So far no word from Desmond Lim on whether he is going to
contend in Punggol East SMC or whether he supports a call for by
elections.
GE: We'll be back, says SDA's Desmond Lim
By Hetty Musfirah Abdul Khamid | Posted: 08 May 2011
0432 hrs
SINGAPORE: Secretary-General of the
Singapore Democratic Alliance Desmond Lim said the party will make
a comeback to contest Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC in the next
election.
He said despite the SDA losing, it
did better than the last election. The party garnered some 31 per
cent of votes in 2006, but won 35 per cent this time
round.
All the SDA candidates who contested
in the GRC are new to the political scene.
Mr Lim said: "I'm very happy there is
an increase in percentage in comparison to the last GE results -
there is an increase of over four per cent, so Pasir Ris-Punggol
residents, we will come again.
"For new faces, they can score over
30 per cent, it's fantastic, that's good...I think that's good,
it's the ground sentiments, people who like to see more opposition
and this is a way of expressing their desire and I think that
attributed to the increase in percentage."
Harminder Pal Singh who led the SDA
team for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC said: "It's a time of painful
reflection".
But he said the party will aspire to
work harder in the next few years, especially in terms of
outreach.
"It reflects that we do have some
potential that people on the ground are seeing. Number two, they
want to give us a chance to be able to represent. And I think the
most important, I think we need to work on ourselves a little more,
to be able to push and breakthrough the barrier of 50 per
cent."
Mr Harminder Pal said the party
intends to carry out an in-depth study to see where it wants to go
in the future.
Mr Lim was in a three-cornered fight against the
PAP's Michael Palmer and Workers' Party's Lee Li Lian for the
single ward of Punggol East. Mr Palmer won with 54.5 per cent of
valid votes.
Mr Lim, who won less than five per
cent of valid votes, is the
only candidate to lose his S$16,000 deposit in this
election.
Candidates must gain at least 12.5 per
cent of the votes to ensure their deposit is not
forfeited.
Mr Lim said he would have fared
better, if there was no three-cornered fight.
He said: "My conclusion is people are
choosing for branding despite the Workers' Party parachuting in
without a proper five-year plan being offered. Moreover, the
candidate was new. So I would say my conclusion is that residents
are choosing for someone who has a brand and they would like to
associate with it. I will
continue to work the ground (in Punggol East) but I hope Workers'
Party will also continue to work the
ground."
Mr Lim said he intends to work on growing the SDA
brand and continue to reach out to residents in both Punggol and
Pasir Ris.
http://www.ge.sg/stories/elections2/view/1081843/1/GE-Well-be-back-says-SDAs-Desmond-Lim
