Abdul Rahim Ishak

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Ishak is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Abdul. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.

Abdul Rahim Ishak (25 July 1925 – 18 January 2001), also known as Encik Rahim, was a Singaporean politician, diplomat and journalist. A member of the People's Action Party (PAP), Abdul was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Siglap from 1963 to 1984. He was also a Minister of State for Education from 1965 to 1968 and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs for 1969 to 1972.

Abdul Rahim Ishak
UN Headquarters, 1967: Abdul, Lee Kuan Yew, U Thant, S. Rajaratam and Wong Lin Ken
Ambassador for Singapore to Indonesia
In office 1974–1979
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
In office 1969–1972
Ambassador for Singapore to Yugoslavia, Ethiopia, and Lebanon
In office 1969
Minister of State for Education
In office 1965–1968
Ambassador for Singapore to United Arab Republic
In office 1967
Member of Parliament for Siglap
In office 21 September 1963 – 4 December 1984
Preceded by	Sahorah bte Ahmat
Succeeded by	Abdullah Tarmugi
Personal details
Born	(1925-07-25)25 July 1925 Singapore
Died	18 January 2001(2001-01-18) (aged 75) Singapore
Political party	People's Action Party
Spouse	Mawan Wajid Khan
Children	6
Relatives	Yusof bin Ishak (brother)
Education	Raffles College
Occupation	Politician, diplomat, journalist

He was the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary first to the United Arab Republic in 1967, Yugoslavia, Ethiopia, and Lebanon in 1969, and to Indonesia from 1974 to 1979. He became an envoy to New Zealand in July 1982. He was the youngest brother of Yusof bin Ishak, the first President of Singapore.

Early life

Born 25 July 1925 in Singapore, Abdul received his education at King Edward VII School in Perak and Raffles College in Singapore, and was eligible to be a teacher. He worked as a news journalist for the Utusan Melayu from 1947 to 1959.^[1]

Career and personal life

Abdul served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary first to the United Arab Republic in 1968, to Yugoslavia, Ethiopia, and Lebanon in 1969, and to Indonesia from 1974 to 1979. He became an envoy to New Zealand in July 1981, succeeding Lee Khoon Choy.^[2] He succeeded Chan Keng Howe as High Commissioner to New Zealand officially on 12 July 1981.^[1] His spouse Cik Mawan Wajid Khan was the president of the Siglap Women's Association.^[2] They had six children; they had at least one daughter, Lily Zubaidah Rahim.^[3]

Later life and death

Abdul retired from his political career in 1984 and was rarely seen in public.^[4] In December 2000, he was hospitalised for treatment.^[5] He died on 18 January 2001 from an unspecified illness, aged 75. Many leaders in Asia offered their condolences.^[6]