Bryan Lim Boon Heng
Bryan Lim Boon Heng | |
|---|---|
林文兴 | |
 Mr Bryan Lim Boon Heng | |
| 20th Vice-Chairman of the Singapore Democratic Party | |
| Assumed office 2017 | |
| Preceded by | John Tan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 September 1976 Colony of Singapore |
| Citizenship | Singaporean |
| Nationality | Singaporean |
| Political party | Singapore Democratic Party (2000–present) |
| Spouse(s) | Soma (m. 2010) |
| Children | Sonya Lim (daughter) Lester Lim(son) |
| Residence | Singapore |
| Education | Bachelor's Degree in Business, Major Management & Marketing |
| Alma mater | Monash University |
| Profession | politician, activist, Hospital Director |
| Known for | A figure of Singapore's political oppositions |
| Website | www |
| Military service | |
| Rank | Captain |
Bryan Lim Boon Heng, (Chinese: 林文兴, born 28 Sep 1976) is a Singaporean politician and currently the Vice-Chairman of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP).
A figure in Singapore's political opposition, Bryan joined the SDP in 1999.
Political career[edit]
Pre-political life[edit]
Singaporean youths have been known to be politically apathetic.[1] Born in a low income family, Bryan is shown at a young age, the disparity in treatment of his families and other families who are better off, and was political awakened at a very young age. His dad had lost his job during the financial crisis in the 1980s; the family had to survive on 2 meals per day. His compassion to speak up for the underprivileged and the man on the street comes from his financially humble beginnings.
Bryan's first brush with political activity came when his father brought him to attend the rallies held by the Singapore Democratic Party's (SDP) and Workers’ Party in the 1984 General Elections rallies when he was 8 years old. To Bryan, it was a refreshing and eye-opening experience, as he realized that there was so much important information which was shared during the rallies but not reported by the state-controlled media.
It was then that Bryan developed a keen interest in politics and he would look forward to the Opposition rallies for the ensuing elections. He had harbored ambitions to join a political party when he had a more established career.
Soon after graduating from the university in 2000, Bryan encountered the late SDP Chairman, Gandhi Ambalam selling the Party's newsletter, The New Democrat at Waterloo Street.[2] Having bought a copy from Gandhi, he learnt from the publication that the SDP has set up a youth wing, and is the first political party in Singapore to do so.[3] Even though he had planned to enter politics only at the age of 30 or beyond, this idea of being in a youth wing of opposition political party sparked his immediate interest. He then applied to join the Party and was accepted at the age of 24.
As a Young Democrat (YD) and political activist[edit]
As a Young Democrat of the Singapore Democratic Party, Bryan has a record of groundbreaking history.
Bryan was actively involved in civil society with Open Singapore Centre, Think Centre and Amnesty International. He made his maiden speech at a “Save J.B. Jeyaretnam Rally” which was organized by the Think Centre on 28th April 2001 in Yio Chu Kang Stadium to help the late Mr Jeyaretnam raise funds to get out of bankruptcy.[4]
He made his first speech as the Vice-President of the Young Democrats - the youth wing of the SDP in a public rally on 23rd September 2001.
Bryan became the youngest candidate in Singapore 2001 General Elections when SDP fielded him as part of a 5-man team to contest in Hong Kah GRC.[5] Bryan had hoped that his candidacy would be “an educational experience and establish a foundation for youths with alternative visions and that he could be a signal to them to reverse the fear factor and start a whole new process”.[6]
In 2002, Bryan became the first elected President of the SDP Youth Wing. He was the chief drafter for the YD Charter, the youth wing's Constitution and was instrumental in lobbying for YD's inclusion in the International Federation of Liberal and Radical Youth (IFLRY).
On behalf of SDP, Bryan had attended various youth political conferences and election missions in South Korea, Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan. These were organized by the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats - of which the SDP is a part of.
In various speeches and articles, he had repeatedly called for youths to participate in policy making and join him in the quest for a bigger alternative voice in Singapore. He is also a strong advocate for regional or international political cooperation amongst like-minded youths from diverse cultures and social backgrounds in order to tackle widespread apathy, mistrust and discontentment.[7] [8]
Bryan stepped down as President of the SDP Youth Wing in 2003 but continued to help the Party with back end translation work. In 2006, he helped SDP's Secretary-General, Dr Chee Soon Juan translate and published a Chinese book entitled “Singapore’s Political Myths: Do you still blindly believe in these superstitions?” under the Sweden Singapore Initiative for Democracy.[9]
2007 till present[edit]
Bryan did not contest in the 2006 and 2011 General Elections but helped out in the background instead. After the 2011 General Elections, he was appointed as the Head of the Party's Ground Operations Unit.[10][11] In the same year, he was elected to the SDP Central Executive Committee (CEC). [12]
In 2012, he represented the Party in an Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe (ALDE)-Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) Summit. He chaired one of the conference sessions in the European Parliament titled “Sustainable Development Clauses In Trade Agreements: Effective Against Possible Threats To Democracy?"[13]
In 2013, Bryan was elected to the SDP CEC for a second term.[14]
In the 2015 General Elections, Bryan was part of the SDP's 4-man team which contested in Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC.[15] He represented the Party in a live General Elections TV Mandarin debate which was broadcasted on Mediacorp.
After the General Elections 2015, Bryan was elected to the SDP CEC for a third term.
In 2017, Bryan was elected to the SDP CEC for a fourth term and was appointed as Treasurer of the Party.[16] His Deputy and CEC member, Matthew Tan succeeded him as the Head of Ground Operations Unit.
In 2019, Bryan was elected to the SDP CEC for a fifth term and retained his Treasurer position.[17]
In January 2020, Bryan led a petition for residents staying at Blocks 115 and 119 Marsiling Rise to appeal for the Lift Upgrading Programme to be implemented for them. [18][19][20]
In the 2020 General Elections, Bryan contested Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC as part of a 4-man team. [21] His team improved on their last showing with a 5.55% increase in vote share.
In 2022, Bryan was elected to the SDP CEC for his sixth term. He was subsequently appointed as Vice Chairman of the Party.[22]
Bryan has spoken and written on many issues; namely:
- cost of living[23]
- 10 million population[24]
- retirement income for the elderly[25]
- housing[26] [27][28]
- curtailing of defence budget for education, healthcare, technology to improve productivity and entrepreneurship[29]
- workers’ rights, minimum wage and job priority for locals[30]
- ministerial salaries[31]
- democracy and human rights versus FTAs[32][33]
- wrongful arrest and detention of political detainees[34]
Throughout his political career, Bryan is heavily involved in translation work from English to Chinese for the Party. He is often tasked to speak in Mandarin or Hokkien during rallies and forums.
Personal life[edit]
Lim Boon Heng Bryan or Bryan Lim was born on 28th September 1976.
Bryan's father was a transport operator while his mum was a housewife. He has a younger sister, Helen and younger brother, Charlie. They had lived in a 3-room flat in the Bendemeer area.
He is currently an Assistant Director in a local public hospital. He has worked in the healthcare industry since 2003. His prior work experience spans across the shipping, retail and business consultancy industries.
Bryan is married with a daughter (Sonya) and a son (Lester).
During National Service, Bryan was selected for the Officer Cadet School and was commissioned as an Infantry trained Officer. He has since completed his National Service reservist commitments with the rank of Captain.
He is fluent in English, Mandarin and the Hokkien dialect.
Education[edit]
Born in the Year of the Dragon in 1976, Bryan emerged amongst the top 10% of the entire nation's PSLE cohort.
He then completed his secondary education in Victoria School and decided to pursue a Diploma in Business Administration in Temasek Polytechnic as he was very interested in the subject.
Bryan reads Business in Monash University with majors in Marketing and Management and graduated as a top 15% student in comparison with his peers from the University's local and international campuses. He was subsequently invited to join the Golden Key International Honor Society which recognizes students with academic excellence and scholastic achievements. Membership to this exclusive Society is by invitation only.
References[edit]
- ↑ "Youths' apathy towards current affairs – A temporary problem". Campus Eye. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- ↑ "Think Centre Singapore". www.thinkcentre.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "Singapore Democratic Party | Infopedia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- ↑ "Think Centre Singapore". www.thinkcentre.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "Singapore Elections Department - 2001 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "Think Centre Singapore". www.thinkcentre.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "Democratic youth body needed for region YD". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "Lessons drawn from Taiwan's Sunflower Student Movement". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "International Youth Conference for Democracy held in Singapore : CALD | Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats". cald.org. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
- ↑ "SDP's Ground Operations - one year on". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "SDP Operation Groundwork – full steam ahead". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "SDP holds party conference amidst dramatic expansion". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "Singapore-EU FTA: Trade over rights again?". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "Democrats elect new CEC". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "Singapore Elections Department - 2001 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "Paul Tambyah elected new chairman of SDP". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/sdp-leadership-unchanged-chee-soon-juan-ready-general-election-12052578
- ↑ https://mothership.sg/2020/01/marsiling-rise-lift-upgrade/
- ↑ https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/sdp-to-home-in-on-three-issues-in-runup-to-next-ge-cost-of-living-job-security-and-cpf
- ↑ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-9aq2MBvOt0
- ↑ https://www.eld.gov.sg/finalresults2020.html
- ↑ https://yoursdp.org/news/sdp-announces-its-latest-line-up-of-cec-office-bearers-and-members/
- ↑ http://theindependent.sg/sdps-2020-budget-alternatives-proposes-plan-to-take-singapore-forward/
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/yoursdp/videos/265619427900219/
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/yoursdp/videos/237373020859963/
- ↑ "Is the PAP really opting for a more inclusive housing policy?". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "Helping Madam Chua". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ hermes (2019-04-07). "Singapore Democratic Party outlines its housing policy". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ↑ https://publ.yoursdp.org/publ/perspectives/2-1-0-1303
- ↑ "Honour our workers". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "SDP calls out out-of-touch and out-of-ideas PAP ministers". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "Singapore-EU FTA: Trade over rights again?". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "EU should stand firm on rights in S'pore trade negotiations". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
- ↑ "Welcome to the Singapore Democrats". yoursdp.org. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
External links[edit]
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