Rahimah Stephens

Rahimah Stephens (22 October 1930 – 14 March 2022) was a Malaysian politician. She was the Member of Sabah State Legislative Assembly for Kiulu from 1976 to 1985. She was also the wife of Fuad Stephens, the first Chief Minister of Sabah.

Yang Berbahagia Toh Puan Datuk Seri Panglima Hajah Rahimah Stephens SPDK PGDK
Rahimah Stephens during an interview about her husband
Member of the Sabah State Legislative Assembly for Kiulu
In office 15 July 1976 – 1985
Preceded by	Fuad Stephens
Succeeded by	Gisin Lombut
Personal details
Born	Cecilia June Lutter (1930-10-22)22 October 1930 Beaufort, North Borneo (now Sabah)
Died	14 March 2022(2022-03-14) (aged 91) Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Citizenship	Malaysian
Political party	UPKO BERJAYA
Other political affiliations	Barisan Nasional (1976-1986)
Spouse	Fuad Stephens
Children	Johari Stephens (adopted stepson, deceased) Affendi Stephens (deceased) Asgari Stephens Faridah Stephens Fauziah Stephens (adopted daughter)
Occupation	Politician

Participation in NGO

Rahimah was active in the Sabah Anti Tuberculosis Association (SABATA), Malaysian Red Crescent Society, 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 party established by her husband, Tun Fuad Stephens.^[1] After that, she joined BERJAYA together with her husband and became the Chief of Women's Wing of BERJAYA. She was then elected to become the Member of Sabah State Legislative Assembly 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 woman to be appointed as a Sabah cabinet member in the new administration.^[2][3]

Election results

Sabah State Legislative Assembly^[4]

Year	Constituency	Candidate		Votes	Pct.	Opponent(s)		Votes	Pct.	Ballots cast	Majority	Turnout
1976	Kiulu		Rahimah Stephens (BERJAYA)	Unopposed
1981			Rahimah Stephens (BERJAYA)	2,552	67.23%		Gisin Lombut (PASOK)	1,071	28.21%	3,796	1,481	77.42
							Indra Bayat (PUSAKA)	42	1.11%
1985			Rahimah Stephens (BERJAYA)	1,462	32.19%		Gisin Lombut (PBS)	2,289	50.40%	4,542	827	75.81
							Abdul Kadir Baba (USNO)	637	14.02%
							Gaibin Ransoi (BERSEPADU)	45	0.99%
							Abdul Kahim Abdul Sanip (BERSIH)	36	0.79%
1986			Rahimah Stephens (BERJAYA)	1,775	36.20%		Gisin Lombut (PBS)	2,967	60.51%	4,903	1,192	75.31
							Ayun Meliyon (IND)	101	2.06%

Health

She died on 14 March 2022 due to heart attack at a private hospital after she fell down at her home and broke her bone.^[2][3][5]

Honours

• Sabah :
  • Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (PGDK) - Datuk (1971) ^[6]
  • Grand Commander of the Order of Kinabalu (SPDK) - Datuk Seri Panglima (1982) ^[6]