Lim Hng Kiang

Infobox Minister
name = Lim Hng Kiang


order = Minister for Trade and Industry
term_start = 12 August 2004
term_end =
deputy =
predecessor = George Yeo
successor =
order2 = Minister for Prime Minister's Office
term_start2 = 1 August 2003
term_end2 = 12 August 2004
predecessor2 =
successor2 = Lim Swee Say
order3 = Minister for Health
term_start3 = 3 June 1999
term_end3 = 1 August 2003
predecessor3 = Yeo Cheow Tong
successor3 = Khaw Boon Wan
order4 = Minister for National Development
term_start4 = 17 April 1995
term_end4 = 3 June 1999
predecessor4 =
successor4 = Mah Bow Tan
birth_date =birth date and age|1954|04|09
birth_place =Singapore
death_date =
death_place =
spouse = Lee Ai Boon
father =
mother =
constituency =West Coast Group Representation Constituency
party =People's Action Party
languagesspoken =English, Mandrian

Lim Hng Kiang (zh-sp|s=林勋强|p=Lín Xūnqiáng, born 9 April 1954) is the Minister for Trade and Industry and a member of the Cabinet of Singapore. He is a Member of Parliament representing West Coast Group Representation Constituency.

Lim received his education in Raffles Institution and Cambridge University. He also received a Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. [ [http://www.cabinet.gov.sg/CabinetAppointments/Mr+Lim+Hng+Kiang.htm The Cabinet - Mr Lim Hng Kiang ] ]

Lim was the Minister of Health during the SARS epidemic that swept through the region. Many Singaporeans felt his initial handling of the crisis, citing his lack of leadership and indecisiveness, helped prolong the epidemic that eventually drove the economy into a recession. While then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said "SARS has significantly disrupted our economy. It has affected not only tourist spending but also domestic consumption... certainly our first half growth will be affected, and we will have to revise down our growth forecasts for the year." Others cited his calls to quarantine patients and to close and extend local school holidays were late in coming. It is notable that for nearly a year after the SARS epidemic, Lim was transferred to the Prime Minister's Office, a portfolio with no specific responsibilities.

Many local residents also pointed to the administrators at Tan Tock Seng Hospital for mishandling and underestimating the severity of SARS. When "At least 85 percent of people infected by SARS in Singapore caught it while visiting or working at hospitals, said Osman David Mansoor at the WHO. The remainder mostly came down with it at home through close contact with sick family members, he said. ["Reuters" Sat April 5, 2003 07:32 AM ET By Jason Szep]

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