Lim Kit Siang
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| Lim Kit Siang (Chinese : 林吉祥) |
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| Constituency | Ipoh Timur |
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| Born | 20 February 1941 Ipoh Timur, Perak |
| Political party |  DAP |
| Occupation | DAP's National Chairman Member of Parliament |
| Website | Lim Kit Siang |
Lim Kit Siang (b. February 20, 1941; Chinese: 林吉祥; pinyin: Lín Jíxiáng) is a prominent leader of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a socialist opposition party in Malaysia.
Lim holds a degree from University of London for LL.B (Hons). He is married with four children, and currently serves as the Parliamentary Opposition Leader in the Dewan Rakyat, Malaysia's House of Representatives. Since 1978, he has published 29 books.
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[edit] History in DAP
Lim Kit Siang was Secretary-General of the DAP from 1969 to 1999. In 1999, he became the national chairman, making him the second chairman of the party, after Dr 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.
[edit] Political history
[edit] Pre-Parliament
Before serving as a Member of Parliament (MP), Lim had served as the election agent for Lee Ah Meng, who had stood in a by-election for the constituency of Batu Pahat. Lee became the subject of a court case after Lim failed to submit the return of election expenses before the deadline set by the law governing elections in Malaysia. As a result, Lee was exonerated, since the failure was through no fault of his own; however, Lim was reprimanded by the judge overseeing the case.[1]
[edit] Member of Parliament
Lim was first elected as an MP 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.[1] As of 2006, Lim is still serving as an MP; he has represented various constituencies in Melaka, Petaling Jaya and Penang. He took a five-year break from parliament between 1999 and 2004 after he lost his seat during the 1999 election.
After winning a parliamentary seat during the 2004 general elections which also saw his party clinching the most seats in the Opposition, he represents Ipoh Timor as Member of Parliament, and is also the Parliamentary Opposition Leader.
[edit] Detention Without Trial
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.
[edit] Books published
- 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)
[edit] Timeline
- 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 party's parliamentary caucus in the newly-created position of Chairman of the Central Policy and Strategic Planning Commission.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ a b Rahman, Rashid A. (1994). The Conduct of Elections in Malaysia, pp. 204–205. Kuala Lumpur: Berita Publishing. ISBN 967-969-331-7.
[edit] Other references
- Pillai, M.G.G. (Nov. 1, 2005). "Did Lee Kuan Yew want Singapore ejected from Malaysia?". Malaysia Today.
