The Workers’ Party’s (WP) Jamus Lim has emerged as a netizen favourite after his appearance on the first debate of GE2020.
The 1 Jul debate also included the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP)’s Dr Chee Soon Juan, Progress Singapore Party (PSP)’s Mr Francis Yuen, and People’s Action Party (PAP)’s Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.
Given that line-up, it’s not an easy feat to stand out, but Dr Lim made it work while representing the WP well.
If you missed the debate, you can catch it here.
Bringing out a party’s manifesto is usually the main goal of a televised debate like this one, and every party stepped up to the plate in that regard.
One policy Dr Lim brought up was introducing a minimum wage, which he argued would bring up social mobility and help people during the Covid-19 situation.
He also advocated the decreasing of class sizes, as the argument is that those in larger classes are penalised, forcing them to take additional lessons outside of school.
The 41-year-old World Bank economist impressed netizens with his collected demeanor, even helping to lighten the mood when things got tense between Dr Chee and Dr Balakrishnan.
Dr Balakrishnan also appeared to be impressed by Dr Lim, commenting that he’s read WP’s manifesto and even said that “the PAP could have written it”.
Indeed, he acknowledged Dr Lim’s credentials as an economist and even turned to him at one point to seek his thoughts.
Incidentally, the 2 were featured in a picture which Dr Lim had taken before the broadcast started.
Perhaps Dr Lim and Dr Balakrishnan may encounter each other more in Parliament.
A debate can become tense and combative, but there was a notable absence of tenseness whenever Dr Lim spoke.
Netizens were quick to point out that his eloquence shone through during the broadcast.
Some went further and – hopefully in jest – asked if he was single.
For the record, he’s married with a 8-month-old daughter.
He’s definitely earned new fans, with many heading to his Facebook page to leave comments of appreciation.
Certainly, most netizens would appear to agree that Dr Lim was the “man of the match” of the debate.
It’ll be interesting to watch how he fares during the rest of the election, and hopefully he makes more appearances in the future.
Featured image adapted from CNA on YouTube.
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