Yang BerbahagiaTan SriDato' Seri Utama Lim Kit Siang PSM DUPN
林吉祥
Lim in 2013
Leader of the Opposition
In office 21 March 2004 – 8 March 2008
Monarchs	Sirajuddin Mizan Zainal Abidin
Prime Minister	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Preceded by	Abdul Hadi Awang
Succeeded by	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
In office 5 November 1975 – 29 November 1999
Monarchs	See list Abdul Halim Yahya Petra Ahmad Shah Iskandar Azlan Shah Ja'afar Salahuddin
Prime Minister	Abdul Razak Hussein Hussein Onn Mahathir Mohamad
Preceded by	Edmund Langgu Anak Saga
Succeeded by	Fadzil Noor
In office 17 April 1973 – 24 August 1974
Monarch	Abdul Halim
Prime Minister	Abdul Razak Hussein
Preceded by	Mohamed Asri Muda
Succeeded by	James Wong
2nd National Chairman of the Democratic Action Party
In office 3 December 1999 – 4 September 2004
Secretary-General	Kerk Kim Hock
Preceded by	Chen Man Hin
Succeeded by	Karpal Singh
3rd Secretary-General of the Democratic Action Party
In office 1 October 1970 – 3 December 1999
National Chairman	Chen Man Hin
Preceded by	Fan Yew Teng (acting)
Succeeded by	Kerk Kim Hock
Federal parliamentary seats Member of theMalaysian Parliament forIskandar Puteri In office 9 May 2018 – 19 November 2022 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Liew Chin Tong Member of theMalaysian Parliament forGelang Patah In office 6 May 2013 – 9 May 2018 Preceded by Tan Ah Eng Succeeded by Constituency abolished Member of theMalaysian Parliament forIpoh Timor In office 21 March 2004 – 5 May 2013 Preceded by Thong Fah Chong Succeeded by Thomas Su Keong Siong Member of theMalaysian Parliament forTanjong In office 3 August 1986 – 29 November 1999 Preceded by Koh Tsu Koon Succeeded by Chow Kon Yeow Member of theMalaysian Parliament forPetaling In office 8 July 1978 – 26 April 1982 Preceded by Oh Keng Seng Succeeded by Yeoh Poh San Member of theMalaysian Parliament forKota Melaka In office 26 April 1982 – 3 August 1986 Preceded by Chan Teck Chan Succeeded by Lim Guan Eng In office 24 August 1974 – 8 July 1978 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Chan Teck Chan Member of theMalaysian Parliament forBandar Malacca In office 10 May 1969 – 24 August 1974* Preceded by Tan Kee Gak Succeeded by Constituency abolished
State parliamentary seats Member of thePenang State Legislative Assembly forPadang Kota In office 20 October 1990 – 24 April 1995 Preceded by Lim Chong Eu Succeeded by Teng Chang Yeow Member of thePenang State Legislative Assembly for Kampong Kolam In office 3 August 1986 – 20 October 1990 Preceded by Wong Hoong Keat Succeeded by Cheah Teik Hoe Member of theMalacca State Legislative Assembly for Kubu In office 1974–1982 Preceded by Constituency established Succeeded by Yong Wee Yook
Personal details
Born	(1941-02-20)20 February 1941 (age 84) Batu Pahat,Johor,Unfederated Malay States (nowMalaysia)
Political party	Democratic Action Party (DAP)
Other political affiliations	Gagasan Rakyat (GR) (1990–1996) Barisan Alternatif (BA) (1998–2004) Pakatan Rakyat (PR) (2008–2015) Pakatan Harapan (PH) (since 2015)
Spouse	Neo Yoke Tee ​ (m. 1960)​
Children	4 (includingGuan Eng andHui Ying)
Website	limkitsiang.com
*Parliament suspended from13 May 1969 to 20 February 1971

Lim Kit Siang (Chinese:林吉祥;pinyin:Lín Jíxiáng;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Lîm Kiat-siâng; born 20 February 1941) is a retiredMalaysianpolitician. Having held the position for a total of 29 years on three separate occasions, he is the longest-servingleader of the opposition, as wellthe second longest-serving member of parliament in Malaysia. He was also the former secretary-general and national chairman of theDemocratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of thePakatan Harapan coalition, leading it through eight general elections.

Lim was born on 20 February 1941 atBatu Pahat,Johor,British Malaya.^[1][2] His father was from Qinying Village, while his mother was from Zhangtang Village, both located inDongshan County,Zhangzhou,Fujian, inChina. The youngest of four children, Lim's parents gave their eldest daughter to a farmer in Qinying for adoption before immigrating to Malaya and giving birth to Lim. He had one sister and two brothers. Lim visited his ancestral village of Qinying for the first time in November 2008, meeting his brother-in-law.^[3]

Lim spent two years studying at a Mandarin-language night school before transferring toBatu Pahat High School, graduating with 5 As in hisCambridge School Certificate of Education examination. Lim was admitted to theEnglish College Johore Bahru to continue hissixth form studies but dropped out after two months to marry his wife, Neo Yok Tee, at the age of 19. The pair had met when they were 15 but their marriage was not approved by Lim's parents, who had wanted him to become a doctor, and disowned him.^[4]

He gained employment teaching English at the Senai Chinese Primary School before working as a reporter forThe Straits Times andSingapore Radio in Singapore, where he would live until 1965.^[5] During this time, he became the secretary-general of the Singapore National Union of Journalists at the age of 22 and came into contact withDevan Nair, then head of theNational Trades Union Congress.^[4]

He pursued a legal education his atLondon University, earning aBachelor of Laws (LL.B), and was called to the bar atLincoln's Inn in 1977.^[4]

Upon the separation of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965, Devan Nair, who was also the member of parliament forBungsar in Malaysia, left Singapore to return to the Malaysian capital city ofKuala Lumpur and offered Lim a position as his political secretary, which he accepted. A founding member of Nair's new Democratic Action Party, he was made the editor of the party's publication;The Rocket,^[4] and appointed National Organising Secretary in 1966.^[6]

Lim was elected the member of parliament forBandar Malacca in the1969 Malaysian general election, which saw substantial gains made by multi-racial opposition parties such as the DAP. The results of the election and subsequent reaction led to the13 May incident, aracial riot in Kuala Lumpur. Lim was named by the government as a suspected instigator arrested under theInternal Security Act, which allowed for indefinite detainment. Upon hearing the news of his impending arrest, Lim had initially fled to Singapore but returned on 15 May. He was denied access to a lawyer or his family for the first of two months he was held in solitary confinement, and Lim claimed the authorities tried to break him down psychologically. He was only freed on 1 October 1970 after 16 months.^[7]

His election as a member of parliament for Bandar Malacca was initially held to be void because of the ineligibility of an election agent who had previously failed to discharge his duties from standing for election in the future.^{[clarification needed]} ThePrime Minister of Malaysia,Abdul Razak Hussein, 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 theYang di-Pertuan Agong (King). After receiving a royal pardon, Lim was allowed to retain his seat.^[8]

In 1979, he was convicted of five charges under the Official Secrets Act for exposing an arms deal between the Malaysian government and a Swiss company.

He led the party as secretary-general until 1999 when he was elected party chairman, succeedingChen Man Hin. In 2004, he refused re-appointment as the chairman andKarpal 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, became secretary-general of the party during this time.

After winning a parliamentary seat from Ipoh Timor during the2004 general election, which also saw his party clinching the most seats of any opposition party, Lim became theParliamentary Opposition Leader.

Lim contested and won in the constituency ofGelang Patah against Barisan Nasional heavyweight and formerMenteri Besar of JohorAbdul Ghani Othman in the2013 general election.

On 22 October 2015, Lim was suspended for six months from parliament for insulting the speaker,Pandikar Amin Mulia.^[9][10] Earlier, he had stated that Pandikar was abusing his powers by ruling that the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) could not continue its ongoing investigation into1Malaysia Development Berhad scandal (1MDB) due to the transfer of four PAC members to the Cabinet. Pandikar had insisted that Lim apologize and withdraw his statement against him.^[11] However, Lim did not apologise or retract his remarks.^[12]

Over the course of his parliamentary career, Lim has represented eight federal constituencies.

• Bandar Malacca, Melaka (1969–1974)
• Kota Melaka, Melaka (1974–1978)
• Petaling, Selangor (1978–1982)
• Kota Melaka, Melaka (1982–1986)
• Tanjong, Penang (1986–1999)
• Ipoh Timor, Perak (2004–2013)
• Gelang Patah, Johor (2013-2018)
• Iskandar Puteri, Johor (2018-2022)

Lim has also served as a state assemblyman inMelaka andPenang during the following periods: Kubu, Melaka (1974–1982); Kampong Kolam, Penang (1986–1990); and Padang Kota, Penang (1990–1995).

Lim was leader of the opposition for 18 months from January 1973 to July 1974, succeedingAsri Muda, and again from November 1975 to November 1999, before being losing his seat in the1999 general election. He became opposition leader again from March 2004 to March 2008.

Lim announced his retirement from politics on 20 March 2022, citing old age.^[13] Newly elected Democratic Action Party secretary-generalAnthony Loke had originally intended to appoint him as the party's "mentor",^[14] but Lim declined the position.^[15]

He is married with 4 children.^[16] He is the father ofLim Guan Eng, the incumbent national chairman of the Democratic Action Party, as well asLim Hui Ying, theDeputy Minister of Finance.

•  Malaysia :
  • Commander of theOrder of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (PSM) –Tan Sri (2023)^[17]
•  Penang
  • Knight Grand Commander of theOrder of the Defender of State (DUPN) –Dato' Seri Utama (2024)^[18]

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

• Official website
• Official Website for DAP Malaysia

• 1941 births
• Lim family
• Living people
• People from Batu Pahat
• Malaysian people of Hokkien descent
• Malaysian politicians of Chinese descent
• 20th-century Malaysian lawyers
• Recipients of Malaysian royal pardons
• Asian democratic socialists
• Democratic Action Party (Malaysia) politicians
• Leaders of the opposition (Malaysia)
• Members of the Malacca State Legislative Assembly
• Members of the Penang State Legislative Assembly
• Members of Lincoln's Inn
• Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia
• Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of State of Penang
• Malaysian MPs 1971–1974
• Malaysian MPs 1974–1978
• Malaysian MPs 1978–1982
• Malaysian MPs 1982–1986
• Malaysian MPs 1986–1990
• Malaysian MPs 1990–1995
• Malaysian MPs 1995–1999
• Malaysian MPs 2004–2008
• Malaysian MPs 2008–2013
• Malaysian MPs 2013–2018
• Malaysian MPs 2018–2022

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use Malaysian English from October 2014
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• Wikipedia articles needing clarification from July 2024