Singapore's Loss
Today, our Small Nation lost one of our national treasures, Former Cabinet Minister Lim Kim San died this afternoon. Mr Lim was part of our nation's growth since independence and he has contributed greatly to building Singapore.
See a short 'cut and paste' from Channel New's Asia report :
Mr Lim was best known as "Mr HDB" for his role in providing low-cost housing for thousands of Singaporeans in the 1960s.
Born in Singapore in 1916, he was educated at Anglo-Chinese School and Raffles College.
During the Japanese Occupation, he was tortured after he denied allegations that he was pro-communist and pro-British.
He later said the brutality of the Japanese forces politicised his generation.
After the war, he made his first million when he came up with a machine to produce sago pearls cheaply.
He then went on to become a director of several banks and was appointed chairman of the new Housing Development Board in 1960. He solved Singapore's housing problem by marshalling resources to build 10,000 units a year, a feat unheard of at the time.
In the 1963 General Election, he won the Cairnhill seat and was appointed National Development Minister.
During his long and distinguished public career, Mr Lim also held Cabinet posts in Finance, Defence, Education and Environment.
After retiring from politics in 1980, Mr Lim held various posts, among them Executive Chairman of Singapore Press Holdings, and Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisors. He was also the first Chancellor of the Singapore Management University.
I may not have been around, or actively care about politics when he was in cabinet but I know that he is a good man and that he is the one of the people that made things happen. That he and his generation of ministers served with good hearts. He saw Singapore through our merger with Malaysia, then stuck with us when we seperated. For anyone to stick with Singapore through the merger and seperation deserves much respect, let alone say contribute to Finance, Defence, Environment and Education !
I saw in the older ministers their efforts and their love for Singapore. I know that it is this love that keeps the country going strong, no matter what other people say about us, no matter how tough things us, they stuck with Singapore and their hearts belonged to Singapore. For that, flags will be flying at half-mast each time we lost a cabinet minister and I am sorry to say, that we lost another treasure today.
See a short 'cut and paste' from Channel New's Asia report :
Mr Lim was best known as "Mr HDB" for his role in providing low-cost housing for thousands of Singaporeans in the 1960s.
Born in Singapore in 1916, he was educated at Anglo-Chinese School and Raffles College.
During the Japanese Occupation, he was tortured after he denied allegations that he was pro-communist and pro-British.
He later said the brutality of the Japanese forces politicised his generation.
After the war, he made his first million when he came up with a machine to produce sago pearls cheaply.
He then went on to become a director of several banks and was appointed chairman of the new Housing Development Board in 1960. He solved Singapore's housing problem by marshalling resources to build 10,000 units a year, a feat unheard of at the time.
In the 1963 General Election, he won the Cairnhill seat and was appointed National Development Minister.
During his long and distinguished public career, Mr Lim also held Cabinet posts in Finance, Defence, Education and Environment.
After retiring from politics in 1980, Mr Lim held various posts, among them Executive Chairman of Singapore Press Holdings, and Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisors. He was also the first Chancellor of the Singapore Management University.
I may not have been around, or actively care about politics when he was in cabinet but I know that he is a good man and that he is the one of the people that made things happen. That he and his generation of ministers served with good hearts. He saw Singapore through our merger with Malaysia, then stuck with us when we seperated. For anyone to stick with Singapore through the merger and seperation deserves much respect, let alone say contribute to Finance, Defence, Environment and Education !
I saw in the older ministers their efforts and their love for Singapore. I know that it is this love that keeps the country going strong, no matter what other people say about us, no matter how tough things us, they stuck with Singapore and their hearts belonged to Singapore. For that, flags will be flying at half-mast each time we lost a cabinet minister and I am sorry to say, that we lost another treasure today.
posted by Celine at
9:41 PM
1 Comments:
Just wanted to let you know I am still around. We need to update each other soon. Let me do my move next week, get a phone and then its calling time :) haha!!!
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