SINGAPORE: When Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim turned 50 earlier this week, he was surprised with not one but two birthday parties—one from his wife, and another from volunteers from the Sengkang team
While he admitted that the half-century mark “sounds old,” commenters on his social media posts told him that he doesn’t look his age, with one telling the MP, “Bro, I thought you just turned 40… wah 50 and so fit !!! Impressive.”
Assoc Prof Lim may be feeling the effects of time, however, as he wrote, “While some folks tell me I’m remarkably well-preserved—which makes me think I’m some kind of fermented fruit—Father Time has a way of wearing down on the aging body.”
He went on to say that last weekend his wife, Chilean-American poet Eneida Alcalde, had collaborated with Assoc Prof Lim’s sister in a months-long plan to organise a party he described as “the kind you see in the movies where people hide in the dark and you walk into a room to shouts of ‘Surprise!’”
The fact that his best friend flew over from the US and many people close to him attended the celebration made it extra meaningful for him.
“I was very grateful for all the work she put in to make the day special,” he added.
After the weekend’s birthday bash came another from the Sengkang team of volunteers, which they held after their weekly meet-the-people session.
“The volunteers give of themselves, week after week, and while I don’t always have the time to catch up with them on Mondays—I’d often be occupied with the remaining residents long after most pack up and leave—it was nice for them to stay back for some impromptu song and cake,” he wrote.
In the public eye since 2020
The MP, an associate professor of Economics at ESSEC Business School, first came into the public eye in 2020, when he emerged as a possible candidate for that year’s election.
He was later fielded as one of the WP candidates at the then newly established Sengkang GRC.
What made the public sit up and notice him was his performance in a debate during the campaign period for GE2020. Though he was up against more seasoned candidates, such as People’s Action Party’s Vivian Balakrishnan and Singapore Democratic Party’s Chee Soon Juan, Assoc Prof Lim was the standout of the debate.
He even appeared to win over Dr Balakrishnan, though he gave what turned out to be the quote of the night when he said, “What we are trying to deny the PAP isn’t a mandate. What we’re trying to deny them is a blank cheque.”
Assoc Prof Lim’s performance undoubtedly helped the WP slate win a second GRC that year, which came as a shock to many. The newbie team made up of He Ting Ru, Louis Chua, Raeesah Khan, and Assoc Prof Lim won against a heavily-stacked PAP slate that included Ng Chee Meng, Lam Pin Min, and Amrin Amin, all of whom had held positions in government.
Additionally, in spite of the scandal that caused Raeesah Khan to resign in 2021, which has affected the WP leadership to this day, the consistent work of Ms He, Mr Chua, and Assoc Prof Lim on the ground at Sengkang helped them win again in last year’s elections, by an even larger margin.
/TISG
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