Muhammad Fuad Stephens, was the first Chief Minister of the state of Sabah in Malaysia, and the first Huguan Siou or Paramount Leader of the Kadazandusun 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 16th September 1963 until 31st December 1964 when he was forced to resign; and again in 1976 for 54 days from 15th April. During his second term as Chief Minister he died in a controversial accident on 6 June 1976, in Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah. He was a passenger in an Australian made Nomad aircraft which crashed and killed everyone on board, including his son Johari. His body was buried at the State Mausoleum near the Sabah State Mosque, Kota Kinabalu.
Early life
Stephens was born on 14 September 1920 in Kudat. His father, Jules Stephen Pavitt, was of mixed parentage, half-Kadazan and half-British. Jules was born and brought up in North Borneo. Jules' father, Ernest Alfred Pavitt, had roots in Akaroa, New Zealand. When Ernest Alfred Pavitt left North Borneo to live in New Zealand, Jules dropped the name Pavitt and made his surname Stephens. Fuad Stephens's mother, Edith Cope, was an ethnic mix of Japanese and British. 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 the Dewan Negara from 1985 to 1988 amongst other accomplishments. His sisters were Esther and Agnes.
Political career
Donald Stephens founded the political party United National Kadazan Organisation in August 1961. He played a key role in negotiating the independence of Sabah and the formation of Malaysia, together with Tun Mustapha of United Sabah National Organisation, Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and Tunku Abdul Rahman, the then Prime Minister of Malaya. The formation of Malaysia was finally achieved on 16 September 1963, which is today known as Malaysia Day. He became Sabah's first Chief Minister. In 1964, Donald Stephens stepped down as Chief Minister to become the first Malaysian federal cabinet member from Sabah. He was replaced by Peter Lo Sui Yin from the Sabah Chinese Association. Stephens became the minister in charge of Sabah affairs under the Prime Minister's department. 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 the Federation of Malaya, which had less autonomy. Following Singapore's exit from Malaysia, Stephens sought a review of Sabah's participation in the federation, although he was not seeking secession. However, this was rejected by the federal government, which feared that such a move would endanger the federation as a whole. In 1973, Fuad Stephens was appointed as the governor of Sabah, known as the Yang di-Pertua Negara. He held this position until 1975. Later that same year, Tun Fuad Stephens together with Harris Salleh formed the new political party 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.
Plane crash
On 6 June 1976, Tun Fuad Stephens and several cabinet members boarded a flight from Labuan heading towards Kota Kinabalu. About from Kota Kinabalu International Airport, the plane crashed killing everyone on board. The site of the plane crash is marked by a memorial 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.
Personal life
Stephens converted to Islam in January 1971, and adopted the name 'Muhammad Fuad', the latter meaning "heart" in Arabic. Stephens was also encouraged to renounce his surname at the time of his conversion but declined to do so. From 1968 to 1973, he held the post of High Commissioner of Malaysia to Australia.
