Lim Kim San: Tributes on the Web

Posted by noelbynature under National History
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The tributes have been pouring in for the late Mr Lim Kim San, a former minister and founding father of modern Singapore last week, both in the mainstream media (see here) as well as bloggers giving voice to their memories.

Photograph courtesy of the National Archives of Singapore

Mr Lim was best remembered for his instrumental role in Singapore’s miracle housing project. The word to use is indeed, “miracle” to consider how a nation of 4 million can live comfortably in a land mass as small as ours. mhilmyh recounts:

From the eulogies that came from Singapore leaders it is clear that Mr. Lim Kim San has made a monumental contribution to Singapore’s early development, most notably his foundation for affordable public housing which stands tall among the city state’s several proud achievemnets.

Besides his role in Singapore’s housing project, freelance designer >Zan also remembers his other portfolios:

In June 1962, Mr Lim was awarded the State’s highest honor, the Darjah Utama Temasek (Order of Temasek). In September 1963, he stood for election to the Singapore Legislative Assembly from the Cairnhill constituency, winning by a large majority. In October that same year, he was appointed as Minister for National Development. After Singapore’s independence in 1965, he served as Minister for Finance for 2 years, then became the Minister for the Interior and Defence for 3 years. Subsequent to that between 1971 and 1978, he was the chairman of the Public Utilities Board (PUB). He then chaired the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) from 1979 to 1994.

The >Singapore Govt blog (I’m guessing, no relation to the ACTUAL Singapore Government) also posted an interview with Mr Lim that was published 10 years ago. This rare, first-person account really presented an insight to the personality and true greatness of the man.

I look at it this way: I was given a chance to serve my country. How many people are given this chance? I was fortunate to have been a part of the team which built Singapore. I had some skill and some strength that was useful to others.
To serve your country is a privilege. It is an honour. I am very proud to be able to say, “I have served my country.”

A recurring theme among the many online tributes to the late Mr Lim, particularly among the younger, post-65 generation is a sense regret over how little is known about our founding fathers, especially in the case of Mr Lim whose HDB project is now so pervasive and typical of Singapore life. >“Super-student” Aloysius wrote:

Mr Lim Kim San passed away last week. I had read in the autobiography of Lee Kuan Yew that Lim Kim San was a shrewd judge of characters. His results even corresponded with psychologists, proving his talent.

Many young people do not know who he is until his death. Rajaratnam too. My parents, who were born shortly after Independence, only had a mild impression of the founding fathers of Singapore. Now, if my parents did not remember much of them while they were ministers, we can assume that those born in the 80s and 90s would know absolutely nothing about them.

>Tan Kin Lian, the CEO of NTUC Income remembers in his blog:

I was involved in Marine Parade constituency. We wanted to produce a monthly newsletter for the constituency. It was the first of its kind at that time. We wrote to Mr Lim for a message. He was the Minister for National for National Development. Marine Parade was a HDB estate, created out the sea, ie on reclaimed land.

In his message, Mr Lim said, “Marine Parade has no past. It only has a future”. I remember these wonderful words over the years.

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