Lim Guan Eng
Lim Guan Eng is a Malaysian politician and accountant who served as the Minister of Finance of Malaysia from 2018 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Action Party, he has served as the party's second advisor since 2025.
Lim has served as Member of Parliament for Bagan, Member of the Penang State Legislative Assembly for Air Putih since March 2008. He also served as the 4th Chief Minister of Penang from March 2008 to May 2018, MP for Kota Melaka from August 1986 to November 1999 and 4th Secretary-General of DAP from September 2004 to March 2022.
Personal life
Lim is the son of Lim Kit Siang, Leader of the Opposition in the Malaysian House of Representatives from 1973 to 1999 and 2004 to 2008. He is married to Betty Chew Gek Cheng, who was former two-term MLA for Kota Laksamana in Malacca. She is the first serving assemblywoman to be married to a Chief Minister. They have four children. His younger sister, Lim Hui Ying is the MP for Tanjong.Early education
Lim attended La Salle Primary English School in Petaling Jaya, and later the Batu Pahat Montfort Primary English School. For his secondary education, he attended Batu Pahat High School and Malacca High School. He graduated from Monash University in Australia with a Bachelor of Economics. He also served as the president of MUISS during his university years.Political career
Prior to his political career, Lim was a senior executive at a bank. He was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Kota Melaka in 1986, defeating Soh Chin Ann with a majority of 17,606 votes. He was re-elected in the 1990 and 1995 general elections, albeit with reduced majorities. He thus became the first person to be elected to three consecutive terms in Kota Melaka. He was also the first Malacca High School alumnus to achieve this.He was appointed the DAP Socialist Youth chairman in 1989 and was formally elected to that post in 1992. In 1995, he was elected the DAP Deputy Secretary-General. He was elected the party's Secretary-General in 2004, and held that position until 2022. The same year, he was elected as National Chairman of the party.
In 2005, Lim suffered a surprise defeat in his campaign for re-election to the Malacca DAP committee. However, as Lim remained Secretary-General of the party, he was automatically included in the committee in accordance with the party's constitution. His wife, who had also failed to be elected to the Melaka committee, was not included in the committee even though she remained the chief of the state's DAP women's wing. Teresa Kok, a DAP MP, suggested that there was a conspiracy behind the Lims' failure to be reelected. Nevertheless, Lim went on to garner the second highest number of votes at the party's 15th National Congress on 23 August 2008.
In 2014, he was criticized for swapping his two-month-old Toyota Camry official car for a new Mercedes-Benz S300L. Netizens and NGOs commented that he did not practise what he preached because in 2008 he had condemned the Terengganu State Government for buying a fleet of Mercedes-Benz cars as its official cars. Abdul Rahman Dahlan, the Kota Belud Barisan Nasional MP, accused Lim of being "hypocritical". Lim defended his decision, saying that he had bought the car at a discounted price.
On 20 September 2011, Lim Guan Eng participated in an interview conducted by Australian 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 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.
Chief Minister of Penang
In the 2008 Malaysian general election, the DAP-PKR-PAS coalition, later known as Pakatan Rakyat, won 29 out of the 40 state assembly seats contested in Penang, defeating the Barisan Nasional coalition. The DAP won 19 seats, PKR 9 seats, and PAS 1. Even though Lim is not a Penangite, he was nominated to be the Chief Minister of Penang, replacing the former Chief Minister Dr. Koh Tsu Koon of Malaysian People's Movement Party. Other senior DAP leaders of Penang such as Lim Hock Seng, Phee Boon Poh, and Chow Kon Yeow were bypassed and were instead appointed state executive council members. In the 2013 Malaysian general election, Pakatan Rakyat increased their majority, gaining 30 out of the 40 state seats in Penang.Domestic issues
Upon taking over as the new Chief Minister of Penang, Lim announced an amnesty on all summonses issued by the Penang Island City Council and Seberang Perai Municipal Council involving vendors' licences and parking offences issued before March 2008.During Lim's tenure, Penang maintained its rank as one of the top states for investments in Malaysia. In 2014, Penang recorded a total of RM8.16 billion in investments, a 109% increase compared to the previous year.
Under Lim, the concept of Competency, Accountability, and Transparency was emphasised in state governance. The Economist credited state reforms with ending cronyism and corruption that led to major deficits under preceding administrations.
The state government also received praise from the auditor-general as the best financially managed state in Malaysia from 2008 to 2010. It also won accolades from Transparency International for implementing open tenders in awarding contracts.
The state's record budget surpluses were channeled to social welfare programs such as financial aid to the hardcore poor, cash handouts to the elderly, public housing upgrades, free Wi-Fi service at selected hotspots, and free bus services within the city and between Penang island and Seberang Perai for workers.
With the goal of transforming Penang into a sustainable city, the state government launched the "Cleaner, Greener Penang" initiative in 2010. Free plastic bags were banned throughout the state and proceeds from a levy on the use of plastic bags would be channeled as aid to the state's hardcore poor. The state also prohibited motor vehicles from using particular stretches of road in the city on Sundays, and later introduced a bike sharing system.
Efforts were also undertaken to resolve the transportation issues in the state, with a memorandum of understanding being signed with China relating to a proposal to construct three roads and an undersea tunnel on Penang Island in 2011. The 6.5 km undersea tunnel is intended to be the third link between the island and Butterworth on the mainland, meant to ease traffic congestion and improve links between the island and the mainland.
In 2014, the Penang Transport Master Plan, a RM27 billion project to develop an integrated transportation network combining various modes of transport, including rapid transit and water taxis, connecting the island and the mainland was announced. The project was expected to start in 2015 and be completed in 2030.
In 2015, the state capital of George Town was granted city status, which it had lost in 1974. It now encompasses the entirety of Penang Island and surrounding islets and is governed by the Penang Island City Council.
The same year, the state government launched the Penang Future Foundation scholarship program, which awards scholarships to outstanding young Malaysian students who wish to pursue their undergraduate studies at local private higher educational institutions. The program was launched to attract younger talent to the state and requires recipients to work in Penang.
Foreign delegations and state visits
On 6 November 2011, the Penang state government under Lim's leadership managed to strengthen ties and forge friendship with the state of Victoria, Australia when the Governor of Victoria Alex Chernov made an official day-long visit to Penang with the invitation of the state government.On 15 November 2011 Penang had hosted an official visit by the Governor General of Canada the Right Honourable David Johnston and the ex-Speaker of the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan for 2 days. Penang had managed to forge foreign relations with Canada and Japan, which consequently strengthened trade ties to lure foreign investors to Penang. Johnston's first visit to the state was welcomed by Lim and the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of Penang Abdul Rahman Abbas. They walked around the Penang Heritage Trail together with his delegation.
Several investment and business delegations have been led by Lim on state visits to Tokyo, Bangkok, Singapore, Melbourne, Adelaide, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Lim's official visit to Bangkok also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Penang and Bangkok, which enabled Penang to be a fast-growing world-class and international city. Prior to this state visit, Penang was looking to develop its tourism by seeking co-operation with Bangkok. Lim said that the state aspires to be achieve global city status by becoming a major economic hub, a top choice for investors, a desirable place for tourists and a habitat of choice for people who want to earn a sustainable living.
In 2013, his official trip to Xiamen and Hainan in China with a delegation including his wife was criticised by the Penang MCA for practicing double standard in his stand for bringing his spouse on an official trip. Penang MCA Secretary, Lau Chiek Tan said "Previously, Lim had criticised Barisan Nasional leaders for wasting public funds by bringing their families with them on official trips. We now see Pakatan Rakyat leaders doing the same with this trip to China."
Minister of Finance
Following the electoral victory of the Pakatan Harapan coalition of which the DAP is a part of in the 2018 Malaysian general election, Mahathir Mohamad announced Lim's appointment as the Minister of Finance. He was the first ethnic-Chinese Malaysian to hold the position since Tan Siew Sin of the Malaysian Chinese Association who held that position from 1959 to 1974. In June 2018, he received criticism for issuing official statements in Chinese.In September 2018, Lim cancelled two contracts, worth approximately $2.795 billion, with the China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau for oil and gas pipelines, as part of Mahatir's agenda to cut excessive spending and re-examine the "unequal treaties" between Malaysia and China. The ministry also alleged that part of the funds for these projects, which were secured from the Export–Import Bank of China, had been misappropriated as part of the 1MDB scandal.
In December the same year, Lim announced a B40 National Protection Scheme, a free national health insurance scheme for the country's bottom 40 percentile of earners. The scheme, which was to start from 1 January 2019, would cost an initial RM2 billion. He also announced an exemption from stamp duty for properties up to RM1 million for first-time home buyers beginning 1 January 2019.
On 21 June 2019, Lim claimed that Sarawak would go bankrupt in three years' time if it continues to be ruled by the Gabungan Parti Sarawak coalition. He stated that Sarawak's reserves of RM30 billion would be depleted within three years, considering the state's annual budget of RM11 billion. Lim also expressed concerns that Sarawak might face a situation similar to Kelantan, where he claimed they struggled to cover the salaries of their civil servants due to ineffective administration.
The statement by him has sparked controversy. The Sarawak government, through its Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, issued a statement expressing that Lim's remarks not only contain misinformation but also carry political motivations. Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari said the statement pointed out that these assumptions were made without taking into account Sarawak's revenue from various sources, including oil and gas, and the exemplary financial management it has demonstrated. Movement for Change, Sarawak has described Lim's statement as ‘an insult to Sarawak and Sarawakians’.
As a result of the collaboration between Pakatan Harapan and GPS after the 2022 general election, Lim publicly apologized for his previous remarks that had harmed the reputation of Abang Johari and the Sarawak government.
Following the 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis, which saw the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government, Lim revealed that Mahathir had threatened to remove him from his position as minister of finance on three separate occasions, each following Lim's decision to pursue policies that Mahathir disagreed with, but did not follow through as Lim had the backing of the rest of the cabinet on all three policies. This followed claims made by Mahathir that he could not be controlled by the DAP during his time as prime minister, and that Lim had to ask him for permission before undertaking any plans.