PUBLISHED ONApril 13, 2025 4:52 AMBySean LerEven though the odds appear to be stacked against him, 38-year-old criminal lawyer Marshall Lim said he hopes to be given a chance to fight for the residents of Hougang.
Lim, a partner in law firm Martin & Partners, was introduced on Sunday morning (April 13) by the People's Action Party (PAP) as its candidate for the Hougang Single Member Constituency (SMC).
Describing himself as "a fighter" in his profession as a criminal lawyer, Lim said that he has been privileged to fight for vulnerable Singaporeans in the course of his work.
He was a deputy public prosecutor in the Attorney-General’s Chambers and had previously served as an assistant chief public defender at the Public Defender’s Office.
Lim added that he now hopes for an opportunity to become the voice for Hougang residents as their leader.
Speaking at a PAP media conference to introduce his candidacy on Sunday morning (April 13), Lim said that while he is mindful of the history, he is not shackled by it.
“My focus has always been about serving the residents in a sincere way.
“What I want to do is to keep reaching out to the residents, getting to work, hearing what they have to say — and being very deliberate and diligent about the process of thinking and formulating a plan for our residents,” said Lim.
To provide some background, Hougang SMC was formed in 1988 with the PAP’s Tang Guan Seng winning the contest against Liu Chiu Liang of the Workers’ Party (WP) with 58.96 per cent of the vote.
Tang, however, lost to former WP chief Low Thia Kiang in the 1991 General Election. Since then, the SMC has become a WP stronghold, even after Low left to contest in Aljunied during the 2011 General Election.
The constituency is currently held by WP incumbent, shipping lawyer Dennis Tan, 54, who retained the seat for his party in 2020 with 61.21 per cent of the votes.
When asked what he could offer to change the minds of the older generation of voters who have supported the WP over the past 30-odd years, Lim said that it is important to be sincere when listening to the aspirations and concerns of residents before going on to review and formulate the next steps.
Recounting some of his interactions with Hougang residents at his Meet-the-People sessions, Lim said that he admired the values of community, perseverance and solidarity he saw in residents who sought help.
“Hougang residents are fighters. And at its core, the Hougang spirit is the fighting spirit.
“I am a fighter. I have been one my whole professional life, and there is no doubt that I will fight for Hougang and the rest of our residents without fear or favour,” added Lim.
He believes that the “best way to serve the community” is to become the residents’ voice in parliament — to let their voices be heard when new policies are implemented and provide the perspectives of Hougang residents to improve these policies.
In response to AsiaOne’s queries on why his introduction session was not held together with the PAP’s introduction of candidates for Aljunied GRC later in the day, Lim said that he chose to hold a session dedicated to residents of Hougang because the place and its people are important to him.
Lim, who is Hokkien, made part of his introduction in Teochew and apologised for not being proficient yet.
The dialect is familiar in Hougang as many early Chinese immigrants from Shantou, China — who speak Teochew — settled in the area.
The 38-year-old PAP candidate told the media that he learnt the dialect so that he is “able to hear them (residents)".
AsiaOne spoke to Lim on the sidelines of his introduction to find out more about the 38-year-old lawyer given the little public information on him, apart from his work as a public defender and criminal lawyer.
Lim told AsiaOne that his parents were not well educated and spoke with him in Mandarin and the Hokkien dialect.
By his own admission, however, his upbringing was "not very conventional".
“My mother would often advise me and say, this is a bit dangerous, or this could be tricky.
“But if I said I wanted to do it, she would say okay then let’s try it”, said Lim.
Describing their parenting style as "cautious permissiveness", Lim said that he was allowed to “follow his heart and passion” when it came to his interests, including reading law.
“My motivations today, as a criminal lawyer, and now a candidate, is to always ensure that the common man has a voice,” said the 38-year-old who has been married for more than a decade. The couple have no children.
Turning to his family, Lim thanked them for their understanding as he spent time away from home, to connect with residents in the constituency and listen to their concerns.
“The sacrifice is on my family, but it’s a partnership. This path would not have been possible without their buy-in and support," said Lim.
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