Tun TUN or tun may refer to: Biology * Tun shells, large sea snails of the family ''Tonnidae'' * Tun, a tardigrade in its cryptobiotic state * Tun or Toon, common name for trees of the genus '' Toona'' Places * Tun, Sweden, a locality in Västra G ...

Dr. Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...

Lim Keng Yaik (; 8 April 1939 – 22 December 2012) was a

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and former Minister of Energy, Water and Communications in the

Malaysian cabinet The Cabinet of Malaysia ( Malay: ''Jemaah Menteri Malaysia'') is the executive branch of the Government of Malaysia. Led by the Prime Minister, the cabinet is a council of ministers who are accountable collectively to the Parliament. According ...

. He was the third president of

Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia The Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia ( en, Malaysian People's Movement Party, commonly abbreviated as GERAKAN or less commonly as PGRM) is a liberal political party in Malaysia. Formed in 1968, Gerakan gained prominence in the 1969 general electio ...

(Gerakan) from 1980 until stepping down on 8 April 2007 to pave the way for Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon. Just before his death, he was among the only four living Chinese with Tunship holders in Malaysia.

Background

Lim was born on 8 April 1939 in Tapah,

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

with fifteen siblings, to a mining father and a homemaker mother. He was educated in St. Michael's Institution in Ipoh between 1947 and 1957 before travelling to Northern Ireland in 1958. He graduated from The Queens University of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

with a '' MB.BCh.BAO.'' in 1964 and returned to serve in the government hospital in Taiping and a few more places before he opened up his own clinic in

Chemor Chemor ( Jawi: چيمور; ) is a main town in Kinta District, Perak, Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirtee ...

, a place that earned him his famous sobriquet 'sor chai yee sang' or 'madcap doctor' as he used to play the clown when treating sick children. He was a popular doctor and he used to offer free services to the poor patients. He married Wong Yoon Chuan and the couple have three children. Former Gerakan Youth Chief, Lim Si Pin is their son.

Political career

Dr. Lim began his foray into politics in 1968 by joining the

Malaysian Chinese Association The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA; zh, 马来西亚华人公会; ; ta, மலேசிய சீனர் சங்கம், initially known as the Malayan Chinese Association) is a uni-racial political party in Malaysia that seeks to ...

(MCA). He subsequently contested in the Pekan Baru state seat in

in 1969 on an

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

ticket, but lost. In 1971, he became the chairman of MCA Perak. He was appointed as a senator to

Dewan Negara The Dewan Negara (English language, English: Senate; Literal translation, lit. "State Council") is the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia, consisting of 70 senators of whom 26 are elected by the State legislative assemblies of Malaysia, ...

and joined the federal cabinet in 1972. However, in 1973, Dr. Lim was expelled from the MCA after going against the then MCA president Tun

Tan Siew Sin Tun Tan Siew Sin (; 21 May 1916 – 17 March 1988) was a Malaysian politician who served as the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Minister of Finance, and 3rd President of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA, formerly Malayan Chinese Assoc ...

and in the same year joined

(Gerakan). He became the Ulu Kinta Gerakan division head the next year and moved up to become Perak Gerakan head in 1974. In 1976, he became the party's deputy president. In July 1978, Lim resigned as senator and contested in the 1978 Perak General Elections in the Jalong state seat in Perak, which he won narrowly and was appointed as a state Exco member for two terms until 1986. In 1980, the medical doctor-turned-politician became the Gerakan President. For the first three terms as the party head, he faced challenges and successfully defended the position at every party election since then. He contested the

Beruas Beruas (alternative spelling: Bruas) is a small town and mukim in Manjung District, Perak, Malaysia. Name Beruas is named for a local mangosteen-like tree, '' Garcinia hombroniana'', the "seashore mangosteen", called in the local Malay dia ...

Parliament seat in 1986 and won by a handsome margin. He narrowly won the seat again in 1990, amid allegations of foul play, to which he has never respond. In the

2004 Malaysian general election A general election was held on Sunday, 21 March 2004 for members of the 11th Parliament of Malaysia. Voting took place in all 219 parliamentary constituencies of Malaysia, each electing one Member of Parliament to the Dewan Rakyat, the dominant ...

which was also the final time he contested in a general elections before retiring, he retained his seat for a last time with a clear majority of 4,564 with a total registered voter count of 15,867.

Cabinet position

Lim first became a minister in the

when he was made Minister with Special Functions dealing with New Villages and Emergency work in 1972. However, he resigned from the post the very next year as a protest against the expulsion of the MCA reform movement leaders at the time. He was then booted out of the MCA for it, where he subsequently joined Gerakan. He made a Cabinet comeback as Minister of Primary Industries on 1986 and served in the position until 2004, when he was appointed Minister of Energy, Water and Communications. During his tenure as Minister of Primary Industries, Malaysian palm oil became very well-known and was the largest palm oil producing country in the world. Up until today, palm oil is still one of Malaysia's top money earner and job creator. He will be best remembered for bravely debating with major soya bean producers in the United States at a time when the US banned the import of Malaysia's palm oil due to the strong lobbying from the soya bean industry. He also brought significant development to the timber industry as he worked hard and formed the Malaysian Timber Council. He also played a pivotal role in persuading Europe to import Malaysia's timber. He took the primary industries to new heights notably with the successful transformation of commodities exports to value-added products; rubber to rubber products, especially rubber dipped to furniture and cocoa to chocolates. He made unparalleled contributions in opening up the global market for Malaysian products like palm oil and timber. It was during his leadership that these commodity sectors were transformed and developed to be competitive as well as sustainable. Tun Dr. Lim Keng Yaik switched his portfolio to the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications in 2004. He focused on the important and urgent issues in the industry as he kept reminding the industry players to buck up and provide the services as promised to the people and be up to par, he had brought further development to the information and communication technology by ensuring better services from the telcos, the sprouting of the content industry and many more. He successfully restructured the water industry of the country.

Retirement

On 2 September 2005 at the Gerakan 35th Annual National Delegates Conference dinner, Dr. Lim announced that he would be retiring as president on 8 April 2007, which was also his 68th birthday. Lim retired from his Cabinet post shortly before the 2008 general election. He avowed to no longer comment on issues of the Party unless he was asked by the press. But he has in turn disregarded it and commented on a wide range of issues regarding the party, including the succession of the Penang Chief Minister position, and the ousting of a party member that was working under the new opposition state government. These actions have drawn the ire of many within the party that is seeing his meddling in party affairs a cause in the continual deterioration of the party's support.

Wawasan Open University Wawasan Open University, abbreviated as WOU, is a private university located in Penang, Malaysia that provides working adults with access to higher education via open distance learning (ODL). It was established in 2006 and enrolled its fir ...

(WOU) appointed Tun Dr Lim Keng Yaik as its second chancellor on 9 May 2011 to succeed the Late Tun Dr

Lim Chong Eu Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu (; 28 May 1919 – 24 November 2010) was a Malaysian politician who served as the 2nd Chief Minister of Penang from May 1969 to October 1990. He was also the founding president of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (GERAKAN). ...

Death

After being plagued by illness for more than a year, Tun Dr. Lim Keng Yaik died peacefully on Saturday afternoon, 22 December 2012, surrounded by his family at his home in Tropicana,

Petaling Jaya ) , website = , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''From top, left to right:Skyline of Petaling Jaya, the 1 Utama Mall integrated with Bandar Utama Station, the Kota Darul Ehsan arch, the Petaling J ...

, he was 73. He was given a state funeral by the federal government to honour his decades of immense contributions to the country as he was one of the longest-serving ministers in the country and a highly revered statesman by the public.

Election results

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* : **

Grand Commander of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted ...

(SSM) - Tun (2008) * : ** MY-PERA Order of Cura Si Manja Kini (before 2001)

Commander of the

Order of Cura Si Manja Kini Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

(PCM) (1976) ** MY-PERA_Order_of_Cura_Si_Manja_Kini_(before_2001)

Knight of the

(DPCM) – Dato' (1981) ** MY-PERA_Order_of_the_Perak_State_Crown_(before_2001)

Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of the Perak State Crown The Most Illustrious Order of the Perak State Crown ( Malay:''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Negeri Perak Yang Amat Mulia'') is knighthood order of the Sultanate of Perak. Background It was founded by Sultan Yusuf Izzuddin Shah on 12 December 1957. ...

(SPMP) - Dato' Seri (1989) * : ** MY-PEN Order of the Defender of State - Commander - DGPN

Commander of the

Order of the Defender of State Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

(DGPN) - Dato' Seri (1997) * : ** MY-PAH Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang - Grand Knight - SSAP

Grand Knight of the

Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang The Most Illustrious Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang ( Malay: ''Darjah Kebesaran Sultan Ahmad Shah Pahang Yang Amat Di Mulia'') is a knighthood order of the Sultanate of Pahang. History The order was founded by Sultan Ahmad Shah on 24 O ...

(SSAP) - Dato' Sri (2005) * : ** MY-SAR Order of the Star of Sarawak - 2 ribbon PNBS -JBS-PBS-ABS-BBS

Knight Commander of the

Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak The ''Darjah Utama Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Sarawak'' (Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak) is the highest state order in the state of Sarawak. It is conferred to those who rendered excellent service towards the development of the state of S ...

(PNBS) - Dato Sri (2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lim, Keng Yai 1939 births 2012 deaths People from Perak Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent Malaysian people of Hokkien descent Malaysian people of Chinese descent Malaysian medical doctors Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia politicians Malaysian Chinese Association politicians Members of the Dewan Negara Members of the Dewan Rakyat Government ministers of Malaysia Members of the Perak State Legislative Assembly Perak state executive councillors Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Grand Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Knights Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak 20th-century Malaysian politicians 21st-century Malaysian politicians