Out On a Limb

David Lim’s journey began in Kota Kinabalu in 1943, on the run from the Japanese. After performing Shakespeare on painted legs at All Saints’, sailing coolie class to England, having a war hero for a headmaster, and studying under pioneers of development economics at university, his career as an economist took off.

Inspired by dedicated teachers to become an academic, his postings have taken him from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne, Brisbane and Hong Kong, with consultancies with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and UN in far-flung corners of the world.

As a wandering economist, his adventurous journey was characterised by decisions made on a whim and serendipity often taking the lead. The path less travelled was made less hazardous by hard work, the kindness of people and good luck.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Lim, a Sabahan, is Emeritus Professor at Griffith University, where he was Professor of Economics and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Quality Advancement). Before that, he was at Sussex, University of Malaya and Monash. He had also acted as a consultant for the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UN (UNCTAD, UNDP, UNIDO, ILO and FAO), and the governments of Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Mauritius.

He helped to set up the Technological and Higher Education Institute of the Vocational Training Council of Hong Kong, which offers professional and vocational degree programmes, and became its founding Vice-Chancellor/President. He has published extensively on the Malaysian economy and development economics, and more recently on educational issues in developing economies.