“For life and death are one as the river and sea are one... ”
Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu is one of the greatest sons of Penang.  He is a legend — a politician par excellence but more importantly, a leader who had the vision, boldness and drive to make things happen. He dared to dream of a great future for the state of Penang and its people.

He became Chief Minister of Penang on May 12, 1969 and immediately was confronted by the tragedy of May 13. The way and manner he mobilised the administrative machinery, especially the police force, to contain the situation and preserve the peace and security in the state, was indeed remarkable for a two-day old government. To me in the government service, it was an eye opener and indicative of what to expect with him as Chief Minister.

A few of you will recall that in the late 1960s, Penang’s economy and business environment was in the doldrums and the president of the International Chamber of Commerce predicted Penang would end up as a “fishing village”. Dr Lim thus faced tremendous challenges and he took all this in his stride. He was at the forefront of activities – understanding the administration, planning and implementing what needed to be done. His priority was to create jobs as the unemployment rate at 16% was extremely high. To do this, he gave priority to developing the industrial sector and promoted export-oriented manufacturing. This required pioneering the establishment of Free Trade Zones. Penang was in the process of losing its Free Port status and to the Customs Department, the establishment of Free Trade Zones was a back door to perpetuate the Free Port regime. Fortunately, Dr Lim’s standing and stature enabled this concept to be pushed through.

During his tenure as Chief Minister, the Free Trade Zones were very successful and became models for others. However, what was overlooked was that it was visionary leadership and commitment that ensured the success. Dr Lim was one such person with such qualities. To add to this, he also had the stamina to work very hard and the charisma to motivate and inspire all those working with him to reach heights and levels of performance they may have not thought possible.

He was always looking out for ideas and knowledge and as such, was ever ready to have discussions with those who were experts, knowledgeable and had the expe-
rience. He held the view that there was no shame in asking and that one should believe in the goodwill of people. He knew that the support of the people was essential and critical for success. As such, all efforts were made to show the people the rightness of the mission to make Penang a leading state in terms of socio-economic development and how this in turn would not only improve their livelihood but also their quality of life.

At a time when good governance was not a term used freely, Dr Lim laid out the need for morality in work; honesty and openness to minimise corruption. He also advised that one should not be inhibited by limits for growth as there will always be opportunities for new initiatives for growth.

As a Chief Minister and chairman of the Penang Development Corporation (PDC), he will always be remembered for transforming Penang from its dependence on the entrepôt business and agriculture to a state that was the choice of investors in manufacturing. When he left office, Penang was a centre for electronics, textiles and tourism. He ensured the state’s economy was not only diversified but deepened — a strong platform for future generations to build upon. In hindsight, his was a difficult act to follow.

One can go on talking about the economic transformation, but one must remember that Dr Lim has also been des-
cribed as a scholar, politician, statesman, sportsman and humanist all rolled into one. Having worked with him and known him as a friend, he was a true Penangite who had a great love for the state; great admiration for the people of the state for their hard work and their ability to adapt to meet the requirements of technology.

‘Malaysianess’
He was proud to be a Malaysian. He was always looking to ways to ensure people live, work and die together as Malaysians within the framework of the Constitution. He would always tell us that “when we drew up and promulgated the Constitution that binds our nation together, we had carefully taken into focus the fundamental rights of every individual and at the same time recognised the diversity of the ethnic, linguistic and religious roots of the people who make up the Malaysian nation”.

His “Malaysianess” was reflected in all that he did. In the formation of Gerakan, to reflect this, the slogan adopted was “Satu Hati”. Two words that evoke oneness most emotively. In the state’s administration, it was inclusiveness for the benefit of all the citizens; of course those who needed extra attention would receive it as a matter of course. He was, however, very alive to the fact that certain sectors of our people were still clinging to attitudes that were centrifugally inimical to national identity. As such, he advocated the promotion and strengthening of harmony, goodwill and understanding among the people.

Thus, when we look back at the life of Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, we see nothing but selfless devotion to duty for the betterment of our people. His efforts in Penang had an impact on the rest of the country. Some people are now calling him the “father of industrialisation” but knowing him, he would not readily accept this accolade as he was very modest. He would in turn attribute the success to the efforts of the people — the high human capital potential available in Penang.

What he would, however, admit to, was that he was very good at throwing up ideas but that only some were implementable and that he left it to his team of officers to do this. He believed in team effort and a multidisciplinary approach to do things. This meant nearly everyone in the organisation was involved in the planning, implementation, coordination and evaluation of projects and programmes. It was his way of teaching those who worked with him to have unity in purpose and interacting with each other as one. This brought about comradeship and mixing with each other as Malaysians.

All those who worked with him worked very hard because he himself worked very hard. He did not spare himself; he in fact pushed himself to the limit. What many are not aware of is that during this period, Dr Lim had acute spondylosis and he was quite often in pain. But this did not stop him. There was no letting-up and all he did was to “unclick” his back and continued with what was being done. In spite of pain, he remained focused. With such a leader, the followers themselves rise beyond what they each perceived as their ability or competence. As I look back, this was a remarkable phenomenon that provided Penang a cutting edge in the planning and implementation of projects and programmes.  

The decade of the 1970s demanded such leadership and Dr Lim was there to answer the call of duty. He knew Penang needed appropriate institutional support so he established the PDC. He knew that local government needed to be strengthened and their human and financial resources optimally used. So he boldly merged the various local councils and the City Council to form two Local Authority Councils — one for the Island and one for the mainland.

With the advent of information technology, he realised that the stability of nationhood will be tested by the flexibility of global networking. So, he often asked whether we can accommodate these highly flexible and all-invasive factors of the Information Age and globalised cyberspace networking as we continue to develop our Malaysian identity? He was positive and very confident that we could, so long as we followed the tenets of the Rukun Negara and respected the Constitution.

Consensus
In his era of politics, he was for the system of government through consensus. Consensus to him was a way to strengthen the coexistence of multi-ethnic partisan organisations. As he looked back, he attributed Malaysia’s social economic success to the flexible and widely accommodating principles that have recognised the legitimacy of multi-ethnic minorities as we evolved into a stronger and more cohesive national Malaysian community.

Dr Lim while appearing to be a workaholic, had time for recreation and relaxation. Once the pain of spondylosis eased, he went back to golf. Being a competitive person, he set himself targets of beating a score of 100, then 90 and finally 85. The day he played below 85, he had an extra beer. He enjoyed good wine, whisky, cigars, a good steak and chapattis and curry.

Lest it be overlooked, he was a family man. Toh Puan Goh Sing-Ying (S.Y.) was a pillar of strength for him. She understood his needs and requirements and was his confidante in most matters. She was at his side through thick and thin. They also made a formidable pair as Contract Bridge players, winning many tournaments. His children, Chien Aun, Pao Lin, Pao Yen and Chien Chen missed out on his time but understood the time demands on their father. They made the best of the time that was available. However, after retirement, he had time for his grandchildren.

Dr Lim will always be remembered as the man who moved and positioned his state, Penang, as a centre for manufacturing. As Chief Minister, he created a platform for the next generation of political leaders to steer the state as best as they could. After he left office, he never once interfered or commented on what was happening. Having done what he had to do, he just moved on with his life and entered the business and corporate world.

Now, he is moving on, as some would say, to the heavenly abode.

While one is sad with his demise but with the full life that he had lived and led, one can also say that it is justifiable to celebrate his life. Be that as it may, I take this opportunity to salute you, Chief and bid you farewell. Personally, it was a privilege and honour to have worked with you and had you as a dear friend.

Datuk Seri Chet Singh was appointed to head the Penang Development Corporation by Dr Lim and served as its general manager for two decades until his retirement in 1991.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, November 29, 2010.