By Tan Wah Piow
Paul Lim Huat Chye was born Singaporean to a Catholic family but passed away as a Belgian.
He was truly one of those unforgettable people who would instantly stand out in any room. Whether it was the relaxed way he rolled up his sarong on a hot day, or the enthusiastic gestures and raised voice he’d use even with strangers, his presence was undeniable.
His charm likely stemmed from his informal and genuinely harmless lack of decorum, which endeared him to everyone he met. He was knowledgeable, opinionated and spoke his mind. This might have initially surprised newcomers, but people quickly felt at ease with his eccentric informality.
He received his intellectually demanding theological education at the world-renowned Catholic seminary in Penang. There, he first encountered Vincent Cheng in the late 1960s, a time when liberation theology was a burgeoning idea. Vincent, his senior, had already graduated when they both returned to Singapore.
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An earlier graduate from the same seminary, Father Joseph Ho, served as the parish priest at the Jurong Catholic Church. He was also the national chaplain of the Young Christian Workers.
Paul and Vincent stayed with Fr Ho. This gave them firsthand exposure to the challenging conditions of the working class in Singapore’s new Jurong Industrial Estate.
Jurong Industrial Mission: Shared purpose
Chew Beng Lan was already in Jurong before Paul and Vincent arrived. As a social work student, she had gone there for an academic project.
Her deep interest in workers’ welfare impressed a European Lutheran priest who was exploring an ecumenical project to serve Jurong workers.
Beng Lan was offered the job to help launch this initiative. She accepted, and the Jurong Industrial Mission established itself at the newly built Jurong Christian Church. The mission’s remit was strictly secular and non-evangelical.
The mission was just 10 minutes away from Fr Ho’s parish church. Vincent and Paul soon joined Beng Lan in her work in community organising.
During his time in Jurong, Paul took a job at a Jurong factory to further understand the working class’s conditions through praxis. So did Vincent Cheng.
It was an exceptionally tough period for Paul. Singapore’s scorching heat was particularly punishing on his body. H struggled more than many locals.
Medical problems aside, both he and Vincent had their faith tested. Their understanding of liberation theology was deeply concretised through these practical experiences, including nightly visitation to workers to identify issues that concerned them and strategising an organised response.
Unforeseen challenges, new beginnings
Unbeknownst to them, Lee Kuan Yew had earlier threatened to arrest Fr Ho unless the archbishop removed him from Jurong. Soon after, the Jurong Industrial Mission also faced closure.
By a remarkable historical coincidence, a group of architecture students, in Jurong for an academic project, walked into the Jurong Christian Church. I was one of the students. There, we met Beng Lan, then Paul and Vincent. The stars, it seemed, were aligning for something significant.
Paul Lim is now with a bigger group of like-minded liberation theology thinkers, mixed with a left-wing structural analysis of what society ought to be.
Despite the closure of the Jurong Industrial Mission, we managed to use Beng Lan’s flat in Jurong as a ‘base’. We preserved and self-funded our community organising work.
However, everything eventually went topsy-turvy. Arrests, persecution and exiles followed.
Paul went to Belgium, where he studied labour science and earned his doctorate.
Then, in 1987, Operation Spectrum was launched by the Singapore government. Vincent was among the 21 people arrested without trial.
Paul, then stranded in Belgium, was accused of acting as a courier of the so-called Marxist conspiracy, leading him to claim asylum.
By then, fluent in French and well-versed in the workings of the European Parliament, he became an indispensable contact for those lobbying for support for various causes, including the release of those detained under Operation Spectrum in Singapore.
In later years, he academically contributed significantly to the understanding of the EU at Malaysian universities.
While in Europe, he missed Asia. Yet, when in Asia, he missed Belgium.
Ultimately, he managed to live the life he desired – one of freedom, doing what he liked without fear of persecution, unburdened by possessions. The European climate also suited his biological constitution.
He passed away on 21 July in Belgium.
Rest in peace, our dear friend and comrade,
Tan Wah Piow and Chew Beng Lan
Tan Wah Piow is a lawyer and former Singapore student leader who, since 1976, has lived in political exile in London.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
I stayed in the same house as Paul while working there as an NGO lobbyist, an experience entirely in line with your beautiful In Memoriam. As ”State Enemy nr 2” in his own words, he greatly sufferered from the obstacles – risks of visiting his family and friends, one reason for being so happy with his job at nearby Penang University.
Illustration of how Asian he always remained: in Brussels he had no dinner without cooked white rice, + if so he still ate some at home or he couldn’t sleep.
Amsterdam, Peter Sluiter