Lee Li Lian (; born 19 July 1978) is a Singaporean politician. A member of the opposition
Workers' Party (WP), she was 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 ...
for
Punggol East SMC
Punggol East Single Member Constituency was a single member constituency (SMC) located in the north-eastern area of Singapore.
Following the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review committee report for the 2020 general elections, Punggol Eas ...
between 2013 and 2015.
Lee made her political debut in the
2011 general election where she contested in
Punggol East SMC
Punggol East Single Member Constituency was a single member constituency (SMC) located in the north-eastern area of Singapore.
Following the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review committee report for the 2020 general elections, Punggol Eas ...
but lost. She later served as 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 Punggol East SMC between 2013 and 2015 after winning the
2013 by-election but lost her seat to
Charles Chong
Charles Chong You Fook ( zh, s=张有福, p=Zhāng Yǒufú; born 24 June 1953) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore between 2011 and 2020. He served as Acting Speaker of the Parliament o ...
in the
2015 general election by a narrow margin.
Career
Outside politics, Lee worked as a Business Development Executive at Clapper (S) Pte Ltd (2000–2003), a Financial Consultant for
American International Assurance
AIA Group Limited, often known as AIA (), is a Hong Kong-based American multinational insurance and finance corporation. It is the largest public listed life insurance and securities group in Asia-Pacific. It offers insurance and financial s ...
(2003–2005), a Broker with
CIMB-GK Securities (2005–2006), a Recruitment Manager for
Prudential Assurance
Prudential plc is a British multinational insurance company headquartered in London, England. It was founded in London in May 1848 to provide loans to professional and working people.
Prudential has dual primary listings on the London Stock E ...
(2006–2008) and a Senior Trainer at
Great Eastern Life Assurance (2008–2013). Lee resigned from her job as a financial trainer to serve as a full-time MP following her victory in the
Punggol East by-election.
Political career
Lee was the Workers' Party's Deputy Treasurer from 2008 to 2011, the party's Youth Wing President from 2011 to 2012 and the Deputy Webmaster from 2012 to 2014. Since 2014, she has been the Organising Secretary on the party's Executive Council. Prior to her election to parliament, she also served as a legislative assistant to
Pritam Singh, who he was now the Secretary-General of the party since 2018, and as an MP of the
Aljunied Group Representation Constituency
The Aljunied Group Representation Constituency is a five-member group representation constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern and eastern region of Singapore. The GRC consists of five divisions: Eunos, Bedok Reservoir-Punggol, Kaki Bukit, Sera ...
(which the party first captured the constituency in the
2011 general election.
Lee made her debut in the political arena on the 2011 general election where she was fielded as a candidate representing the
Punggol East SMC
Punggol East Single Member Constituency was a single member constituency (SMC) located in the north-eastern area of Singapore.
Following the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review committee report for the 2020 general elections, Punggol Eas ...
(a ward formerly part of the neighbouring
Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC
Pasil ( fa, پسيل, also Romanized as Pasīl; also known as Pasīr) is a village in Sepiddasht Rural District, Papi District, Khorramabad County, Lorestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 469, in 92 families.
References ...
), where she was defeated to 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 ...
(PAP) candidate,
Michael Palmer (who was made as a
Speaker of Parliament
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
Usage
The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
post-election), with 16,994 (54.54%) to 12,777 votes (41.01%) (a third candidate,
Desmond Lim
Desmond Lim Bak Chuan ( zh, s=林睦荃, p=Lín Mùquán; born 1967) is a Singaporean politician. He was formerly the president of the opposition Singapore Justice Party (SJP), which joined forces with three other opposition parties ( SPP, NSP ...
of the
Singapore Democratic Alliance
The Singapore Democratic Alliance (abbreviation: SDA) is a political coalition between the National Solidarity Party (NSP) and Singapore Justice Party (SJP) in Singapore.
History
Prior to the founding in 2001, then-opposition Member of Parli ...
(SDA), received only 1,387 votes (4.45%)).
However, on 12 December 2012, Palmer resigned his Speaker and MP post citing that he had an extra-marital affair against a constituency director from Pasir Ris West division, eventually precipitated a
by-election which would be held in January 2013. On the same day, then-Secretary General of WP,
Low Thia Khiang
Low Thia Khiang (; born 5 September 1956) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Secretary-General of the Workers' Party (WP) between 2001 and 2018. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hougang SMC between 1991 and 2011 and Aljun ...
announced the party candidacy, and would field Lee to contest the seat again in the forthcoming by-election.
At the close of the nomination (on 16 January), Lee faced a rare four-cornered contest between PAP's
Koh Poh Koon
Koh Poh Koon ( zh, s=许宝琨, p=Xú Bǎokūn; born 1972) is a Singaporean politician and former colorectal surgeon who has been serving as Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment since 2022 and Senior Minister of Stat ...
(a colorectal surgeon who joined the party three months prior), the SDA's Lim, and a fourth candidate, the
Reform Party's Secretary-General
Kenneth Jeyaretnam
Kenneth Andrew Jeyaretnam (born 1959) is a Singaporean politician and hedge fund manager who has been serving as the secretary-general of the opposition Reform Party since 2009.
He is the elder son of J. B. Jeyaretnam, a prominent opposition ...
. On 26 January, Lee won the election with 16,045 votes (54.50%), with her rivals Koh, Jeyaretnam and Lim, received 12,875 (43.73%), 353 (1.20%) and 168 votes (0.57%), respectively. This win marked the second time after the
1981 by-election the WP had captured another parliamentary seat after a by-election, and Lee was also the first female candidate to control a SMC. Upon her win, Lee told the media that her immediate priority as Member of Parliament would be to ensure the smooth handover of the Town Council from the ruling PAP. Lee was sworn in as a Member of Parliament on 4 February 2013.
In the
2015 General Election, Lee was announced as a candidate who would defend the constituency, and on 27 August, PAP revealed that six-term MP and Deputy Speaker
Charles Chong
Charles Chong You Fook ( zh, s=张有福, p=Zhāng Yǒufú; born 24 June 1953) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore between 2011 and 2020. He served as Acting Speaker of the Parliament o ...
would be the challenger. On 11 September, Lee was defeated in her re-election 48.24% to 51.76%, and thus returning Punggol East SMC to the PAP. Although she was offered a
Non-Constituency MP (NCMP) position by-virtue for being the best-scoring losers of the election, Lee declined the offer, the first time someone had done so since
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
. It was later revealed that
Daniel Goh
Daniel Goh Pei Siong ( zh, s=吴佩松, p=Wú Pèisōng; born 1973) is a Singaporean sociologist and former politician. A former member of the opposition Workers' Party, he was a Non-Constituency Member of the 13th Parliament of Singapore bet ...
, a candidate part of the Workers' Party team for the
East Coast GRC
The East Coast Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency in the eastern area of Singapore. The areas of the Group Representation Constituency consists of locations such as East Coast Park, Bedok, Chang ...
, would replace Lee as the last NCMP seat, on 4 February 2016.
During the
2020 general election,
Punggol East SMC
Punggol East Single Member Constituency was a single member constituency (SMC) located in the north-eastern area of Singapore.
Following the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review committee report for the 2020 general elections, Punggol Eas ...
was dissolved and was changed to
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 ...
which was won by the
Worker's Party but she did not contest in the
2020 general election and was appointed as the Town Councillor of Sengkang Town Council.
Education
Lee attended
Holy Innocents' High School and
Ngee Ann Polytechnic
Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) is a post-secondary education institution and statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Education in Singapore.
Established in 1963, the polytechnic is renowned for its business programmes.
History
Ngee An ...
before graduating from
Curtin University
Curtin University, formerly known as Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, ...
in 2001.
Personal life
Lee is married to Koh Chee Koon, a telecommunications consultant. On 15 January 2014, it was announced that she is pregnant with her first child and on 1 July 2014, she gave birth to a baby girl.
References
External links
Profile at Parliament of Singapore websiteProfile at Workers' Party website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Li Lian
Members of the Parliament of Singapore
Workers' Party (Singapore) politicians
Singaporean women in politics
Singaporean people of Teochew descent
Curtin University alumni
Ngee Ann Polytechnic alumni
1978 births
Living people