Jamus Jerome Lim Chee Wui (; born 1976)
is a Singaporean politician, economist and associate professor. A member of the opposition
Workers' Party (WP), he has been the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) representing the
Anchorvale
Anchorvale is a neighbourhood of Sengkang, Sengkang New Town in Singapore between Sungei Punggol and Compassvale. House numbers of its public apartment blocks begin with the number '3' (3xx). These housing estates were fully completed by the Ho ...
division of
Sengkang GRC
The Sengkang Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern region of Singapore. The GRC consists of four divisions: Anchorvale, Rivervale, Buangkok, and Compassvale; Compassvale w ...
since 2020.
Early life and career
Lim attended
Catholic High School
Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...
,
Raffles Institution
Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both ...
and
Raffles Junior College
The Raffles Junior College (RJC) was a junior college in Singapore offering pre-university education. The college was founded in 1982, following a separation from the pre-university section of Raffles Institution (RI). Raffles Junior College ...
as part of his early education in Singapore.
He was also a
service medic in the
Singapore Armed Forces
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDE ...
during his
national service in Singapore
National Service (NS) is the national policy in Singapore mandated by statutory law that requires all male Singaporean citizens and second-generation permanent residents to serve a period of compulsory service in the uniformed services. It was ...
.
Lim graduated from the
University of Southern Queensland
The University of Southern Queensland (branded as UniSQ and formerly branded as USQ) is a medium-sized, regional university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, with three university campuses at Toowoomba, Springfield and Ipswich. It offe ...
in 1998 with a
Bachelor of Business
A Bachelor of Business (BBus, BBus (Major)) is a three to four year undergraduate degree in the field of business offered by traditional and newer universities from the post-Dawkins era in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. It is similar in format ...
in
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
.
He then obtained a
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
in economics from the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
in 2000, and went on to the
University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California syste ...
, where he graduated in 2006 with a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in politics and a doctorate in
international economics
International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them. It seeks to explain the patterns and ...
.
In 2018, Lim graduated from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
with a
Master of Liberal Arts in
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
.
Lim worked at the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
for seven years, from 2007 to 2014, serving in its Development Prospects Group and specialising in long-term macroeconomic projections.
He was also an economist at the
Institute for Southeast Asian Studies and the
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ( ar, جهاز أبوظبي للاستثمار, ADIA) is a sovereign wealth fund owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (in the United Arab Emirates) founded for the purpose of investing funds on behalf of the Gover ...
.
In 2018, he joined the Singapore-based independent investment management firm Thirdrock. Lim is also an
associate professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''.
Overview
In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...
of economics at
ESSEC Business School
The École Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (more commonly ESSEC Business School or ESSEC) is a major French business and management school, with non-profit association status (French association law of 1901) founded in 190 ...
in Singapore.
On 23 July 2020, Lim was elected to the council of the Economic Society of Singapore (ESS).
Political career
![Jamus Lim 2 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Jamus_Lim_2_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Lim became a member of the
Workers' Party (WP) in September 2019, having previously volunteered in the party's
grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
activities.
On 30 June 2020, he was announced as part of a four-member WP team contesting in the newly-formed
Sengkang GRC
The Sengkang Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern region of Singapore. The GRC consists of four divisions: Anchorvale, Rivervale, Buangkok, and Compassvale; Compassvale w ...
in the
2020 general election.
On 1 July 2020, Lim engaged in a televised political debate with Francis Yuen of the
Progress Singapore Party
The Progress Singapore Party (abbreviation: PSP) is a centre-left political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the governing People's Action Party (PAP) and opposition ...
,
Chee Soon Juan of the
Singapore Democratic Party
The Singapore Democratic Party (abbreviation: SDP) is a politcal party in Singapore.
The party was founded on 6 August 1980 by Chiam See Tong. During the 1991 general election, Ling How Doong and Cheo Chai Chen won Bukit Gombak SMC and Nee ...
and Minister
Vivian Balakrishnan
Vivian Balakrishnan ( ta, விவியன் பாலகிருஷ்ணன்; born 1961) is a Singaporean politician, diplomat and former ophthalmologist who has been serving in the Cabinet as Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2015. A m ...
of the governing
People's Action Party
The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...
. His performance at the debate was well-received, with PN Balji of ''
The New Paper
''The New Paper'' is a Singaporean newspaper in tabloid form. It was originally published as a "noon paper", but since 2016 has been published daily as a freesheet in the morning from 7 a.m. onwards.
History
First launched on 26 July 1988, ...
'' writing that he was "smelling of roses" and Toh Wen Li of ''
The Straits Times
''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...
'' describing Lim as the "star candidate" of the Workers' Party.
On 10 July 2020, following the results of the
2020 general election, Lim and his team were elected into
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
after securing 52.13% of the vote,
defeating the governing People's Action Party in an
upset victory
An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win (the "favorite"), either loses to or draws/ties a game with an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying the convent ...
that secured a second
group representation constituency for the opposition.
On 3 September 2020, Lim gave his maiden speech in Parliament. He asserted that there was "insufficient compassion in our policymaking process" and proposed that Singapore could implement a "simple, across-the-board
minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...
".
On 27 December 2020, Lim was elected as Deputy Head of the Policy Research Team at the WP's Central Executive Committee (CEC).
Personal life
Lim has a sister, Jerraine, who is seven years younger than him. In his younger days, Lim was a
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
player,
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...
, and self-declared "
Solitaire
Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself, usually with cards, but also with dominoes. The term "solitaire" is also used for single-player games of concentration and skill using a set layout tiles, pegs or stones. These game ...
junkie".
His father died on 24 February 1999 at the age of 49.
Lim married Chilean writer Eneida Patricia Alcalde on 8 November 2010.
They have a daughter who was born in November 2019.
Selected works and publications
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References
External links
Workers' Party biographyJamus Limon
Parliament of Singapore
The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the president of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made up of Members of Parliam ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lim, Jamus Jerome
Living people
21st-century Singaporean politicians
21st-century scholars
Harvard University alumni
Alumni of the London School of Economics
University of Southern Queensland alumni
University of California, Santa Cruz alumni
Workers' Party (Singapore) politicians
Raffles Institution alumni
1976 births
Members of the Parliament of Singapore