Comet in Our Sky: Lim Chin Siong in History

by Soo Kai Poh

Singapore's political firmament is crowded with stars who could have lit up to the island state's history, but were snuffed out by detention and harassment before they could do so. One of the brightest was probably Lim Chin Siong, who with Lee Kuan Yew, was one of the founders of the People's Action Party, but he spent more time in detention than representing his constituents. Lim Chin Siong was the most prominent left-wing leader in Singapore for a decade until he was eliminated from the political scene by the infamous Operation Coldstore on February 2, 1963.

This book is an account of Lim’s significance in Singapore’s political developments in the decade preceding. It also contains tributes by his friends and colleagues in Singapore and Malaysia, an assessment of his life by many who were inspired by him. This new edition features an essay by Dr Poh Soo Kai and an extract from Lim’s posthumous manuscripts.

317 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 28, 2023

Reviews

[Tianze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through the recounts of others close to Lim Chin Siong, we can pretty much recall a figure that played a very significant role during the period of formation of Singapore, which has been largely omitted in today’s teaching of the nation’s history. There is no “if” in history, but let not him be detained without trial for so many years, we can reasonably deduce that the development of Singapore could be very different. Also, from this book, we can have a glimpse of the dark side of the Sun, that even honorable politicians could be very shrewd and cruel that they don’t wish others to know.