welfare Minister of Sabah and became the first female to be appointed as a Sabah cabinet member.

Election results

Health

She passed away on 14 March 2022 due to heart attack at a private hospital after she fell down at her home and broke her bone.

Honours

* : **

Commander of the

Order of Kinabalu The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu (Malay: ''Darjah Yang Amat Mulia Kinabalu'') is the only order conferred by the Governor of Sabah, Malaysia. Background The Illustrious Order of Kinabalu is established by virtue of Section 3(a) of State Honou ...

(PGDK) - Datuk (1971) ** MY-SAB Order of Kinabalu - SPDK

Grand Commander of the

(SPDK) - Datuk Seri Panglima (1982)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Rahimah 20th-century Malaysian politicians Converts to Islam from Roman Catholicism Malaysian women in politics Malaysian Muslims Malaysian people of British descent People from Sabah United Pasokmomogun Kadazan Organisation politicians Sabah People's United Front politicians Members of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly 1930 births Kadazan-Dusun people 2022 deaths Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu Malaysian people of English descent Grand Commanders of the Order of Kinabalu