1963. On his way to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Conference (GATT) Geneva that year, Dr. Lim confirmed that his ministry had received many inquiries from foreign and local firms regarding the possibility of setting up vehicle manufacturing factories in the Federation. The bigger plan, he subsequently announced, was to establish a motor vehicle industry in Malaysia by stages - from basic assembly with local content, to chassis build and finally to a fully locally made car. It would be exactly 20 years later that Perusahaan Otomobile Nasional Berhad (Proton (carmaker)) was incorporated (7 May 1983), and Malaysia's first locally built car, the Proton Saga, was launched on 9 July 1985. Formation of Malaysia Agreement 1963 Lim Swee Aun was involved in the final rounds of negotiations on the Malaysia talks. A Malayan delegation departed for London on 25 June 1963 and was led by Tun Abdul Razak, Tan Siew Sin and Dr Lim Swee Aun (Minister for Commerce). The function of Mr. Tan and Dr. Lim was in Sir Geofroy Tory's view, to restrain Tun Razak from making undue concessions. Agreement was reached on the main points of issue on 5 July and only then did Tunku himself leave for London. Dr. Lim was one of the signatories of the Agreement Relating to Malaysia (1963). The Debate on Malaysian Solidarity 1965 Syed Jaafar Albar participated in verbal duels with the Singaporean Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, over the issue of ketuanan Melayu (Malay sovereignty over Malaysia), accusing Lee and some other Chinese Malaysians—referring to them as kaum pendatang or immigrants—of being lodgers (orang tumpangan), abusing the hospitality of the Malays who were the "masters of the house". This provoked a response from Cabinet member Swee Aun, who insisted "we are co-owners, not lodgers, not guests." Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in his speech at the Malaysia Solidarity Convention on 6 June 1965 congratulated Lim Swee Aun for his courage in saying it. Timeline 1915 Sep Born, Taiping, Perak, Malaya 1938 Graduated Licentiate of Medicine & Surgery 1948-1950 Nominated Taiping Town Council 1949 Jan Justice of Peace, Perak 1953-1955 Member Perak State legislative Council 1959 Aug Elected Member of Parliament Larut Selatan 1962 Aug Appointed Minister of Health 1962 Oct Appointed Minister of Commerce & Industry 1963 Mar Attended ECAFE Conference in Manila 1963 Jun Took active part in Malaysia negotiations in London 1963 Nov Charman, Commonwealth Parliamentary