Lim Kit Siang

Infobox_Politician
honorific-prefix = Yang Berhormat Ipoh Timur Tuan
name = Lim Kit Siang 林吉祥


image_size= 200px
width =
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birth_date = Birth date and age|1941|2|20|df=y
birth_place = Batu Pahat, Johor
residence =
death_date =
death_place =
constituency_MP = Ipoh Timur
parliament = Malaysian
term_start = March 21 2004
term_end =
majority = 9,774
predecessor = Thong Fah Chong
successor =
office2 = Democratic Action Party National Chairman
term_start2 =1999
term_end2 =2004
predecessor2 = Chen Man Hin
successor2 = Karpal Singh Ram Singh
constituency2 =
office3 = Leader of Parliamentary Opposition
term_start3 = 1973 – 1999
March 21, 2004
term_end3 = February 13, 2008
predecessor3 = Mohamed Asri Muda (1973)
Abdul Hadi Awang (2004)
successor3 = Fadzil Noor (1999)
Wan Azizah (2008)
constituency3 = Kota Melaka, Tanjong
Ipoh Timur
party = flagicon|Malaysia Democratic Action Party - Pakatan Rakyat
religion =
occupation = flagicon|Malaysia Member of Parliament
majority =
relations =
spouse =
civil partner =
children = Lim Guan Eng
website = [http://limkitsiang.com/ Lim Kit Siang's blog]
footnotes =

Lim Kit Siang (born February 20, 1941; Chinese: 林吉祥; pinyin: Lín Jíxiáng) is a prominent leader of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a democratic socialist opposition party in Malaysia. He is the father of current Chief Minister of the State of Penang, Lim Guan Eng.

Lim was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn in 1977. He is married with four children. Since 1978, he has published 29 books.

Political history

Member of Parliament

Lim first emerged as a politician when he was National Organising Secretary of the DAP from 1966 to 1969. At the same time he was also entrusted to edit the party's newspaper, the Rocket. The course of the political landscape changed when he was promoted to Secretary-General in 1969 after being acting Secretary-General for a short period during a turbulent period in the country's history. Lim was first elected as an MP for the Kota Melaka seat in 1969. His election was initially held to be void, however, because the law prohibited an election agent who had previously failed to discharge his duties from standing for election in the future.

The then Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdul Razak, moved a motion in Parliament to prevent Lim from serving as an MP, granting him instead a period of time to request a royal pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King). After receiving the royal pardon, Lim was allowed to retain his seat.Rahman, Rashid A. (1994). "The Conduct of Elections in Malaysia", pp. 204–205. Kuala Lumpur: Berita Publishing. ISBN 967-969-331-7.]

Apart from 1999 - 2004 where he lost his seat due to the Chinese disenchantment with DAP entering into a political pact with the islamist PAS for the general elections, Lim represented various constituencies in four states:

* Bandar Melaka (1969 - 1974)
* Kota Melaka (1974 - 1978)
* Petaling Jaya (1978 -1982)
* Kota Melaka (1982 - 1986)
* Tanjong (1986 - 1999)
* Ipoh Timur (since 2004)

He also served as a state assemblyman in Melaka and Penang during the following periods: Kubu, Melaka (1974 - 1982); Kampong Kolam, Penang (1986 - 1990); and Padang Kota, Penang (1990 -1995).

He led the party in the capacity of Secretary-General until 1999 when he was elected Party Chairman, succeeding Chen Man Hin. In 2004, he refused re-appointment as the chairman and Karpal Singh was elected to replace him. Lim was then elected to an advisory role as the leader of a newly created body called the "Policy and Strategic Planning Commission". His son, Lim Guan Eng is currently the Secretary-General of the party and the Chief Minister of Penang.

After winning a parliamentary seat from Ipoh Timor during the 2004 general election, which also saw his party clinching the most seats of any opposition party, Lim became the Parliamentary Opposition Leader. In recent years the opposition have been campaigning for freer and fairer elections within Malaysia. On 10 November 2007, a mass rally, called the BERSIH Peaceful People’s Gathering, took place in the Dataran Merdeka Kuala Lumpur at 3pm to demand for clean and fair elections. The gathering was organised by BERSIH, a coalition comprising political parties and civil society groups, and drew supporters from all over the country.

In the March 2008 general election, he was re-elected as the Member of Parliament for Ipoh Timor with a majority of 21,942 votes.

Detention without trial

In 1969 Kit Siang was detained under the Internal Security Act for 18 months. Ten years later, in 1979, he was convicted of five charges under Official Secrets Act for exposing an inappropriate arms deal between the government and a Swiss company.

Lim was one of the people arrested during "Operation Lalang" in 1987 for inciting racism. He spent some years in prison under the Internal Security Act (Malaysia), which allows for two years of detention without trial at the pleasure of the Home Minister. The two-year sentence may, in practice, be extended indefinitely without any avenues for due process or appeal.

Controversy

Lim is a controversial figure for his strongly held views about Malaysian politics; some, such as Malay Malaysian writer Bakri Musa, have labeled him and fellow DAP leader Karpal Singh as racial provocateurs. [cite book |last=Musa |first=M. Bakri |title=Towards A Competitive Malaysia |year=2007 |publisher=Strategic Information and Research Development Centre |location=Petaling Jaya |isbn=978-983-3782-20-8|pages=79 ]

Books published

columns-list|2
# Time Bombs in Malaysia (1978)
# DAP and Labour Issues (1978)
# Malaysia In The Dangerous 80s (1982)
# Constitutional Crisis in Malaysia (1983)
# This Day In The Last 18 Months (1983)
# The BMF Scandal (1984)
# Harris Salleh - Politics & Morality (1984)
# Human Rights In Malaysia (1985)
# Malaysia - Crisis Of Identity (1986)
# BMF - The Scandal Of Scandals (1986)
# The North-South Highway Scandal (1987)
# Prelude To Operation Lalang (1990)
# The Dirtiest General Elections In The History Of Malaysia (1991)
# Selected Speeches & Press Statements - Vol. I (1991)
# Samy Vellu and MAIKA Scandal (1992)
# Battle For Democracy (1992)
# Vijandran Pornographic Videotape Scandal II (1992)
# The Bank Negara RM30 Billion Forex Losses Scandal (1994)
# The Highland Tower Tragedy (1994)
# Pendedahan Skandal Kewangan - Siapa Petualang FELCRA? (1994)
# Land Acquisition Act - Abuses, Injustices, Reform (1994)
# I.T. For All (1997)
# Cyberlaws in Malaysia (1997)
# Economic & Financial Crisis (1998)
# Political & Economic Crisis in Malaysia(1998)
# The Budget That Was Never Passed (1999)
# Constitutional Case of the Millennium (2000)
# BA & Islamic State (2001)
# No To 929 (2002)
# DAP(2004)

Timeline

columns-list|2
* 1941: Date of birth.
* 1966: National Organising Secretary of the DAP (1966 to 1969).
* 1969: Elected Member of Parliament for Kota Melaka (1969 - 1974);
** Promoted to Secretary-General of DAP;
** Detained under the Internal Security Act for 18 months.
* 1974: Elected Member of Parliament for Kota Melaka, and State Assemblyman for Kubu, Melaka (1974 - 1978).
* 1978: Elected Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya (1978 - 1982);
* 1979: Convicted of five charges under Official Secrets Act for exposing an arms deal between the government and a Swiss company.
* 1982: Elected Member of Parliament for Kota Melaka (1982 - 1986).
* 1986: Elected Member of Parliament for Tanjong, and State Assemblyman for Kampong Kolam, Penang (1986 - 1989).
* 1987: Detained under the Internal Security Act in Operation Lallang for 17 months.
* 1990: Elected State Assemblyman for Padang Kota, Penang (1990 -1995).
* 1999: Lost the election;
** Elected Chairman of DAP.
* 2004: Elected Member of Parliament for Ipoh Timur, led the opposition in parliament;
** Led the party's parliamentary caucus in the newly-created position of Chairman of the Central Policy and Strategic Planning Commission.
* 2008: Incumbent and re-elected as Member of Parliament for Ipoh Timur
**Post of Leader of Opposition succeeded by Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail

Notes and references

Other references

*Pillai, M.G.G. (Nov. 1, 2005). [http://www.malaysia-today.net/columns/pillai/2005/11/did-lee-kuan-yew-want-singapore.htm "Did Lee Kuan Yew want Singapore ejected from Malaysia?"] . "Malaysia Today".

External links

* [http://www.limkitsiang.com Official website]
* [http://dapmalaysia.org Official Website for DAP Malaysia]

s-aft|after= Fadzil Noor (PAS)