Mr. Rakam Sijim was born on 25 Februari 1954 in Kg Raganan, Tuaran. He is married to Puan Normah Sudin and they have four children.

Rakam is currently one of the Vice President of the Sabah United Party (Parti Bersatu Sabah) and heads the PBS Sulaman Division.

He graduated with a Diploma in Agriculture from the Agricultural University of Malaysia (Universiti Pertanian Malaysia) in 1976 then proceeded to complete his Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness in 1982. In 1993, he pursued his postgraduate diploma in Business Management in Agriculture and Food Industries at the Royal Agricultural College in United Kingdom.

He started work as a Paddy Officer with the Sabah Padi Board (now defunct) in April 1976 and was promoted as a Senior Paddy Officer in November 1976, a post he held until May 1982. From 1982 until 1999, he was the General Manager of the Farmer's Association of Sabah (Pertubuhan Peladang Negeri Sabah) before venturing into full-time politics.

For his numerous contributions to the State, he was conferred the Bintang Setia Kinabalu (BSK) medal in 1996 and the Ahli Setia Darjah Kinabalu (ASDK) in 2002 by the TYT Yang diPertua Negeri Sabah.