Lim Kit Siang

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Yang Berhormat Ipoh Timur Tuan  Lim Kit Siang (Chinese : 林吉祥)
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Ipoh Timur
Incumbent
Assumed office  March 21, 2004
Preceded by	Thong Fah Chong
Democratic Action Party National Chairman
In office 1999 – 2004
Preceded by	Chen Man Hin
Succeeded by	Karpal Singh Ram Singh
Leader of Parliamentary Opposition
In office 1973 – 1999 March 21, 2004 – February 13, 2008
Preceded by	Mohamed Asri Muda (1973) Abdul Hadi Awang (2004)
Succeeded by	Fadzil Noor (1999) Wan Azizah (2008)
Constituency	Kota Melaka, Tanjong Ipoh Timur
Born	20 February 1941 (1941-02-20) (age 67) Batu Pahat, Johor
Political party	Democratic Action Party - Pakatan Rakyat
Children	Lim Guan Eng
Occupation	Member of Parliament
Website	Lim Kit Siang's blog

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.

Lim holds a degree from University of London for LL.B (Hons). He is married with four children. Since 1978, he has published 29 books.

Contents 1 Political history 1.1 Member of Parliament 1.2 Detention without trial 2 Controversy 3 Books published 4 Timeline 5 Notes and references 5.1 Other references 6 External links

[edit] Political history

[edit] 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.^[1]

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 during the 2004 general elections which also saw his party clinching the most seats of any opposition party, he represents Ipoh Timor as Member of Parliament, and is also the Parliamentary Opposition Leader. Even until today, Lim is still serving as an MP.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 2008, he was re-elected as the Member of Parliament for Ipoh Timor with a majority of 21,942 votes in the 12th General Election of Malaysia.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.^[2]

[edit] Books published

[edit] Timeline

[edit] Notes and references

1. ^ Rahman, Rashid A. (1994). The Conduct of Elections in Malaysia, pp. 204–205. Kuala Lumpur: Berita Publishing. ISBN 967-969-331-7.
2. ^ Musa, M. Bakri (2007). Towards A Competitive Malaysia. Petaling Jaya: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, 79. ISBN 978-983-3782-20-8. 

[edit] Other references

• Pillai, M.G.G. (Nov. 1, 2005). "Did Lee Kuan Yew want Singapore ejected from Malaysia?". Malaysia Today.

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Official Website for DAP Malaysia

Political offices
Preceded by Mohamed Asri Muda (PAS)	Leader of the Opposition 1973 – 1999	Succeeded by Fadzil Noor (PAS)
Preceded by Abdul Hadi Awang (PAS)	Leader of the Opposition 2004 – 2008	Succeeded by Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR)