Sir Han Hoe Lim (; 27 April 1894 – 23 March 1983)
was a Singaporean physician and politician.
Education
Lim was educated at
Chung Cheng High School Chung Cheng High School may refer to the following secondary schools in Singapore:
*Chung Cheng High School (Main), in Marine Parade
*Chung Cheng High School (Yishun)
Chung Cheng High School (Yishun) (CCHY) is a co-educational government-aided s ...
,
St Andrew's School,
Raffles Institution before enrolling into
King Edward VII College of Medicine.
He subsequently went to study medicine in the United Kingdom, graduating from the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
in 1918.
Career
After graduation, Lim worked at St Andrew's Hospital in Scotland for a year.
He was subsequently appointed as ship's surgeon by the China Mutual Steamship Company before returning to Singapore,
to start his general practice.
Lim was the chairman of the city's Straits Chinese British Association from 1930 to 1932, municipal commissioner of the
Municipal Commission, a
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
, as well as a member of numeral public bodies like the Chinese Advisory Board and the Education Committee.
Lim was appointed as an unofficial member of the
Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements
The Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements was a legislature formed on 1 April 1867, when the Straits Settlements was made a Crown colony. This allowed laws to be made swiftly and efficiently, as it was directly responsible to the Secret ...
in 1933,
becoming the council's senior
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
unofficial member the next year, and was appointed as an unofficial member of the
Executive Council of the Straits Settlements in 1940.
Lim was arrested after the fall of Singapore to the
Japanese Empire
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...
in 1942. During the
Japanese occupation, he was imprisoned for being accused of secretly listening to the broadcasting of the
Allied nations
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy. ...
.
He was not released until the end of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in 1945.
After the war, he was appointed to the Singapore Advisory Council in June 1946 after the resignation of Wee Swee Teow, where served as an unofficial member from 1946 to 1948 and a senior unofficial member of the Executive Council of Singapore from 1948 to 1951.
In December 1947, the governor of Singapore decided to introduce income tax in Singapore, against the advice of the Singapore Advisory Council.
The unofficial members of the council, including Lim, decided to resign in protest of the decision. Lim later decided not to resign and also proposed to ask the two resigned members to withdraw their resignations.
In December 1951, Lim resigned from the Executive Council of Singapore due to his deteriorating health and was replaced by Rajabali Jumabhoy.
After the war, he helped found the
University of Malaya and was appointed a member of the
Public Service Commission (PSC) from 1952 to 1956, serving as its chairman for less than a year in 1956.
Later in his life, he withdrew from politics as Singapore gradually gained
self-governance
__NOTOC__
Self-governance, self-government, or self-rule is the ability of a person or group to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority. It may refer to personal conduct or to any form of ...
and subsequently independence.
Honours
On 12 June 1941, Lim was made a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
for public services in the Straits Settlements.
In 1946, Lim became the second Malayan Chinese to receive the honour of knighthood for public services in the Straits Settlements.
In 1951, Lim was conferred an honorary
Doctor of Laws
A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...
degree by the
University of Malaya.
References
*
CHINESE TOPICS IN MALAYA, ''The Straits Times'', 4 January 1935, p. 6.
*
SPECIAL REGISTRIES FOR CIVIL MARRIAGES, ''The Straits Times'', 19 February 1940, p. 10.
*
DR. LIM HAN HOE ON "LEND FOR VICTORY", ''The Straits Times'', 11 September 1940, p. 11.
* Clune, Frank, ''High-ho to London''. Angus and Robertson, 1948.
*
78 WOMEN NAMED JPs, ''The Singapore Free Press'', 29 March 1948, p. 5.
*
Executive Council named, ''The Singapore Free Press'', 1 April 1948, p. 5.
*
Lady Lim heads women J.P's, ''The Singapore Free Press'', 22 April 1948, p. 5.
*
BLYTHE TO GREET GOVERNOR, ''The Straits Times'', 19 April 1952, p. 4.
*
206 get Queen's C-Medal, ''The Straits Times'', 7 June 1953, p. 9.
*
40 JPs ON PRISONS BOARD, ''The Straits Times'', 19 December 1953, p. 6.
*
Marriage Law Reform, ''The Straits Times'', 1 January 1955, p. 6.
* Yeo, Kim-wah,
Political Development in Singapore: 1945–55'. Singapore: NUS Press, 1973.
* Connolly, Margaret, and, Pragnell, Mervyn O., ''The International Yearbook and Statesman's Who's Who''. Bowker British Library Kickout, 1975.
* Yap, Pheng Geck,
Scholar, Banker, Gentleman Soldier: The Reminiscences of Dr. Yap Pheng Geck'. Singapore: Times Books International, 1982.
* ''University of Edinburgh Journal'' Vols. 33–34. University of Edinburgh, 1987.
* Sandhu, Kernial Singh, and, Wheatley, Paul,
Management of Success: The Moulding of Modern Singapore'. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 1990.
* Likeman, Robert, ''Men of the ninth: a history of the Ninth Australian Field Ambulance 1916–1994''. Australia: Slouch Hat Publications, 2003.
* Khoo, Kay Kim, ''One Hundred Years the University of Malaya''. Malaysia: University of Malaya Press, 2005.
* Bose, Romen,
The End of the War: Singapore's Liberation and the Aftermath of the Second World War'. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2010.
*
PSC Annual Report 2010'. Singapore: Singapore Public Service Commission, 2010.
* Ure, Gavin,
Governors, Politics and the Colonial Office'. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2012.
* Saw, Swee Hock,
The Population of Singapore'. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2012.
*
Portrait of Mr. Lim Han Hoe, President of Straits Chinese British Association, ''BookSG''. Singapore: Singapore Government, retrieved on 3 May 2014.
*
Portrait of Mr. Lim Han Hoe, President of Singapore Chinese Football Association, ''BookSG''. Singapore: Singapore Government, retrieved on 3 May 2014.
*
About the History of the Peranakan Association, ''The Peranakan Association, Singapore'', retrieved on 3 May 2014.
*
, ''Overseas Chinese in the British Empire'', retrieved on 3 May 2014.
*
Han Hoe Lim, ''ancestry.com'', retrieved on 3 May 2014.
*
Historical Development of Parliament, ''Parliament of Singapore'', retrieved on 3 May 2014.
* Kua, Bak Lim, 新華歴史人物列傳 (''Biographies of Singapore Chinese Historical Figures''). Education Publishing Private Limited, 1995.
External links
The PeranakanIssue 4, 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lim, Sir Han Hoe
1894 births
1983 deaths
Singaporean people of Hokkien descent
Singaporean politicians
20th-century Singaporean physicians
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Raffles Institution alumni
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Knights Bachelor