A TRIBUTE TO A SMALL GUY BY ANDREW LOH
My little tribute to the “small” guy whom everyone seems to be
making fun of.
I don’t know Desmond Lim very well, although I did interview him
for GE 2011 at his office. What I do know is
that he gave 14 years of his time to the Potong Pasir Town Council
(PPTC), and to the Singapore People’s Party (SPP).
At PPTC, as I understand it, he was more
or less Chiam’s right-hand man. Or at least he was very much
involved in the running of the TC.
“Those who know me know that over the past 14 years,” Desmond
once said, “I have devoted all the time, energy and money to
working for the Potong Pasir Town Council and the People’s Party.
After my office hours, on public holidays and weekends, I would be
working for them. I was even on call to help solve problems that
happened during the wee hours of the night. All these I did without
any incentives and rewards.”
14 years is a long time. Many of us would not even give 14
minutes to causes we say we believe in.
And during those 14 years, with contribution from people like
Desmond, Chiam – and by extension, the SPP
and the opposition – could keep their presence in Parliament.
So, don’t diss Desmond. He has every right to contest the
by-election. He may not speak as well as you, or be as politically
astute as you feel he should be, but it is quite evident – from his
years of work – that he does want to serve and indeed he has.
And for that, he deserves encouragement, not ridicule – for he
has played more of a part in keeping the opposition going than many
of us who are laughing at him.
