Desmond Lim

In this Chinese name, the family name is Lim.
Desmond Lim
林睦荃
Lim at a rally speech in 2015
Personal details
Born
Lim Bak Chuan

1967 (age 56–57)[citation needed]
Singapore
Political partySPP
SJP
SDA
EducationMaster of Engineering Management[1]
Alma materUniversity of Wollongong[1]
Occupationpolitician, engineer

Desmond Lim Bak Chuan (Chinese: 林睦荃; pinyin: Lín Mùquán; born 1967)[citation needed] is a Singaporean politician. He was formerly the president of the opposition Singapore Justice Party (SJP), which joined forces with three other opposition parties (SPP, NSP and PKMS) to form the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) in 2001. He became the SDA secretary-general in 2009 and SDA president in 2011 before stepping down from the position of SDA chairman after the 2020 general election.[2]

Formerly a principal engineer at telco company M1,[1] Lim made his electoral debut in the 2001 general election when he joined a five-member SDA team to contest in Jalan Besar GRC against a five-member team from the governing People's Action Party (PAP). The SDA team lost with 25.51% of the vote against the PAP team's 74.49%.[3] Since then, Lim had contested in all the subsequent general elections (2006, 2011, 2015 and 2020) and one by-election in 2013. He contested with a SDA team in Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC in all the general elections except in 2011, when he contested as a solo SDA candidate in Punggol East SMC, and again in the 2013 by-election. However, he did not win any of those elections.[4][5][6][7][8]

Lim was initially considered a protégé of Chiam See Tong, the SDA leader from 2001 to 2011, until they had a falling-out, which led to Chiam and the SPP withdrawing from the SDA. Widely seen in opposition circles as a friendly person who is pleasant to talk to, Lim is also known for his willingness to attempt new methods of campaigning and has described himself as "dedicated and determined".[9] When he was campaigning during the 2013 by-election, he was ridiculed for his poor diction in the videos of his speeches he had posted online.[2]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference General Election 2006 Candidate Profiles was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Aw, Cheng Wei (29 June 2020). "GE2020: SDA chairman Desmond Lim to step down from position, says he is leading GE team for the last time". The Straits Times. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  3. ^ "2001 PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS". Elections Department Singapore. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  4. ^ "2006 PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS". Elections Department Singapore. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  5. ^ "2011 PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS". Elections Department Singapore. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  6. ^ "2015 PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS". Elections Department Singapore. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  7. ^ "2020 PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS". Elections Department Singapore. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  8. ^ "2013 PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTION RESULT". Elections Department Singapore. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  9. ^ Loh, Dylan (16 January 2013). "SDA's Desmond Lim brands himself as dedicated & determined". CNA. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.