SDA’s Lim says not disheartened by negative comments

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Democratic Alliance’s candidate for the Punggol East by—election, Mr Desmond Lim, said on Tuesday that he is not disheartened by the negative comments from netizens regarding his online rally.

He said what is more important are the content and the message he wants to send to voters.

He told reporters after a walkabout on Tuesday morning that he will work to improve his presentation.

He was responding to questions about the criticisms, in particular with his command of English.

He said: "Everyone is not perfect. The most important thing is that we are learning, and I’m learning and there are leaders at the beginning when they come into politics, their English is also not as good as mine, but nevertheless most importantly, is never give up and be sincere and have the heart to serve the people."

One way to access the online rally is to scan the barcode on SDA’s by—election flyer, which will lead directly to the YouTube page on the rally.

Mr Lim said he is encouraged by the online rally, describing it as a "great achievement".

The video clips, which were first uploaded on Monday evening, had over 80,000 views on YouTube by Tuesday afternoon.

Several other clips addressing various issues were uploaded on Tuesday.

Mr Lim spoke about the healthcare system, suggesting the removal of the cap on Medisave for those aged 65 and above.

Turning to the transport system, he said that if elected he would attempt to resolve the immediate needs of residents by increasing the feeder bus services, while pushing for more LRTs to run through the ward.

On improving work—life balance, the SDA chief said he will personally champion more affordable childcare.

"My proposal —— to immediately rope in private operators and identify areas where there is a concentration of families with children," Mr Lim said.

"Then we work with parties with childcare expertise and provide mushrooms of childcare centres. This may constitute big and small outfits, but the ease and reliance of picking and dropping children will give the much needed relief to young families in Punggol East," he added.

When asked about his campaign so far, with three days of campaigning left, Mr Lim said he still has to work hard and will try his best to reach out to every individual.

— CNA/al