cheaply. In 1988, Lim was appointed Executive Chairman of the Board of Singapore Press Holdings, but only accepted on the condition that he was given executive powers. He restructured the company and upgraded the printing presses with full color capabilities and a new press centre. Personal life Lim married Pang Gek Kim ​in 1939 and they had five children. Pang died in 1994. Lim died at approximately 5:30pm Singapore Standard Time (UTC+08:00) on 20 July 2006 at his home after prolonged illness. He was cremated at Mandai Crematorium. As a mark of respect for Lim's contributions to the country, State flags at all Government buildings were flown at half-mast on the day of his funeral. Legacy Housing Development Board In 1960, Lim was appointed Chairman of the Housing Development Board. Due to a rapidly increasing population, more than 400,000 people were either living in over-crowded conditions in ramshackle “shophouse” buildings or in squatter settlements with substandard living conditions. At this time, Lim was appointed to the Housing Development Board (HDB). Lim had volunteered for the job and was not paid for three years. It was in this position that Lim oversaw the massive construction of high-rise, low-cost apartments that would eventually become the main source of housing for Singaporeans. Housing Plan Lim was known for his organising and planning abilities. He forgo a detailed planning stage and instead chose a "rough and ready" approach to work fast using rough estimates of the housing requirement. In the first two years of this crash program, over 2000 units were built, more than what was built in the previous decade. Lim defied all detractors, in particular those in the Singapore Improvement Trust, who said he could not build 10,000 units a year. A committee was eventually set up under Lim Tay Boh to find out whether the HDB had the capability and the materials to reach the construction goal. By the time the committee published its report, the HDB had already completed 10,000 units of housing. In the first Five Year Housing Program, HDB achieved its goal of completing 5,000 units of housing by 1965. The largest project at that time was Queenstown, a satellite town of more than 17,500 flats capable of housing close to 22,000 people. The new neighborhood was built as a self-contained entity, with all amenities and shops built along with the houses, so people would not need to