Lim Jia Cong   

Manifesto – CUMSA Elections 2008 (Treasurer)  
Aim
1. My name is Lim Jia Cong and I am pursing a BA degree in Economics. The aim of this manifesto is to
convince the voters and members of CUMSA of my intent to carry out the responsibilities of a treasurer with
enthusiasm and proficiency. I seek to express my views on the potential of CUMSA, some of my plans for
CUMSA and what I can bring to CUMSA.

The Future
2. I believe that CUMSA has the potential to reach a wider audience and provide greater width in serving
the interest of Singaporean and Malaysian students and attracting interest and awareness. One of the reasons to
believe so is that CUMSA has as many as 260 members, yet the number actively attending the various events
barely approaches that figure. Reaching a wider audience will then help to answer the question which most
concerns the treasurer: Where else to get money for CUMSA? Sponsors’ interest will generally be proportionate
to the size of population that the club is consistently reaching. Furthermore, widening the focus of CUMSA
events will provide greater scope for events-based sponsorships and improve the source of revenue. In the next
section, I will go on to give suggestions on how to widen the appeal of CUMSA.

Initiatives
3. CUMSA can expand the scale of the Asia Pacific career fair. There is a fair market size for Asia Pacific
career events both in CUMSA and Cambridge. There is potential to expand the career fair beyond the current
scale if we foster closer relationships with other career-oriented societies in Cambridge and build on the wealth
of contacts with large companies through an impressive alumni network. Career fairs can be very profitable
events as companies are willing to pay significant fees for publicity in an increasingly aggressive job market.
4. The new committee can change the style of the Asian Food Festival. There will be opportunities to
involve a greater number of other student societies, have more performances and food, and attract more
participants if the Asian Food Festival can be held like a food fair rather than a dinner. Other Asia-oriented
societies can be invited to manage individual booths in the food fair, organize performances and provide food.
The involvement of more societies means the potential for more participants since we have more publicity and a
larger student base to target. The event was profitable this year due to sponsorship, thus this is clearly an event
which we can aim to attract more funding by increasing the scale.
5. CUMSA can go beyond the focus on social and career events and into areas which we have
traditionally neglected. CUMSA is in the position to hold political talks and forums in addition to the social and
career events. This is consistent with the objective of discussing problems and issues of current interest.
6. The CUMSA blog, or “New Straits Junk”, deserves a revival. This is a potential platform for interested
Singaporean and Malaysian students to discuss current issues in our home country or simply share life
experiences in Cambridge. Encouraging appropriate and low-risk political and intellectual discussion further
integrates the Singaporean and Malaysian community in Cambridge. Furthermore, a lively and popular blog is
always a potential source of advertising revenue.

Relevant experience
7. Please refer to the table below:

Position Held Organization Duration

President CU Asian Investment Bankers Jan 08 – Current

Vice President CU Business Association Jan 08 – Current

Training Officer Students In Free Enterprise Nov 07 – Current

Vice President RJC Chinese Chess Club Jun 05 – Jun 06

Conclusion
8. The above proposals represent some of the ideas I hope to implement for CUMSA. I believe that I am
appropriately suited for this position due to the experience I have gained through working on the committee of
other student societies, my strong desire to be part of a dynamic CUMSA committee and an understanding of
the responsibilities of this position. I believe that these are important as I have the opportunity to learn how to
seek sponsorships from other organizations and build the relationships necessary to foster inter-club cooperation
before transferring these advantages to CUMSA. I sincerely look forward to serving you in the coming year.