Malaysia’s first ethnic Chinese lieutenant general reaches for the stars

Over 86 per cent of Malaysia’s active servicemen, including nearly all of its top officers, are from the country’s Malay-Muslim majority

Malaysia’s armed forces made a historic move when it promoted Johnny Lim Eng Seng to lieutenant general on Monday. Lim is the first ethnic Chinese serviceman to reach the rank of a three-star senior officer.

It was a significant promotion in the country’s Malay-dominated military, which has long struggled to attract interest from among the ethnic Chinese and ethnic Indian minorities to enlist as soldiers.

Lim, who hails from Melaka state in the peninsula’s south, has been with the armed forces for over 40 years.

A graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK, he was commissioned into the Malaysian Royal Ranger Regiment before rising to his current post as commandant of the Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College.

“It is truly something special. To say I am very proud of the achievement is an understatement. All the sacrifices made have been worth it,” he said, as quoted by The Star newspaper.

Lim joined the army in 1984, during Malaysia’s communist insurgency. His mother was initially reluctant to let her eldest child join up, he said. “However, her love for me erased all doubts and she eventually gave her blessing.”

The armed forces said Lim’s elevation to a three-star general was a clear example that opportunities for advancement for servicemen were open “and based on excellence in service”.

“We hope Lim’s achievement will inspire more Malaysians from all communities to consider a career in the military,” the country’s defence corps said in a statement on Tuesday. “The armed forces should be seen as the best example of the concept of ‘Unity in Diversity’.”

Critics and former servicemen have repeatedly urged the government to lay down clear lines of career progression to address the sharp lack of interest among ethnic minorities to join the armed forces.

Before Lim, the highest ever rank achieved by ethnic minority servicemen was major-general, with many retiring or leaving the force at much lower ranks.

Ethnic Chinese troops and officers account for just 0.13 per cent of the estimated 113,000 active servicemen in Malaysia’s armed forces, according to the latest available government data from 2022.

Over 86 per cent, including nearly all of its top officers, are from the country’s Malay-Muslim majority.

Just under 12 per cent come from the states of Sabah and Sarawak on Malaysian Borneo, while ethnic Indians account for about 1.4 per cent.