Desmond Lim
| Desmond Lim | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Native name | 林睦荃 |
| Born |
Desmond Lim Bak Chuan 1968 (age 48–49) |
| Nationality | Singaporean |
| Occupation | Politician Engineer |
Desmond Lim Bak Chuan (Chinese: 林睦荃; pinyin: Lín Mù Quán; born 1968) is a Singaporean politician. He is the current leader of the political party Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA). During the Singaporean by-election, 2013, which he ultimately lost, Lim held the first online rally in Singapore.
Desmond Lim grew up in a poor and difficult family of nine and together they lived in a small room of a house. The room was so small that Lim and his brothers had to sleep on the street. The street happened to be one of the dangerous areas of Singapore with many frequent street fights between gangs. Lim recalled in an interview that very often he would hear and witness violent fights between gangs while he and his brothers were trying to sleep.
Because of his family's poverty, Lim and his brothers would often wait for left over bread crumbs in a bread factory. Those bread crumbs would be saved up for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Lim didn't start speaking until he was 7. His mother brought him to a Chinese opera troupe to beg for a bowl of rice. They were kind and Lim said his first word to thank them.
Lim is a principal engineer at telecommunications organisation M1 Limited
As a politician, he has more than twenty years of experience. Lim describes himself a "dedicated & determined" leader. He was also a former member of the Singapore People's Party. As the current leader of the Singapore Democratic Alliance, he contested and lost both the 2001 and 2006 Singaporean general elections. He also contested the Singaporean general election, 2011, and lost, having only garnered 4.5% of the valid votes.
He held Singapore's first online rally during the Singaporean by-election, 2013, on January 21, 2013, during which he spoke about the cost of living and property prices in Singapore. The online rally drew much criticism, most of which concerned his poor command of English. Lim, in contrast, hailed the online rally as a "great achievement" and also replied:
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