Lim Guan Eng

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Lim (林).

Yang Amat Berhormat Lim Guan Eng 林冠英
Chief Minister of Penang
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 March 2008
Governor	Abdul Rahman bin Haji Abbas
Preceded by	Koh Tsu Koon
Member of Parliament for Bagan
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 March 2008
Preceded by	Lim Hock Seng
Majority	22,070
Member of the Penang State Assembly for Air Puteh
Incumbent
Assumed office 8 March 2008
Preceded by	Lye Siew Weng
Majority	4,061
5th Secretary-General of Democratic Action Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 2004
Preceded by	Kerk Kim Hock
Member of Parliament for Kota Melaka
In office 1986–1999
Preceded by	Soh Chin Aun
Succeeded by	Kerk Kim Hock
Personal details
Born	8 December 1961 (1961-12-08) Johor Bahru
Nationality	Malaysian
Political party	Democratic Action Party - Pakatan Rakyat
Spouse(s)	Betty Chew Gek Cheng
Relations	Son of Lim Kit Siang
Children	4
Residence	Melaka, Penang
Alma mater	Monash University
Occupation	Bank Senior Executive (Prior Politics) Member of Parliament Civil Servant
Website	http://limguaneng.com/ http://cm.penang.gov.my/

Lim Guan Eng (Chinese: 林冠英; pinyin: Lín Guānyīng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lîm Kuan-ing) is the 4th Chief Minister of the State of Penang and Secretary-General of the Malaysian Democratic Action Party (DAP). He is the son of Lim Kit Siang, Leader of the Opposition in the Dewan Rakyat from 1973 to 1999 and 2004 to 2008.

Lim married to Betty Chew Gek Cheng, a member of the DAP and a state assemblywoman in Malacca.

Early education

Lim Guan Eng attended the La Salle Primary English School in Petaling Jaya, and later the Batu Pahat Montfort Primary English School. For secondary education, he went to Batu Pahat High School and Malacca High School. He graduated from Monash University, Australia in Bachelor of Economics and was a qualified professional accountant by 1983. He was the president of MUISS (Monash University International Student Society).

Political career

Prior to his political career, Lim was a Bank Senior executive. Lim was first elected as a Member of Parliament for Kota Melaka in 1986, after defeating Soh Chin Aun with a majority of 17,606 votes. He was re-elected in the subsequent 1990 and 1995 general elections, albeit with reduced majority votes. He thus became the first person to be elected for three consecutive terms in Kota Melaka. He was also the first Malacca High School alumnus to achieve this.

After joining the Democratic Action Party, he was appointed as the DAP Socialist Youth Chairman in 1989 and was elected to that post in 1992. In 1995, he was elected as the DAP Deputy Secretary-General. Lim was elected as the party Secretary-General in 2004, and has held the position since.

Jailed under Sedition Act

Lim was arrested by the Malaysian police in 1994, following his criticism on the government's handling of allegations of statutory rape in one of his constituents by former Chief Minister of the state of Melaka, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik. Consequently, while the Attorney General decided not to press charges Rahim Thamby Chik, Lim was charged under Section 4(1) (b) of the Sedition Act 1948 for causing 'disaffection with the administration of justice in Malaysia'. Lim was also charged under Section 8A (1) of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 for 'maliciously printing' a pamphlet containing allegedly 'false information' because he had described the alleged rape victim as an 'imprisoned victim' because she was initially detained by Malaysian police without parental consent for 10 days. During the judicial procedure, Lim was quoted saying:

“	If I fail and have to go to jail, I have no regrets. I have no regrets of going down fighting for the principles of truth and justice. And pursuit of human rights, especially women's rights. There can be no women's rights if women rape victims are considered equally responsible, and even detained, whilst the accused remain free.	”
	— Lim Guan Eng, http://home.clara.net/heureka/sunrise/lim-guan.htm

After a series of appeals, Lim was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. He was, however, released after 12 months on August 25, 1999. Due to his incarceration, he was disallowed from standing for election to public office for a period of 5 years, and he was therefore ineligible to contest in the 2004 Malaysian General Election.

Internal bickering

In 2005, Lim suffered a surprise defeat in his campaign for re-election to the Melaka DAP committee when he and his wife came in last and second-last (respectively). However, as Lim remained Secretary-General of the party, he was automatically included among the committee under the party constitution. Although his wife remained the chief of the state DAP women's wing, she was not included in the committee. Teresa Kok, a DAP Member of Parliament, suggested there was a conspiracy behind Lim's and Chew's ouster from the committee. Nevertheless, Lim garnered the second highest number of votes (620) at the party's 15th National Congress on August 23, 2008.

Chief Minister of Penang

In 2008 Malaysian general election, the marriage of convenience coalition of DAP-PKR-PAS later known as the Pakatan Rakyat won 29 out of 40 state seats contested, in which DAP is the largest winning party with 19 seats, PKR 9 seats, and PAS 1, and thus defeated the former ruling coalition Barisan Nasional for the authority to rule Penang for the next five years. Even though, Lim is not a Penangite, as the Secretary-General of DAP, he was nominated to be the next Chief Minister (CM) of Penang replacing long serving former Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon. Senior DAP leaders of Penang such as Lim Hock Seng, Phee Boon Poh, and Chow Kon Yeow were bypassed and were instead appointed as excos.

Governance

As the new Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng announced an amnesty on all summonses issued by the Penang Municipal Council and Seberang Perai Municipal Council involving vendors' licences and parking offences issued before March 2008. On March 14, a rowdy group comprising mostly Umno members and supporters took to the streets illegally after Friday prayers to protest his statements on the NEP. No arrests were made but two men were taken in for questioning. Various BN-backed groups and NGOs continued to make different sorts of protest and lodge police reports as a form of continued harassment.

On March 19, 2008, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng announced that the state exco had approved an open tender system for projects exceeding RM50,000. For projects between RM20,000 and RM50,000, a balloting system will be introduced and a two-week objection period would be given for both the open tender and balloting systems. This is a stark contrast to BN government's usual way of directly awarding lucrative contracts to companies without any form of open tendering, mostly to shell companies created by connected personnel or BN politicians; a major project, the Penang International Convention Centre(PICC) was nearly launched without open tender. As of 2010, Penang remains the only state in Malaysia that practises a blanket open tendering system.

During Lim's tenure as Chief Minister, Penang has ranked top among the list of investments in Malaysia, attracting RM12.2 billion worth of total capital investments as of 2010, which accounts for 25% of total investments in Malaysia. This is also a 465% increase compared to the total investment of RM2.17 billion as of 2009. For the first 8 months of 2011, Penang has earned RM3.7 billion worth of Foreign direct investment (FDI), which made up 19% of the total FDI in the country.

On April 28, 2011, Lim signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China, which is witnessed by Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on the proposal of the construction of three road and tunnel projects in Penang island, including a 6.5km undersea tunnel, a third link between the island and Butterworth on the mainland. According to Lim, this would ease traffic congestion in the area and to improve the links between the island and the mainland.

Competency, Accountability and Transparency (CAT)

The Penang state government, led by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, has launched the concept of Competency, Accountability and Transparency (CAT) in his governance. The slogan propels the state government to achieve an efficient, responsible and clean government. Aside from that, the emphasis of the slogan aims to allow people in Penang to share the state government's prosperity when the slogan is achieved. Furthermore, it also aims to make Penang into a cleaner, greener and safer state. CAT also comprises positive work ethics and inculcate a team spirit based on performance. This slogan is eventually achieved when the state government enjoy record budget surpluses in successfully attracting up to RM 12.2 billion of total capital investments and practicing an open tender system. According to the international weekly newsmagazine The Economist, the reform of the government with its new policies has ended the cronyism and corruption that that led to major deficits under the previous regime. These record budget surpluses are directed towards social benefits such as financial aid to the hardcore poor, cash handouts to the elderly as anti-corruption dividend, upgrading of public housing, free Wi-Fi internet services at selected hot spots and free bus services within the city and between Penang island and Seberang Perai for workers.

Cleaner, Greener Penang

Cleaner, Greener Penang is an initiative by the Penang state government launched in 2010 as part of an effort to transform Penang into the most environmentally-friendly and livable city in Malaysia through education, enforcement and appreciation. This is to restore the current living environment into a cleaner and more sustainable city, which in turn improving the quality of life.

The Penang state government, led by Lim, enforced the ban on free plastic bags throughout the state on January 1, 2010, despite getting an initial lukewarm response from retail outlets. Lim said the move would reduce the state's garbage production and carbon footprint. Retail stores, food outlets and hawker stalls state-wide are required to adhere to the rulings in order to ensure of the renewal of business licences. The proceedings from the sale of plastic bags went to the "Partners Against Poverty" Special Fund to assist the state's hardcore poor. This initiative was the first of its kind in Malaysia.

On December 11, 2011, Lim initiated the Car Free Day which would be held every Sunday at particular stretches of roads in the interior city of George Town, Penang. All motorised vehicles are prohibited from entering these areas on that day, which are part of Lim's efforts transform Penang into a sustainable city and fight climate change. In addition, the state government is also considering a proposal to set up bicycle lanes around Penang island, mainly along coastal areas, and Seberang Perai, which is scheduled to complete by 2020.

Controversy

On September 20, 2011, Lim Guan Eng participated in an interview conducted by Australia Broadcasting Corporation where he was reported by the Malaysian news agency, Bernama, to have disparaged the security of the state of Johor. Lim Guan Eng insisted he never mentioned Johor, and demanded that Bernama retract their story and issue a formal apology, or face a lawsuit. However, a recording was later revealed by the government controlled television channel, TV3, showing clear evidence of Lim Guan Eng proclaiming that Singaporeans who are in Johor are "likely to be kidnapped". The recording of Lim Guan Eng's remark was made in Singapore. This led Lim Guan Eng to issue a formal apology to the Sultan of Johor.

Personal life

Lim is married to Betty Chew Gek Cheng (周玉清), who is also the State Assemblywoman for Kota Laksamana in Melaka. She is the first serving assemblywoman to be married to a Chief Minister. They have four children.

Notes

1. ^ ^a - "Guan Eng and wife voted out of Malacca DAP committee".
2. ^ - Beh "Mr and Mrs Lim's defeat a 'conspiracy'".
3. ^ - "Lim Guan Eng Reassures Penang".

Citations

• "Guan Eng and wife voted out of Malacca DAP committee". (Dec. 19, 2005). The Star (Malaysia).
• Beh, Lih Yi (Dec. 19, 2005). "Mr and Mrs Lim's defeat a 'conspiracy'". Malaysiakini.
• "The trial of opposition parliamentarian Lim Guan Eng: an update". (Mar. 1, 1997). Amnesty International.
• "Lim Guan Eng released but his civil rights remain curtailed". (Aug. 25, 1999). Amnesty International.
• Lim Guan Eng Biodata
• TheStar Article

Political offices
Preceded by Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon	Chief Minister of Penang 2008 – Present	Incumbent
Parliament of Malaysia
Preceded by Soh Chin Aun	Member of Parliament for Kota Melaka 1986–1999	Succeeded by Kerk Kim Hock
Preceded by Lim Hock Seng	Member of Parliament for Bagan 2008 – Present	Incumbent
Preceded by Lye Siew Weng	Member of Penang State Assembly for Air Puteh 2008 – Present	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Kerk Kim Hock	5th Secretary-General of DAP 2004 – Present	Incumbent