Lim Kim San (b. 30 November 1916, Singapore - d. 20 July 2006, Singapore), the first Chairman of Housing and Development Board (HDB), best known for his contributions in housing the population of Singapore in the 1960s. He held ministerial positions in various ministries from finance, education, defence to environment. He was Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisors and had also chaired various boards such as Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Early life
The eldest in a family of six children, his early education began at Oldham Hall School and later Anglo-Chinese School, Singapore. At a very young age, he learned the skills of trading commodities and business skills by helping his father in the family's businesses. He graduated with a Diploma in Arts (Economics) in 1939 from Raffles College.

After the Japanese Occupation, he took over the operations of a sago business in Kallang that his father-in-law had an interest in and invented a way to mechanise sago pearl production.  Later, he ventured into banking and was a director in the United Chinese Bank (which later became United Overseas Bank).  He joined the civil service in 1959 when he was appointed to the Public Service Commission and the Housing Board.  He entered politics in 1963 after winning the election in Cairnhill.  He subsequently headed many ministries including National Development, Finance, Defence, Education, Environment and Communications. He retired from politics in 1981 to become Chairman of SPH.

Accomplishments
He became the first Chairman of HDB when it was established in 1960. He established low-cost housing units from 1962 to 1969, taking the initial steps to eradicate homelessness in Singapore. When the Bukit Ho Swee fire made thousands homeless, HDB was able to quickly resettle the 15,000 made homeless. Under his tenure, home ownership was introduced in 1964 to help lower income families buy flats. In 1962, he was the first person to be awarded the Order of Temasek, for his pioneering efforts in housing whilst he was at HDB.

In 1979, as the Chairman of PSA, he transformed PSA into a world-class container hub. He introduced new measures and expanded operations in Pulau Brani and Pasir Panjang Terminals.

He retired from politics in 1981 but continued to help the Party in its selection of suitable candidates to contest elections. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his contributions to the Party.

As the Executive Chairman of SPH, he injected new ideas and reformed the whole organisation. By 2002, SPH's net profits increased to S$397.5 million to become the sixth largest public listed company.

In honour of his achievements in his business skills, a Lim Kim San Professorship in Business Policy was set up by the National University of Singapore on 16 October 2000.

Timeline
1951 : Director, United Chinese Bank Ltd; Chairman, Batu Pahat Bank Ltd; Chairman, Pacific Bank Ltd
1959-1963 : Deputy Chairman, Public Service Commission, Singapore
1960 - 1963 : Chairman, Housing and Development Board.
1961 - 1963 : Deputy Chairman, Economic and Development Board.
1963 - 1968 : Member of Parliament for Cairnhill.
1963 - 1980 : Member of the Central Executive Committee.
19 Oct 1963 - 8 Aug 1965 : Minister for National Development.
9 Aug 1965 - 16 Aug 1967 : Minister for Finance.
17 Aug 1967 - 15 Apr 1968 : Minister for Interior and Defence.
6 Sep 1970 - 15 Sep 1972 : Minister for Education.
1971 - 1978 : Chairman, Public Utilities Board.
16 Sep 1972 - 1 Jun 1975 : Minister for Environment.
1973 : Chairman, Board of Trustees, NTUC Welcome Consumers' Cooperative Ltd.
1 Aug 1975 - 30 Jun 1978 : Minister for Communications and Information Technology.
2 June 1975 - 31 Jan 1979 : Minister for National Development.
1 Feb 1979 - 5 Jan 1981 : Minister for Environment.
1979 - 1994 : Chairman, Port of Singapore Authority.
1981 - 1982 : Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore.
1988 - 1 Dec 2002 : Executive Chairman, Singapore Press Holding.
1989 : Chairman, Times Publishing.
1992 - 2003: Chairman, Council of Presidential Advisors.
2000 : Chancellor, Singapore Management University.

Awards
1962 : First person to be awarded the State's highest honour, Darjah Utama Temasek (The Order of Temasek).
1965 : Received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership for his services in "marshalling talents and resources to provide one-fith of Singapore's population with low-cost housing."
1977 : Medal of Honour, National Trades Union Congress.
1982 : Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws, National University of Singapore.
1990 : Distinguished Service Medal, People's Action Party.
1999 : Honorary Fellow, Singapore Institute of Directors.

Lim Kim San died at his home in Dalvey Road on 20 July 2006, of pneumonia and old age.

Family
Father: Lim Choon Huat.
Mother: Wee Geok Khuan.
Wife: Pang Gek Kim (d. 1994).
Children: Two sons and four daughters.



Author
Jenny Tien



References 
Chew, M. (1996). Leaders of Singapore (pp. 160-172). Singapore: Resource Press.
(Call no.: RSING920.05957 CHE)

Low, K. C., & Dunlop, P. K. G. (Eds.). (2000). Who's who in Singapore (pp. 153-154). Singapore: Who's Who Publishing.
(Call no.: RSING 920.05957 WHO)

Lam, P. E., & Tan, Y. L. K. (Eds.). (1999). Lee's lieutenants: Singapore's old guard. (pp. 16-23) Australia: Allen & Unwin.
(Call no.: RSING 320.95957 LEE)

Ministry of Culture. (1977). Biographical notes of the President, Prime Minister and ministers. Singapore: Publicity Division, Ministry of Culture.
(Call no.: RSING 328.59570922 BIO)

Q & A with Mr Lim Kim San. (1990, February). Petir, 6-7.

Chua, M. H. (2006, July 21). "Mr HDB" Lim Kim San dies. The Straits Times.

Long, S. (2002, November 13). Not quite sayonara to an old friend. The Straits Times, Home, p. 10.

Long, S. (2002, November 11). Lim Kim San steps down as SPH executive chairman. The Straits Times, p. 2.

Nirmala, M. (2000, October 16). The man who moves mountains. The Straits Times, p. 32.


Further Readings
Long, S. (2003, March 16). If looks could kill, I would have died for sure. The Sunday Times, p. 35.

Knowledgenet: Singapore. (2000). Lim Kim San. Retrieved October 23, 2002, from www.knowledgenet.com.sg/singapore/SG/BI/LimKimSan.htm 



The information in this article is valid as at 2006 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.