Jasmin Lau

From PoliticalSG
Revision as of 17:17, 23 June 2025 by Jayyy (talk | contribs) (Created page with "{{Infobox-person|name=Jasmin Lau|othername=|image=jasmin-lau.jpg|politicalparty=PAP|field01=Current Role|data01=• Minister of State<br /> • Ministry of Digital Development and Information<br /> • Ministry of Education|field02=Constituency|data02=Ang Mo Kio GRC|field03=Others|data03=• <br /> •|Input 1st Header=Background|field04=Education|data04=• <br /> • <br /> • <br /> •|Input 2nd Header=Personal Details|field05=Age|data05=1982|field06=CV|data06=-}...")
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jasmin Lau



Current Role • Minister of State
• Ministry of Digital Development and Information
• Ministry of Education
Personal details
Party PAP  





Jasmin Lau Jie Min (Chinese: 刘洁敏; born c. 1983) is a Singaporean politician and former senior civil servant. She is a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Seletar–Serangoon division of Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC) under the governing People’s Action Party (PAP). Prior to entering politics, Lau served as Deputy Secretary (Policy) at the Ministry of Health (MOH), where she played a central role in Singapore’s healthcare reforms, including the launch of MediShield Life and the formulation of the Healthier SG White Paper. She resigned from the civil service on 1 April 2025, shortly before being introduced as a new PAP candidate for the May 2025 general election.[1]

Civil Service Career

Lau joined the administrative service in 2006[2], serving in high-level roles across several ministries:

  • Ministry of Finance (MOF) and Ministry of Manpower (MOM) – as Fiscal Strategy Associate and Senior Assistant Director in manpower policy respectively.[3]
  • Public Service Division (PSD) – in strategic planning roles.[3]
  • Ministry of Health (MOH) – served 2013–2019 on healthcare financing, policy formation, MediShield Life launch, and later returned in 2021 as Deputy Secretary (Policy), overseeing manpower, financing, and regulation.[2]
  • Economic Development Board (EDB) – Executive Director of the Singapore Global Network (2019–2021), fostering Singaporean global engagement.[2]

Her tenure at MOH included overseeing the Healthier SG White Paper, steering Singapore’s transition to preventive care.[2]

Political Career

Entry into Politics

On 1 April 2025, Lau resigned from the MOH, a move broadly interpreted as preparation for the upcoming general election. This aligns with PAP’s common practice of recruiting senior civil servants and requiring resignation prior to campaigning.[4]

Campaign and Election

In April 2025, Lau was introduced as a PAP candidate for Ang Mo Kio GRC, joined by Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Known for her down-to-earth persona, she centred her campaign on themes of sincerity and teamwork, famously choosing basketball as her metaphor. She won her seat in May 2025 alongside the PAP team.[5]

Political Views and Priorities

Lau emphasizes:

  • Preventive healthcare and sustainable financing (Healthier SG framework).[2]
  • Family support and childcare, influenced by her own experiences as a mother.[2]
  • Sincere leadership, prioritizing humility and authenticity over political grandstanding.[2]

Personal Life

Lau is married to Joel Tan, CEO of KidSTART Singapore, a national initiative supporting low-income families with young children. The couple has two sons. She enjoys basketball and netball, and often uses sports metaphors to describe collaboration and resilience.[2]

Controversies

Missed House Visit Allegation

In late April 2025, an Ang Mo Kio resident shared on Reddit that they waited from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. expecting Jasmin Lau to conduct a scheduled house visit but received no visit or follow-up. The resident expressed feeling “cheated”, stating they even cancelled plans to attend a Workers’ Party rally to meet her.[6]

Reddit user throwaway_151516 wrote: “I sat by the dinner table… all the way to 10 pm… At 9:30 pm, I just gave myself the assumption she wouldn’t be showing up but kept some hopes that she would.”[6]

This incident prompted criticism over perceived accountability and the reliability of candidate engagement efforts in PAP-safe wards.

Flyer Misdistribution

Following her election in May 2025, Lau’s introduction flyers intended for Seletar–Serangoon residents were mistakenly distributed to approximately 32 blocks in Aljunied GRC. The mix-up was attributed to a SingPost error, and Lau promptly issued a public apology on May 28, acknowledging the mistake and praising SingPost’s swift response.[7]

References

  1. ↑ https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2025/03/14/moh-deputy-secretary-jasmin-lau-to-retire-from-civil-service-on-1-april/
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 https://www.magzter.com/stories/newspaper/The-Straits-Times/SENIOR-CIVIL-SERVANT-FROM-MOH-STEPS-DOWN-AHEAD-OF-GE2025
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://mothership.sg/2025/03/jasmin-lau-resigns-ahead-ge2025/
  4. ↑ https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2025/03/18/senior-public-servants-generals-and-nmps-who-have-resigned-ahead-of-ge2025-so-far/
  5. ↑ https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2025/04/14/jasmin-lau-and-victor-lye-appear-with-lee-hsien-loong-at-ang-mo-kio-grc-ahead-of-ge2025/
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 https://www.reddit.com/r/singapore/comments/1k8g91b/felt_cheated_by_my_pap_candidate_for_my_ward/
  7. ↑ https://theindependent.sg/new-amk-mp-jasmin-lau-apologises-to-residents-after-flyer-mix-up/
Retrieved from "https://politicalsg.com/index.php?title=Jasmin_Lau&oldid=4394"