# Sam Lim

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Australian politician (born 1961)

Not to be confused with [Samboy Lim](/source/Samboy_Lim).

Sam Lim MP Member of the Australian Parliament for Tangney Incumbent Assumed office 21 May 2022 Preceded by Ben Morton Personal details Born Bon Cheng Lim (1961-06-06) 6 June 1961 (age 65) Muar, Johor, Federation of Malaya Citizenship Australia (2008–present) Malaysia (until 2021) Party Australian Labor Party Children 3[1] Occupation Dolphin trainer police officer Website www.samlim.com.au Police career Allegiance Western Australia Department Western Australia Police Force Branch Community and Coordination, Community Engagement Division Service years 2006–2022 Rank Senior Constable Awards Officer of the Year, WA Police Excellence Awards (2020)

**Bon Cheng Lim** ([Chinese](/source/Chinese_language): 林文清;[2] born 6 June 1961), better known as **Sam Lim**, is a Malaysian-born Australian politician. Lim was elected to the [Australian House of Representatives](/source/Australian_House_of_Representatives) as member of the [Australian Labor Party](/source/Australian_Labor_Party) (ALP) in [2022](/source/2022_Australian_federal_election) to represent the [Division of Tangney](/source/Division_of_Tangney) in [Western Australia](/source/Western_Australia).[3][4] He held the seat in the 2025 election.

## Biography

Lim was born on 6 June 1961 in [Muar](/source/Muar_(town)) in the [Federation of Malaya](/source/Federation_of_Malaya),[5] the eldest of eight siblings in a [Malayan Chinese](/source/Malaysian_Chinese) family. He lived for 15 years in a house with almost no electricity, no floor, and a leaking roof. His childhood dream was to be a policeman, so he became a constable in the [Royal Malaysia Police](/source/Royal_Malaysia_Police) in the 1980s after completing his Malaysian Certificate Examination. However, the low pay rates and weak state of the [Malaysian ringgit](/source/Malaysian_ringgit) meant that he could not share his income with his parents.[5] Instead, after two years with the police, he worked as a [dolphin trainer](/source/Marine_mammal_training) at a safari park in Johor for five years, a job that Lim described as his "best job ever".[6] The safari park closed down later, and Lim moved into small business.

Lim decided to leave Malaysia and emigrate to [Australia](/source/Australia) in 2005, planning to retire with his family.[5][7][8] Shortly after his move in 2006 however, Lim abandoned his plans to retire and continued his police dream by joining the [Western Australia Police Force](/source/Western_Australia_Police_Force).[6] During his time in the police force, he worked in [Perth](/source/Perth), [Karratha](/source/Karratha), [Eucla](/source/Eucla) and [Fremantle](/source/Fremantle).[9][10] He was later transferred to the department's Perth headquarters in 2017, and was handed the responsibility of assisting multicultural Asian groups. He was awarded Officer of the Year at the [Nine News](/source/Nine_News) Police Excellence Awards in December 2020 for his role in pandemic outreach through translating [COVID-19](/source/COVID-19) announcements for multiple communities.[7]

Lim speaks ten languages, including [Malay](/source/Malay_language), [Mandarin Chinese](/source/Mandarin_Chinese) and [Indonesian](/source/Indonesian_language).[4][7][10][8] He is part of the [Labor Right](/source/Labor_Right) faction, which is more economically and [socially conservative](/source/Social_conservatism).[11]

In the 2025 Australian Federal Election, he was re-elected as the Federal Member for Tangney.[12]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Chen, Helen; Ding, Minyue (2 August 2022). ["'I still get lost in Parliament House': Australia's second Malaysian-born federal MP discusses the road ahead"](https://web.archive.org/web/20241202213536/https://www.sbs.com.au/language/chinese/en/article/i-still-get-lost-in-parliament-house-australias-second-malaysian-born-federal-mp-discusses-the-road-ahead/bxz9op0gk). *SBS Language*. Archived from [the original](https://www.sbs.com.au/language/chinese/en/article/i-still-get-lost-in-parliament-house-australias-second-malaysian-born-federal-mp-discusses-the-road-ahead/bxz9op0gk) on 2 December 2024. Retrieved 6 December 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["【专访】林文清：从会说10种语言的华裔警官到国会议员"](https://www.sbs.com.au/chinese/mandarin/zh-hans/audio/sam-lim-unexpectedly-wrested-tangney-from-ben-morton). *SBS Your Language* (in Simplified Chinese). 14 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Zimmerman, Josh (21 May 2022). ["Ben Morton set to become ScoMo's fall guy"](https://thewest.com.au/politics/federal-election/federal-election-2022-ben-morton-counts-on-nothing-in-his-safe-tangney-seat-on-his-big-job-interview-day-c-6876257). *The West Australian*. Retrieved 21 May 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-allred_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-allred_4-1) ["Western Australia goes all in on red – and it could deliver Labor majority government"](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/may/22/western-australia-goes-all-in-on-red-and-it-could-deliver-labor-majority-government). *the Guardian*. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-msn_my_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-msn_my_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-msn_my_5-2) ["Muar-born former cop Sam Lim is elected an Australian MP"](https://www.msn.com/en-my/news/national/muar-born-former-cop-sam-lim-is-elected-an-australian-mp/ar-AAXAqvP). *MSN*. Free Malaysia Today. Retrieved 23 May 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ABC_may22_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ABC_may22_6-1) ["Sam Lim's unlikely rise from dolphin trainer to federal Tangney MP"](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-22/sam-lims-rise-from-dolphin-trainer-to-federal-tangney-mp/101089566). ABC News. 22 May 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-sbs_may22_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-sbs_may22_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-sbs_may22_7-2) Chen, Helen (29 January 2021). ["Officer who speaks 10 languages wins top police award for pandemic outreach"](https://www.sbs.com.au/chinese/english/audio/officer-who-speaks-10-languages-wins-top-police-award-for-pandemic-outreach). *[SBS Mandarin](/source/Special_Broadcasting_Service)*. [SBS](/source/Special_Broadcasting_Service). Retrieved 22 May 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-sbs_21_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-sbs_21_8-1) ["Officer who speaks 10 languages wins top police award for pandemic outreach"](https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/officer-who-speaks-10-languages-wins-top-police-award-for-pandemic-outreach). *SBS Language*. Retrieved 8 June 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Marta Pascual Juanola (10 December 2020). ["Multilingual officer's fight against misinformation earns top WA Police excellence award"](https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/multilingual-officer-s-fight-against-misinformation-earns-top-wa-police-excellence-award-20201210-p56mcz.html). *WA Today*. Retrieved 1 June 2022.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-smh_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-smh_10-1) Angus Thompson (31 May 2022). ["From cop to dolphin trainer to MP – and why Sam Lim thinks Gough Whitlam is God"](https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/from-cop-to-dolphin-trainer-to-mp-and-why-sam-lim-thinks-gough-whitlam-is-god-20220531-p5apza.html). *[Sydney Morning Herald](/source/Sydney_Morning_Herald)*. Retrieved 1 June 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Massola, James (26 June 2022). ["The power behind the PM – who are Labor's powerbrokers in government?"](https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/federal/the-power-behind-the-pm-who-are-labor-s-powerbrokers-in-government-20220624-p5awc2.html). *WAtoday*. Retrieved 26 June 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** [https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/federal/2025/guide/tang](https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/federal/2025/guide/tang)

Parliament of Australia Preceded by Ben Morton Member for Tangney 2022–present Incumbent

v t e Current members of the Australian House of Representatives from Western Australia Labor (11) Anne Aly Trish Cook Tom French Patrick Gorman Matt Keogh Madeleine King Tania Lawrence Sam Lim Zaneta Mascarenhas Tracey Roberts Josh Wilson Liberal (4) Andrew Hastie Melissa Price Ben Small Rick Wilson Independent (1) Kate Chaney Members from: New South Wales Victoria Queensland Western Australia South Australia Tasmania ACT and NT

Authority control databases: People Australian Parliament

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