View source for Lim Swee Aun

{{Short description|Malaysian politician}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{lead too short|date=October 2014}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2015}}
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{{EngvarB|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}

{{family name hatnote|[[Lin (surname)|Lim (林)]]|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[Malay titles|Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri]]
| name = Lim Swee Aun
| native_name = {{nobold|{{lang|zh-hans|林瑞安}}}}
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=MYS|size=100%|PMN|JP}}
|image = Lim Swee Aun (1966).jpg
| width = 250px
|caption = Lim Swee Aun (1966)

| office = Vice-President of the <br> [[Malaysian Chinese Association]]
| term_start = 1959
| term_end = 1962
| predecessor =
| successor =
| constituency =

| office2 = [[Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry (Malaysia)|Minister of Commerce and Industry]]
| term_start2 = 10 October 1962
| term_end2 = 3 June 1969
| primeminister2 = [[Tunku Abdul Rahman]]
| predecessor2 = [[Khir Johari]]
| successor2 = 
| constituency2 = [[Larut Selatan (federal constituency)|Larut Selatan]]

| office3 = [[Minister of Health (Malaysia)|Minister of Health and Social Welfare]]
| term_start3 = 1 August 1962
| term_end3 = 10 October 1962
| primeminister3 = [[Tunku Abdul Rahman]]
| predecessor3 = [[Aziz Ishak|Abdul Aziz Ishak]]
| successor3 = [[Abdul Rahman Talib]] (as Minister of Health)
| constituency3 = Larut Selatan

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1915|9|1}}
| birth_place = [[Taiping, Perak|Taiping]], [[Perak]], [[Federated Malay States]], [[British Malaya]] (now Malaysia)
| residence = [[Taiping, Perak]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1977|8|13|1915|9|1}}
| death_place = [[London]], [[United Kingdom]]
| party = [[Malayan Chinese Association]] (MCA)
| otherparty = [[Alliance Party (Malaysia)|Alliance Party]] {{small|(–1973)}} <br> [[Barisan Nasional]] (BN) {{small|(1973–1977)}}
| occupation = Medical Practitioner
Malaysian Government Minister
| alma_mater = King Edward VII School (Taiping)
| relations = Son of Lim Tee Hooi
| spouse = Puan Sri Quek Eng Lan (郭英兰)
| civil partner =
| children = 2 daughters and 2 sons
| website =
| footnotes =
}}

'''Lim Swee Aun''' ({{zh|t=|s=林瑞安|p=Lín Ruì'ān}}; 1 September 1915 – 13 August 1977) was a [[Malaysian Chinese]] politician from the [[Malaysian Chinese Association]], and a [[Cabinet of Malaysia|Cabinet]] member.

== Early life ==
The eldest son of Lim Tee Hooi and Foong Cheong Ngan, Swee Aun was born on 1 September 1915 in [[Taiping, Perak]] and educated at the King Edward VII School (Taiping). He was a keen rugby player and played for the school in the 1930s.<ref>C. K. Loh (2006)'' "The History of Rugby in King Edward VII School, Taiping".'' The Taiping Edwardians. 12 October 2006.<br />
 http://www.edwardians.com.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=20. Retrieved 2010-10-04.</ref> Swee Aun with Yahayaudin, Sulaiman and Harun were the first to be awarded colours.

===College years===
{{unreferencedsect|date=April 2024}}
In June 1932, Swee Aun joined the King Edward VII College of Medicine, in Singapore (subsequently merged with [[Raffles College]] to form the [[University of Malaya]]) at the age of 16 years. He was a brilliant scholar and gained Distinction in Anatomy in the 2nd Professional Examination, an honour he shared with his classmate Quek Eng Lan (whom he subsequently married on 22 August 1938). He was awarded a scholarship for this achievement. In the Final examination in 1938, Swee Aun obtained Distinction in Medicine and Materia Medica and was awarded the much coveted Lim Boon Keng Medal.

While in college, he was also a great sportsman. He was captain of the Singapore All Blues Rugby Team in 1935 which won the trophy for Pan-Malayan Interstate Rugby Matches.

==Early working days==
{{unreferencedsect|date=April 2024}}
Lim Swee Aun completed his [[Doctor of medicine|housemanship]] in [[Singapore General Hospital]]. In 1939 he was posted to the [[Sungai Buloh]] [[Leprosarium]] before moving to [[Ipoh]] General Hospital and to [[Taiping, Perak]], his hometown in 1940.

==The war years==
{{unreferencedsect|date=April 2024}}
In December 1941, war came and Taiping experienced the first bomb on 8 December. The main attack from the Japanese Army came from the north. So Lim Swee Aun decided to evacuate his whole family to Rev. Quek Kheng Hoon's (his father-in-law) [[rambutan]] estate in [[Bukit Timah]], Singapore.

Lim Swee Aun stayed on in Taiping Hospital and evacuated with the Medical Convoy by stages going southwards as the enemy approached from the north. He finally arrived in Singapore and joined the Medical Team there. But soon the whole family had to abandon the Bukit Timah rambutan estate as the enemy approached. They moved to the [[Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church]] where they took refuge under the church [[pews]], together with many others. Bombing and cannon fire continued all day and night from across the causeway. Singapore surrendered and the Japanese soldiers were everywhere. All non-Singaporeans were returned to Malaya. Lim Swee Aun and his family travelled in a [[cattle wagon]], taking 4 days and 3 nights to reach Taiping.

===Japanese occupation 1942-1945===
Dr. Lim Swee Aun worked for Dr. Tan Chen Leng in Taiping. During the occupation period, Lim Swee Aun secretly supplied medicine to the [[Prisoners of War]]. Dr. Lim Swee Aun, Dr. Tan Cheng Leng and the [[Parsi]] Jal Manecksha also secretly helped the Indian Prisoners of War of the Motor Transport Unit No. 1 under the Command of [[Subedar]] Nurud Din. They contributed a sum of $15,000/- to Dr. Tarlok Singh to help them buy medicine and food for the sick Indian prisoners of war. They had also been using a radio to listen to the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] news, each time dismantling the radio and hiding it away after listening. They were part of the "inner circle of war news." He kept this secret, even from his wife. After the war, Lim Swee Aun was awarded by the [[British Government]] through Malcolm McDonald a commendation certificate for his deeds.

===British Military Administration (BMA)===
After the [[Japanese surrender]] on 2 September 1945, Lim Swee Aun resigned from Dr. Tan Chen Leng's employment and started his own practice at 75 Kota Road, [[Taiping, Perak]]. He had to raise money to buy the premises by pawning jewellery of his mother and wife. He worked hard, day and night attending to his sick patients and doing house calls even though the country was in a state of [[Malayan Emergency]] from the [[communist]] activities. He often treated his patients for free when they could not afford it.

==Political career==
He was a founder and life member of the Malaysian Chinese Association in Taiping. In 1959, Lim Swee Aun successfully stood for Parliament for Larut Selatan. He was appointed Minister of Health in 1962 and later in the year he became Minister of Commerce and Industry.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

=== Industrialisation ===
Lim Swee Aun's responsibility as minister was to industrialise the country. He encouraged [[Foreign direct investment|Foreign investments]] in [[joint venture]]s but stood firm on the 51% Malaysian participation.{{cn|date=April 2024}} Industrial estates were established throughout the country from Perlis in the north to Johore in the south.

The seeds of what was to become a major industry in Malaysia were sown by the then Malaysian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Lim Swee Aun, in 1963. On his way to the [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] Conference (GATT) Geneva that year, Dr. Lim confirmed that his ministry had received many inquiries from foreign and local firms regarding the possibility of setting up vehicle manufacturing factories in the Federation. The bigger plan, he subsequently announced, was to establish a motor vehicle industry in Malaysia by stages - from basic assembly with local content, to chassis build and finally to a fully locally made car. It would be exactly 20 years later that Perusahaan Otomobile Nasional Berhad ([[Proton (carmaker)]]) was incorporated (7 May 1983), and Malaysia's first locally built car, the [[Proton Saga]], was launched on 9 July 1985.<ref>Eli Solomon (2005) ''"Six years to assembling cars in Peninsular 1963-1968".'' Asian Automotive Archives - A Malaysian Perspective.<br />
 {{cite web|url=http://www.currypotproductions.com/AsianAutomotive.htm |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2015-05-24 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708215418/http://www.currypotproductions.com/AsianAutomotive.htm |archivedate= 8 July 2011 }} Retrieved 2010-10-04.</ref>

=== Formation of Malaysia Agreement 1963 ===
Lim Swee Aun was involved in the final rounds of negotiations on the [[Malaysia Agreement|Malaysia talks]]. A Malayan delegation departed for London on 25 June 1963 and was led by [[Tun Abdul Razak]], [[Tan Siew Sin]] and Dr Lim Swee Aun (Minister for Commerce).<ref>A. J. Stockwell (2004) ''Malaysia'', p. 510. The Stationery office. {{ISBN|0-11-290581-1}}.</ref>

The function of Mr. Tan and Dr. Lim was in [[Geofroy Tory|Sir Geofroy Tory]]'s view, to restrain Tun Razak from making undue concessions. Agreement was reached on the main points of issue on 5 July and only then did Tunku himself leave for London.<ref>A. J. Stockwell (2004) ''Malaysia'', p. 632. The Stationery office. {{ISBN|0-11-290581-1}}.</ref> Dr. Lim was one of the signatories of the Agreement Relating to Malaysia (1963).<ref>File:Agreement Relating to Malaysia between UK, N. Borneo, Sarawak and Singapore.djvu.</ref>

===The Debate on Malaysian Solidarity 1965===
[[Syed Jaafar Albar]] participated in verbal duels with the Singaporean Prime Minister, [[Lee Kuan Yew]], over the issue of [[ketuanan Melayu]] (Malay sovereignty over Malaysia), accusing Lee and some other [[Chinese Malaysian]]s—referring to them as ''kaum pendatang'' or ''immigrants''—of being lodgers (''orang tumpangan''), abusing the hospitality of the Malays who were the "masters of the house". <br />
This provoked a response from Cabinet member Swee Aun, who insisted "we are co-owners, not lodgers, not guests."<ref>Lee, Kuan Yew (1998). ''The Singapore Story'', p. 620. Marshall Cavendish Editions. {{ISBN|981-204-983-5}}.</ref><ref>Keith, Patrick (2005). ''Ousted!'', p. 115. Media Masters. {{ISBN|981-05-3865-0}}.</ref><br />
Prime Minister [[Lee Kuan Yew]] in his speech at the Malaysia Solidarity Convention on 6 June 1965 congratulated Lim Swee Aun for
his courage in saying it.<ref>Lee, Kuan Yew (1965). ''Speech at The Malaysian Soladirity Convention at the National Theatre on 6 June 1965.'' {{cite web|url=http://stars.nhb.gov.sg/stars/tmp/lky19650606.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2015-05-24 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927055322/http://stars.nhb.gov.sg/stars/tmp/lky19650606.pdf |archivedate=27 September 2011 }} Retrieved 4 October 2010</ref>

==Timeline==
* 1915 Sep Born, [[Taiping, Perak]], Malaya
* 1938 Graduated Licentiate of Medicine & Surgery
* 1948-1950 Nominated Taiping Town Council
* 1949 Jan Justice of Peace, Perak
* 1953-1955 Member Perak State legislative Council
* 1959 Aug Elected Member of Parliament Larut Selatan
* 1962 Aug Appointed Minister of Health
* 1962 Oct Appointed Minister of Commerce & Industry
* 1963 Mar Attended ECAFE Conference in Manila
* 1963 Jun Took active part in Malaysia negotiations in London
* 1963 Nov Charman, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference, Kuala Lumpur
* 1964 Nov Leader Malaysian delegation to Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference Trinidad, Jamaica
* 1965 Mar Leader Malaysian delegation to ECAFE, New Zealand

== Election results ==
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ '''[[Dewan Rakyat|Parliament of the Federation of Malaya]]'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS |date=2024-12-21 |url=https://github.com/TindakMalaysia/HISTORICAL-ELECTION-RESULTS/tree/main |access-date=2024-12-26 |publisher=TindakMalaysia}}</ref>
!|Year
!|Constituency
!colspan=2|Candidate
!|Votes
!|Pct
!colspan=2|Opponent(s)
!|Votes
!|Pct
!|Ballots cast
!|Majority
!|Turnout
|-
| rowspan=2|[[1959 Malayan general election|1959]]
| rowspan=2|'''P043 [[Larut Selatan (federal constituency)|Larut Selatan]]'''
| rowspan=2 {{party shading/Alliance Party (Malaysia)}} |
| rowspan=2|'''Lim Swee Aun''' ([[Malaysian Chinese Association|'''MCA''']])
| rowspan=2 align=right|'''11,218'''
| rowspan=2|'''54.11%'''
|bgcolor={{party color|People's Progressive Party (Malaysia)}} |
|C. H. Yin ([[People's Progressive Party (Malaysia)|PPP]])
| align=right|6,444
|31.08%
| rowspan=2|20,881
| rowspan=2|4,774
| rowspan=2|63.99%
|-
|{{party shading/PAS}} |
|Md Yunus Md Hashim ([[Malaysian Islamic Party|PMIP]])
| align=right|3,071
|14.81%
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ '''[[Dewan Rakyat|Parliament of Malaysia]]'''
!|Year
!|Constituency
!colspan=2|Candidate
!|Votes
!|Pct
!colspan=2|Opponent(s)
!|Votes
!|Pct
!|Ballots cast
!|Majority
!|Turnout
|-
| rowspan=3|[[1964 Malaysian general election|1964]]
| rowspan=5|'''P043 [[Larut Selatan (federal constituency)|Larut Selatan]]'''
| rowspan=3 {{party shading/Alliance Party (Malaysia)}} |
| rowspan=3|'''Lim Swee Aun''' ([[Malaysian Chinese Association|'''MCA''']])
| rowspan=3 align=right|'''18,906'''
| rowspan=3|'''63.22%'''
|bgcolor={{party color|United Democratic Party (Malaysia)}} |
|Lim Eng Chuan ([[United Democratic Party (Malaysia)|UDP]])
| align=right|5,080
|16.99%
| rowspan=3|31,029
| rowspan=3|13,826
| rowspan=3|75.85%
|-
|bgcolor={{party color|Malayan Peoples' Socialist Front}} |
|Othman Abdullah ([[Parti Rakyat Malaysia|PRM]])
| align=right|3,185
|10.65%
|-
|{{party shading/PAS}} |
|Abdul Rahman Abdul Hamid ([[Malaysian Islamic Party|PMIP]])
| align=right|2,734
| align=right|9.14%
|-
| rowspan=2|[[1969 Malaysian general election|1969]]
| rowspan=2 {{party shading/Alliance Party (Malaysia)}} |
| rowspan=2|Lim Swee Aun ([[Malaysian Chinese Association|MCA]])
| rowspan=2 align=right|10,774
| rowspan=2|34.34%
|bgcolor={{party color|Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia}} |
|'''Ng Hoe Hun''' ([[Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia|'''Gerakan''']])
| align=right|'''15,641'''
|'''49.85%'''
| rowspan=2|32,610
| rowspan=2|4,867
| rowspan=2|68.69%
|-
|{{party shading/PAS}} |
|Md Tahir Abdul Rauf ([[Malaysian Islamic Party|PMIP]])
| align=right|4,962
|15.81%
|}

==Honours==
===Honours of Malaysia===
* {{Flag|Malaysia}} :
** [[File:Malaysian Commemorative Medal ribbon.gif|50px]] Recipient of the [[Orders, decorations, and medals of Malaysia|Malaysian Commemorative Medal (Gold)]] (PPM) (1965)<ref name=IST>{{cite web|url=http://103.8.161.251/index.php/component/semakanlantikanskp/|title=SEMAKAN PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN, BINTANG DAN PINGAT|publisher=[[Prime Minister's Department (Malaysia)]]|access-date=7 February 2021}}</ref>
** [[File:MY Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara (Defender of the Realm)- PMN.svg|50px]] Commander of the [[Order of the Defender of the Realm#Commander|Order of the Defender of the Realm]] (PMN) – '''Tan Sri''' (1968)<ref name=IST></ref>

=== Foreign Honours ===
* {{flag|Belgium}} :
** [[File:BEL Order of Leopold II - Grand Cross BAR.png|50px]] Grand Cross of the [[Order of Leopold II]] (1967)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19670428-1.2.64|title=Belgium honours Tun and 3 Ministers|date=28 April 1967|work=The Straits Times|pages=7}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Second Rahman cabinet}}
{{Third Rahman cabinet}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lim Swee Aun}}
[[Category:1915 births]]
[[Category:1977 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Taiping, Perak]]
[[Category:Government ministers of Malaysia]]
[[Category:Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent]]
[[Category:Malaysian Chinese Association politicians]]
[[Category:Malaysian general practitioners]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm]]
[[Category:Ministers of health of Malaysia]]
[[Category:Malaysian MPs 1959–1964]]
[[Category:Malaysian MPs 1964–1969]]