Mr Damanhuri Bin Abas and Mr Bryan Lim Boon Heng were unveiled as candidates for the upcoming General Election under the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) banner at the party’s headquarters yesterday.
The main issues brought up by the candidates were Housing, and Malay Muslim policies.
Mr Damanhuri has been a Director of Muhammadiyah Islamic College and holds a Bachelor Degree in Architectural study from National University of Singapore (NUS). Mr Damanhuri also holds a Diploma in Teaching and Training from Cambridge, UK and a Diploma in Counselling from Kaplan, Singapore. Mr Damanhuri was also involved in SDP Malay Policy Paper to address some of the concerns of the Malay community which is now available on their website.
Mr Damanhuri told the media in Malay “I hope with my involvement in the upcoming election, I can contribute to the development of the Malay community with my all the experience that I have for the past 20 years, be it in the mosques or other Malay Muslim organisations and also in schools of the different fields I have been involved especially in training, workshops and others.”
Mr Damanhuri also spoke up of the discrimination of the Malay community faces in Singapore especially in the Singapore Armed Forces. He relate to a recent example where his youngest 6-year-old boy was watching this year National Day Parade and said that he wants to grow up to be a Tank Commander. Mr Damanhuri heart sank knowing that his young boy dream is almost impossible as there are no such positions for the malays currently. He continues and talked about the tudung issue where he does not understand the reason why nurses are not allowed to don on the tudung in the local hospitals where it is hygienic for them to do so. He added that in Australia and even in some western countries, nurses are allowed to don on the tudung in hospitals.
Mr Lim graduated from Monash University majoring in Marketing and Management. He graduated within the top 15 percent in his cohort and was subsequently invited to join the Golden Key International Honor Society which recognises students with academic excellence and achievements. He currently serves as a manager in a local hospital.
When asked by the media of the policies he relates the most, one of the issues he will speak up in parliament is housing. He said “We should remove land cost in the valuation of our flats. The land belongs to the people. It doesn’t belong to the PAP”. He continue to mention that SDP has been championing their alternative policy paper on housing called Non Open Market Scheme which will ease the burden of the current housing prices and saving for retirement in which he repeated himself again in Mandarin to another reporter.
He also spoke in regards to the SDP town council plan in which he urge the electorate to find out more about it on their website and SDP promises to be accountable and transparent in managing the town council if they elected as MPs.
