The ‘father of Malaysia from Sabah’, through his son’s eyes

No matter how demanding his day, Fuad Stephens tried to be home for dinner with the family. His children were expected at the table, too, and anyone wishing to miss dinner had to explain why.

“You couldn’t just not turn up,” his son, Asgari Stephens, told FMT Lifestyle with a smile.

That ritual spoke volumes: the statesman who spent his days among crowds still made time to keep his family close.

There were also picnics and days by the sea. “He was a very loving dad. Sometimes, I don’t know how he managed to do so much,” added Asgari, 66.

Born on Sept 14, 1920, in Kudat, Sabah, Fuad would have turned 106 just two days before Malaysia Day this year.

Known as the “father of Malaysia from Sabah”, he played a key role in the negotiations leading to Malaysia’s formation and became Sabah’s first chief minister.

But to Asgari, he was simply a doting parent who prized education and taught his children honesty and the importance of giving back.

Fuad’s warmth reached well beyond the home, allowing him to connect just as easily with villagers as with heads of state.

Fluent in Malay, English and several Chinese dialects – and having even picked up Japanese during World War II – he put his gift for languages to use by helping others write letters to the authorities in English.

Of Eurasian-Kadazan heritage, he and his family converted to Islam in 1971. The Kadazan community remained close to his heart, and they embraced him as their “Huguan Siou” (paramount leader).

“In his will, he included his best wishes for the Kadazan people. It always makes me very emotional,” said Asgari, a veteran venture capitalist and angel investor.

Yet Fuad’s hopes for Sabah crossed ethnic lines. “I always like to think he was a guy who believed in multiracial politics,” Asgari added, saying he believes his father envisioned a more inclusive, meritocratic Sabah that developed the skills of its people.

At the same time, he did not want Sabah to gain independence only to remain heavily dependent on the old colonial structures. “We had very few graduates, and the government machinery was still run by the British.”

Still, his father was initially cautious about the idea of Malaysia. “Without a united front – Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore acting together as a counterweight – we would really have been quite lost, and I think that was his concern.”

According to Asgari, it was Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew who played a key role in convincing Fuad to support the formation of Malaysia.

“He was very good friends with Lee. They had been through the formation of Malaysia together, sitting on committees to decide how they would participate and join Malaysia as partners.”

Singapore’s departure on Aug 9, 1965, broke his father’s heart. The following day, he wrote Lee a letter, a copy of which was discovered decades later by Asgari’s sister, Faridah.

“I feel like death. Tears, heartbreak, completely lost and betrayed,” Fuad wrote, mourning the years spent “selling the idea of Malaysia to my people”.

Then, on June 6, 1976, tragedy struck. The aircraft carrying Fuad, his eldest son Johari and nine others crashed in Kota Kinabalu, killing everyone aboard. It became known as the “Double Six” tragedy.

Fuad had been 55 and only weeks into his second term as Sabah’s chief minister. Several of the state’s ministers also died in the crash, deepening the state’s loss.

At boarding school in Australia, Asgari was told by his housemaster early the next morning that his father and brother had died.

For about five years, he said, a “black cloud” hung over those left behind, and family time once filled with beaches, boats and laughter became painfully quiet.

Asked what his father would think of Sabah today, Asgari reckons he would say “it’s a big shame”.

“We were one of the richest states, and now we are one of the poorest. After so many years of independence, I think it’s shocking. Given the resources that we’ve had, it shouldn’t have been like this.”

Still, he sees traces of his father’s belief in a multiracial Sabah in the way people of different backgrounds continue to mix freely.

“I hope that Sabah’s politicians can come together and really act for all Sabahans. I’ve been feeling optimistic more recently,” Asgari said.

For him, Malaysia Day brings pride in his father’s legacy, tempered by sadness over what might have been.

“If Singapore hadn’t left, if my father had not passed away, things might have been different. I like to think they might have been different,” he concluded.

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