A member of the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) who helped set up an alternative association for cabbies touted by the party has resigned.
In a statement to the media, Mr William Lim said he resigned yesterday (Aug 30) due to “personal reasons”.
A full-time taxi driver, he told TODAY he was leaving the party to concentrate on his work and other business commitments, and currently does not have plans to join any other political party. He had been a member at SDA for over a year.
He also took pains to say that the new Singapore Cabbies Association (SCA), which was announced less than two weeks ago by him and SDA chairman Desmond Lim, was “never associated with the SDA in any way”, other than the fact he is the SCA’s founding president and until now, an SDA member. The SCA, which has 200 members, aims to be an alternative to the National Taxi Association in championing cabbie welfare.
Mr William Lim’s announcement comes two days before Nomination Day, but SDA chairman Desmond Lim said that while Mr William Lim was a member of the party, he was not a potential candidate for the upcoming General Election.
“(He is leaving for) personal reasons, our hearts are heavy, but we have to respect (his decision),” said Mr Desmond Lim.
Mr Desmond Lim also said the SCA is still subject to approval by the Registry of Societies. “We had this idea, because we know taxi drivers have certain issues that need us to address. We are very concerned. Since (Mr William Lim) is a taxi driver, we helped him to form this (association), and he was a member of SDA, so it was affiliated to the SDA.”
Mr Desmond Lim added that he would prefer to wait to see if the SCA gets its approval, before commenting on whether the association will continue to be affiliated to the party.
However, Mr William Lim said the SCA will become a “non-partisan association”. “I am the only one who is handling it. Actually I have been planning to set up the SCA since last year,” he said.
Source: www.todayonline.com
