Tan Sri Lim Leong Seng - A kind, simple and humble man

Tan Sri Lim Leong Seng was the first Malaysian to hold the position of Director-General of Inland Revenue from 1967 to 1971, having literally worked his way up from the post of Examiner in 1949, through various other positions and departments within the Inland Revenue Department until he retired from Government service in 1971 when he reached the compulsory retirement age of 55.

Sep 23, 2016

By Dr Tarcisius Chin
His looks belie his age. Indeed, his health and flexibility give no indication that he has joined one of the most exclusive clubs in the world, The Centenarian’s Circle. The Malaysian chapter has so few members that the statistics for a tiny sliver of the population barely makes an appearance on any population chart. But for Tan Sri Lim Leong Seng, aged 100 years, statistics stopped making any difference quite a long time ago. “A lot of people ask what my birthdate is” laughed the sprightly centenarian, “but I tell them, at this point in my life, numbers are irrelevant. I am just happy to wake up every morning in the knowledge that God has seen fit to give me another day to enjoy!”

Humble beginnings
He was the first Malaysian to hold the position of Director-General of Inland Revenue from 1967 to 1971, having literally worked his way up from the post of Examiner in 1949, through various other positions and departments within the Inland Revenue Department until he retired from Government service in 1971 when he reached the compulsory retirement age of 55. His tax career was by no means over. He carried on as Tax Advisor to the Ministry of Finance and served on the IMF in the Kingdom of Nepal in 1974 and 1975 where he had a motor accident. When he returned, he was appointed as a Special Commissioner of Income Tax from 1976 to 1979. He next moved from the public sector to the private sector, taking up a tax consultant’s position with major accounting firm Price Waterhouse. “My first job after I finished the Senior Cambridge Examinations was as a teacher at St. Michael’s School in Alor Setar, Kedah in 1934 and 1935... My salary was $30 a month!”

He returned to Penang the following year and attended the then newly established Government Commercial Day School where he learned typing, shorthand and book-keeping. It wasn’t long before he found a job as a stenographer with Sime Darby, where he remained for a year before joining a local audit firm in Penang. From these early experiences, he realised that he had an interest in accounting. Unfortunately, WWII derailed his accounting ambitions because, although he had already registered as a student member of the ACCA, the examinations were suspended because the papers were lost in transit to and from the United Kingdom.

His studies were put on hold. In the meantime, he joined a Japanese firm, Showa Gomu Khaisha, which had taken over control and management of the local rubber estates. “I became their local accountant,” he said. The war eventually ended, as did the Japanese Occupation of Malaya, and he gladly returned to his accounting studies, which he completed in 1948. Coincidentally, the British introduced income tax in the same year.

The winds of change were beginning to blow throughout South and Southeast Asia. Many countries were becoming independent and in Malaya, the call for independence was growing more strident. The fledgling country was going to need all the qualified people it could get.

The early years
In 1949, he joined the Income Tax Department as an Examiner. This had only recently been established in 1948 by the British Government. “When I started in the Income Tax Department, as it was known then, there were just a few hundred people working there, and not even all the states had income tax offices,” he said.

“Today, there are thousands of employees under the IRB. There are branches in all states, and some cities even have several branches”. Perhaps it was his early years in auditing, or his eye for detail, but with Income Tax, he had found his niche and although he did not know it at the time, he was part of the nation’s foundation of its financial future.

By the time the Income Tax Ordinance was replaced by the Income Tax Act in 1965, Tan Sri Lim had become one of the most senior staff in the IRB. From 1967 until he retired in 1971, he was the Comptroller-General but even then, the country was reluctant to let him go. Malaysia’s then Finance Minister, Tun Tan Siew Sin created a new post, as Tax Advisor to the Treasury, to retain his expertise in Income Tax.

He also had a stint with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as Tax Administration Advisor to the Ministry of Finance in the then Hindu Kingdom of Nepal. Another was the position of Special Commissioner for Income Tax, a position he held from 1976 to 1979. Finally, he opted for a stint in the private sector, joining Price Waterhouse in 1979 as tax consultant.

Beyond ‘gainful employment’
“I didn’t really need to work then but I didn’t want to be idle, so I decided to ‘donate’ my time instead,” he said. He was already active in social work, contributing time and expertise to organisations like the Holy Rosary Church, Hospis Malaysia, the Association for the Promotion of Higher Education in Malaysia and Assunta Hospital. When he ceased what he refers to as ‘gainful employment’ in 1992, he intensified his voluntary efforts. In 2015, he relinquished his position as Financial Administrator of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, after more than 26 years of faithful service. A Member of the Board of Assunta Hospital for more than 30 years, he retired only in 2012.

To what does he credit his robust health, despite his advanced years? He neither smokes nor drinks, can read without the help of glasses, and can still drive himself wherever he needs to go.

A great advocate of physical exercise, he adheres to a simple but effective regimen twice a day, working out every morning and evening with simple side bends to keep himself flexible, he says. Other than a little unsteadiness when going down the stairs, he has no complaints. “I sleep very well,” he divulges. “But that’s probably because I have no worries. It helps if your mind is relaxed and you follow a simple lifestyle. It’s good, too, if you interact constantly with people, and keep yourself community-centred.” It is obvious that, for Tan Sri Lim, a lifetime of discipline, integrity and industriousness has paid off. He sums it up very diplomatically, “I don’t have enemies and my conscience is always clear.” What practical steps does he recommend?

“It’s best to comply with your religious obligations,” he advised. “Never spend more than you have and spend only as necessary.” His motto is: “Waste not, want not. Be grateful for what you have, and always treat other people kindly and be compassionate to one and all. “Ask not what society can do for you but what you can do for society,” he said. “Never ever stop working, otherwise we will deteriorate physically and mentally. We should realize that everyday we wake up is actually a bonus bestowed upon us, so we should wake up happy and be grateful to God for His Divine Gift of another day.”

Tan Sri Lim Leong Seng is a recipient of the KMN, JMN, PSM and two Papal Awards, including the Knight of the Order of St Gregory the Great which carries the title ‘Sir’.

-- This article first appeared in Inspire, The Women’s Institute of Management Review

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