Lim Kim San
Lim Kim San | |
---|---|
林金山 | |
![]() Lim Kim San | |
Minister for the Environment | |
In office 1 February 1979 – 6 January 1981 | |
Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
Preceded by | Edmund W. Barker |
Succeeded by | Ong Pang Boon |
Constituency | Cairnhill SMC |
In office 16 September 1972 – 1 June 1975 | |
Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Edmund W. Barker |
Constituency | Cairnhill SMC |
Minister for Communications | |
In office 31 December 1976 – 30 June 1978 | |
Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
Preceded by | Yong Nyuk Lin |
Succeeded by | Ong Teng Cheong |
Constituency | Cairnhill SMC |
Minister for National Development | |
In office 31 December 1976 – 31 January 1979 | |
Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
Preceded by | Edmund W. Barker |
Succeeded by | Teh Cheang Wan |
Constituency | Cairnhill SMC |
In office 19 October 1963 – 8 August 1965 | |
Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
Preceded by | Tan Kia Gan |
Succeeded by | Edmund W. Barker |
Constituency | Cairnhill SMC |
Minister for Education | |
In office 11 August 1970 – 15 September 1972 | |
Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
Preceded by | Ong Pang Boon |
Succeeded by | Lee Chiaw Meng |
Constituency | Cairnhill SMC |
Minister for the Interior and Defence | |
In office 17 August 1967 – 10 August 1970 | |
Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
Preceded by | Goh Keng Swee |
Succeeded by | Position abolished |
Constituency | Cairnhill SMC |
Minister of Finance | |
In office 9 August 1965 – 16 August 1967 | |
Prime Minister | Lee Kuan Yew |
Preceded by | Goh Keng Swee |
Succeeded by | Goh Keng Swee |
Constituency | Cairnhill SMC |
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Singapore | |
In office 2 November 1963[1] – 9 August 1965 | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Position abolished |
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Cairnhill | |
In office 21 September 1963 – 5 December 1980 | |
Preceded by | Lim Yew Hock |
Succeeded by | Wong Kwei Cheong |
Personal details | |
Born | Singapore | 30 November 1916
Died | 20 July 2006[2] Singapore | (aged 89)
Cause of death | Died from long illness |
Spouse(s) | Pang Gek Kim (m. 1939; deceased) |
Children | 2 sons, 4 daughters |
Parents | Lim Choon Huat (father) Wee Geok Khuan (mother)[3] |
Alma mater | Anglo-Chinese School Raffles College |
Known for | Housing Development Board |
Lim Kim San (Chinese: 林金山; pinyin: Lín Jīnshān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lîm Kim-san) DUT (First Class) (30 November 1916 – 20 July 2006) was a Singaporean politician. He was credited for leading the successful public housing program in the Southeast Asian city-state during the early 1960s, which eased the acute housing shortage problem at that time.
Personal life[]
Born in 1916 in Singapore, Lim was the eldest of six children. He was educated at Oldham Hall School, Anglo-Chinese School, and then Raffles College (now known as the National University of Singapore), where he obtained a Diploma in Arts (Economics) in 1939.[4][5]
When World War II erupted and the Japanese occupied Singapore, Lim was one of many tortured on suspicion of being pro-communist and pro-British. A long time after the war, Lim said that those who survived the horror and the brutality of the Japanese occupation "will never forget them." Mr Lim also said that the experience, while traumatic and humiliating, politicized his generation and made them vow to "never let our fate be decided by others."[citation needed]
Lim made his first million at age 36 when he came up with a machine to produce sago pearls cheaply.[4]
Career[]
In 1958, Lim was appointed to the Public Service Commission and the Housing Board. Lim served as a Member of Parliament in Cairnhill from 1963 to 1980.[citation needed]
Housing Development Board[]
In 1960, Lim was appointed the first Chairman of the Housing Development Board. Due to a rapidly increasing population, more than 400,000 people were living in over-crowded conditions in ramshackle “shophouse” buildings or in squatter settlements with substandard living conditions. At this time, Lim was appointed to the Housing Development Board.
He had volunteered for the job and had not been paid for three years. It was in this position that Lim oversaw the massive construction of high-rise, low-cost apartments that would eventually become the main source of housing for Singaporeans.[6]
Housing Plan[]
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Lim was known for his organizing and planning abilities. He forwent a detailed planning stage and instead chose a "rough and ready" approach to work fast using rough estimates of the housing requirement. In the first two year of this crash program, over 2000 units were built, more than what was built in the previous decade.
Lim defied all detractors, in particular those in the Singapore Improvement Trust, who said he could not build 10,000 units a year. A committee was eventually set up under Lim Tay Boh (Chinese: 林溪茂; pinyin: Lín Xīmào) to find out whether the HDB had the capability and the materials to reach the construction goal. By the time the committee published its report, the HDB had already completed 10,000 units of housing.[5]
In the first Five Year Housing Program, HDB achieved its goal of completing 5,000 units of housing by 1965. The largest project at that time was Queenstown, a satellite town of more than 17,500 apartments capable of housing close to 22,000 people. The new neighborhood was built as a self-contained entity, with all amenities and shops built along with the houses, so people would not need to travel to other areas for basic necessities, thereby lowering traffic congestion. This philosophy (which was ultimately extended with the concept of regional centre), is generally accredited by many to have significantly contributed to the lower rate of congestion and burden on the central business district than before.
In May 1961, the Bukit Ho Swee Fire broke out and some 16,000 people became homeless. Under Lim's guidance, the relocation and reconstruction of the lost housing was completed in just over four years, and 1200 housing flats were made available to those who lost their homes in the fire.
The success of the housing project was considered by some to stem mainly from the standardized architectural designs that were used. Another important factor was Lim's decision to use private contractors rather than employing construction workers directly. This allowed the HDB to supervise the contractors to ensure standards, rather than dealing with minute problems. Also, overall cost was kept low by using a large pool of contractors and different sources of building materials.
There are some who said that by solving Singapore's housing problem, Lim saved the PAP in the process. However, Lim himself was more modest, saying the success of the housing programme was also due to government funding, as housing was, and still is, a top priority.
Part of Lim's success at the HDB was that he had the trust of the Prime Minister at the time, Lee Kuan Yew. He also worked closely with the Minister of Finance at the time, Goh Keng Swee. These connections allowed Lim keep the housing program well-funded. Another political factor that allowed the success of the Housing Project was that Lim managed to cut through bureaucratic red tape and rigid regulations that would have otherwise hindered the housing program.
Port of Singapore Authority[]
After retiring from politics, Lim was appointed Chairman of the Port of Singapore Authority(PSA) from 1979 to 1994. Under his leadership, Singapore became the busiest port in the world.[7]
Singapore Press Holdings[]
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In 1988, he was invited to join Singapore Press holdings as Chairman of the board, but he accepted only on the condition that he was given executive powers. He restructured the company and upgraded the printing presses with full color capabilities and a new press centre.
SPH also invested in the telecommunications sector under his watch, doubling its profits.
Political career[]
In September 1963, Lim stood for election in the Singapore Legislative Assembly election as a PAP candidate from the Cairnhill constituency. Lim won by a landslide, winning 7,749 votes out of the 11,659 cast. In October, Lim was appointed as Minister for National Development. Also, in recognition of Lim's adept ability of judging a person's merits, he was also brought on board as the PAP's "talent scout."[citation needed]
After Singapore's independence in 1965, Lim served as Minister of Finance for 2 years, before becoming the Minister of Interior and Defence. He held this position for three years until 1970, when Lim was appointed as Chairman of the Public Utilities Board to oversee the development of new water reservoirs. He would hold the chairmanship from 1971 to 1978. He therefore returned to the other posts, such as Minister for Environment (1972 - 1975/1979 - 1981), Minister for Communications (1975 - 1978) and Minister for National Development (1978 - 1979).[citation needed]
He was Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers from 1992 to 2003.[8][9]
Retirement[]
Lim quit politics in 1980 but remained active in public life well into the twilight years of his life.[10] After a long illness, Lim died at approximately 5.30PM SST on 20 July 2006 at his home. He was cremated at Mandai. In recognition of Lim's work for the government, the Singaporean state flags on all government buildings were flown at half-mast on the day of his funeral.[11]
Lim left behind five children, 12 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.[12] England-born footballer Luke O'Nien is his grand-nephew.[13]
Honours[]
In June 1962, Lim was awarded Singapore's highest honor, the Darjah Utama Temasek (Order of Temasek).[14]
In August 1965, he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his community leadership.[15]
References[]
- ^ "PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES DEWAN RA'AYAT (HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES) OFFICIAL REPORT" (PDF). Dewan Rakyat. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- ^ "Lim Kim San (Lin Jin Shan)". History of Singapore Pioneers. 30 September 2006. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ "Lim Kim San". National Library Board. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Lim Kim San | Infopedia". Eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Former Cabinet Minister Lim Kim San dies at age 89". Channel NewsAsia. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ "Lim Kim San: A Builder Of Singapore (Select Books: The Asian Book Specialist - Bookseller, Publisher and Distributor)". Select Books. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ Lim Kim San: a builder of Singapore. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. 2009. ISBN 978-9812309280.
- ^ "Plaque presented to Mr Lim Kim San in appreciation of his services as Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers". Singapore Government. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
- ^ Asad Latif (2009), Lim Kim San: A Builder of Singapore, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, ISBN 978-981-230-928-0
- ^ "Lim Kim San – Singapore's Home-Builder (1916 – 2006)". National Archives of Singapore. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ "State flags to be flown at half-mast for Lim Kim San's funeral". Channel NewsAsia. 3 February 2016. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- ^ "Mr Lim Kim San laid to rest". Singapore-window.org. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
- ^ "Wycombe's O'Nien keen to play for Singapore". The NewPaper. 9 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ "Lim Kim San to take over as SPH executive chairman". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "HDB's mastermind now takes it easy". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- 1916 births
- 2006 deaths
- Members of the Parliament of Singapore
- Members of the Dewan Rakyat
- Members of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore
- Singaporean people of Chinese descent
- People's Action Party politicians
- Members of the Cabinet of Singapore
- Anglo-Chinese School alumni
- Recipients of the Darjah Utama Temasek
- Ministers for Defence of Singapore
- Finance ministers of Singapore
- Environment ministers of Singapore
- Ministers for Education of Singapore
- Communications ministers of Singapore