In a tweet, the prime minister also said he was proud when Lim spoke in Bahasa Melayu in his maiden speech at the Australian Parliament today.

“Bahasa Melayu is heard in Australian Parliament! I am proud to see Bahasa Melayu being elevated to the world stage by @SamLimMP when delivering his inaugural speech in the Australian Parliament.

“Congratulations on your appointment as MP for Tangney in Perth and best of luck to you,” he said.

Lim, 61, from the Australian Labor Party, was appointed as an MP after winning the Tangney seat in Perth in the general election in Australia recently.

In his speech, Lim expressed his gratitude to Malaysians for their support.

Lim, who was born in 1961, had served with the Malaysian police for two years before working as a dolphin trainer as well as operating businesses in Malaysia and Australia.

He, his wife and their three children migrated to Australia where he joined the Western Australia Police Academy in 2006 before serving in Perth. In 2020, he was awarded “Police Officer of the Year” for his services to the multicultural community during the Covid-19 pandemic.