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Lim Kean Chye

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Malaysian lawyer and politician (1919–2023)
Lim Kean Chye
Born(1919-12-22)22 December 1919
Penang, Straits Settlements
Died7 June 2023(2023-06-07) (aged 103)
Occupation(s)Politician, lawyer
Known forFounder member of the Malayan Democratic Union
FatherLim Cheng Ean

Lim Kean Chye (Chinese: 林建材; pinyin: Lín Jiàncái; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lîm Kiàn-chhâi; 22 December 1919 – 7 June 2023) was a Malaysian politician and lawyer.

Biography

Lim was the son of Lim Cheng Ean (Chinese: 林清淵; pinyin: Lín Qīngyuān; Jyutping: Lam4 Cing1 Jyun1; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lîm Chheng-ian), a Cambridge-trained lawyer and a legislative councillor in the 1930s, and the grandson of Phuah Hin Leong.

Lim had a brother, Lim Kean Siew who served as Dato Keramat MP for two terms from 1959 to 1969, representing the Labour Party. His sister Lim Phaik Gan (P.G. Lim) was a prominent lawyer and diplomat.

Lim was a founder member of the Malayan Democratic Union, which was formed on 21 December 1945.

MDU was Singapore's first political party and consisted of English-educated Malaysians whose main objective was the assertion of the right to self-governance.

Upon returning to Malaya after completing his law degree from Cambridge University, Lim was contacted by Eu Chooi Yip and P V Sarma to join the Anti-British League (ABL), which he did.

He would later be mentor to Cambridge-educated leftist lawyer John Eber in the ABL.

The Cambridge-educated lawyer was also part of the All-Malaya Council of Joint Action (AMCJA), which drafted the People’s Constitutional Proposals for Malaya in 1947 as the basis for independence.

Lim was called to the Singapore Bar in 1950.

In January 1951, he escaped arrest and detention without trial when he went to China where he spent several years in exile

He later said that he escaped because of the arresting officer’s mistake in alerting him.

When Lim Yew Hock was appointed Singapore’s chief minister in 1958, he decided to return home.

He was called to the Malayan Bar in 1961.

He eventually practiced in Ipoh but lived in Penang upon retirement. He turned 100 in December 2019, and died on 7 June 2023, at the age of 103.

Lim is survived by his wife, daughters Miao Ling and Miao Yiong, four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

References

  1. "曾为马来亚独立奋斗 林建材逝世 享年103岁". 星洲网 (in Chinese (Malaysia)). 9 June 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Independence fighter and politician Lim Kean Chye dies at 103". The Star. Retrieved 2023-06-09.
  3. "A DISTINGUISHED SCHOLAR". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 6 May 1916. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
  4. "Kean Siew "man of different lives" - The Malaysian Bar". www.malaysianbar.org.my. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  5. "Malayan Democratic Union is formed - Singapore History". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  6. Lee, Edwin (2008). Singapore: the unexpected nation. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 59–71. ISBN 978-981-230-796-5.
  7. Bayly, Christopher (2006). Forgotten wars: freedom and revolution in Southeast Asia. Penguin Group. p. 200.
  8. Lee, Edwin (2008). Singapore: the unexpected nation. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 60–61. ISBN 978-981-230-796-5.
  9. Lee, Edwin (2008). Singapore: the unexpected nation. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 61. ISBN 978-981-230-796-5.
  10. "Msian independence fighter Lim Kean Chye turns 100 | New Straits Times". www.nst.com.my. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  11. "Msian independence fighter Lim Kean Chye turns 100 | New Straits Times". www.nst.com.my. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  12. "Former left-wing leader Lim Kean Chye dies at 103". Malaysiakini. 2023-06-09. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
  13. Msian independence fighter Lim Kean Chye turns 100
  14. Reporters, F. M. T. (2023-06-09). "Former independence fighter Lim Kean Chye dies". Free Malaysia Today | FMT. Retrieved 2024-12-22.

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