Lim Kim San (; 30 November 1916 – 20 July 2006) was a Singaporean politician who served as a Cabinet minister between 1965 and 1981. He was credited for leading a successful public housing programme in the country during the early 1960s, which eased the acute housing shortage problem at that time. Early life and education Born in 1916 in Singapore, Lim was the eldest of six children. He was educated at Oldham Hall School and Anglo-Chinese School before graduating from Raffles College in 1939 with a Diploma in Arts in economics. During the Japanese occupation, Lim was one of the many tortured on suspicion of being pro-communist and pro-British. A long time after the war, Lim said that those who survived the horror and the brutality of the Japanese occupation "will never forget them." Lim also said that the traumatic and humiliating experience, politicised his generation and made them vow to "never let our fate be decided by others." Political career Lim contested in Cairnhill as a PAP candidate during the 1963 general election and won 7,749 out of the 11,659 votes. He was subsequently appointed Minister for National Development. In recognition of Lim's adept ability of judging a person's merits, he was also brought on board as the PAP's "talent scout". After Singapore's independence in 1965, Lim served as Minister for Finance between 1965 and 1967 and Minister for Interior and Defence between 1967 and 1970 before he was appointed Chairman of the Public Utilities Board to oversee the development of new water reservoirs, where he served between 1971 and 1978. Thereafter, he returned to the Cabinet and served as Minister for Environment between 1972 and 1975 and again between 1979 and 1981, Minister for Communications between 1975 and 1978, and Minister for National Development between 1978 and 1979. Civil career In 1959, Lim was a member of the Public Service Commission and later became the deputy Chairman. After retiring from politics in 1980, Lim remained active in public life for the rest of his life. Lim served as Chairman of the Port of Singapore Authority between 1979 and 1994. Under his stewardship, Singapore had become the busiest port in the world. Lim was also Chairman of the Council of Presidential Advisers between 1992 and 2003. Business career Lim made his first million at age of 36 when he came up with a machine to produce sago pearls