SINGAPORE: Ms Jasmin Lau, who recently resigned as deputy secretary at the Ministry of Health (MOH), is a People’s Action Party (PAP) new face in the upcoming General Election.
With a subdued personality, she finds it “very difficult” to talk about herself.
According to the latest CNA report, the 42-year-old is on the PAP slate for Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency (GRC) alongside Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Darryl David and Nadia Samdin — both Members of Parliament since 2020 — and former Aljunied GRC candidate Victor Lye.
As she came to public attention, many advised her to apply some makeup and enhance her eyebrows or make her eyes look bigger. Others suggested she wear earrings to bring out the femininity in her.
While she knew that the suggestions were all in good faith, makeup is “just something that’s not me”, she said. True to form, she was unashamedly unmade-up during her CNA interview.
Reluctance to promote herself
When asked about the causes she would advocate for Singaporeans, she said she found it “paiseh” (Hokkien for awkward or embarrassing) to identify causes.
“When you serve, it’s not what you champion or what you care most about. What I care most about may not be what you care most about. What I want to champion may not be what you need,” she said.
However, this reluctance to promote herself comes from “a place of gratitude.”
“We don’t exist because we made ourselves into some success story. We are where we are because our parents, our siblings were there. We were lucky to get a certain boss, a certain project; asked to join a certain sports team,” she said.
“To come out and say, ‘Here I am, I’m so-and-so. I’m humble, I can do this, I have conviction, it’s super weird for me and not myself.”
When veteran leaders instructed her to “stop flying under the radar,” she clarified: “It has to be something done at a pace comfortable for me, because it’s a huge change from my personality.”
When asked how her former colleagues would label her personality, Ms Lau said they would likely say: “Jasmin has balls.”
“Sometimes they want to say something but they feel a little unsure. They will say, ‘Jasmin, how about you help us say it?’” she said.
Turning down PAP
When the PAP first approached her about a year ago, she had no qualms about turning them down. Ms Lau was very firm in her decision every time they tried a different approach or a “revised pitch” every few months.
“I really enjoy my children. (My husband and I) have found a very nice rhythm, even though both of us are working parents. We come home in the evenings; we pick them up ourselves … We play, we eat, we sleep together in the same room,” she said.
“It’s the life that we dreamt of for many years before, so I don’t want that to change.”
She remembered that time when PAP said: “If not you, then who?”
“I couldn’t come up with names—not because I don’t think there are other people, but I don’t spend my time sitting around thinking who can be the next candidate,” she said.
Asking for guidance
There was a time when she talked to her former boss, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, for direction, although half-heartedly, because she still didn’t want to join politics.
Instead of offering her direct advice, Mr Gan gave her an hour of “marriage counselling”.
She remembered well what he said, “If you sort out your marriage and it’s strong, that becomes the foundation for everything in life going forward, whether you do this or take a new public service job.”
“But if your marriage is strong, then what would you have to be afraid of?’” she recalled.
Until now, though, Ms Lau has no reservations acknowledging that she still wonders why she joined politics.
While she is aware of the price she will have to pay eventually, she has always been “fully prepared” to say no and even “walk away” from a job if asked to do something that does not align with her values.
However, right now, the party’s values align with hers, she said. That’s why she finally said “Yes.”
What netizens say about JL
On Facebook, a number of users have expressed mixed reactions to Jasmin Lau’s reluctance to join the PAP.
One netizen who favours her entry into politics thanked her and said, “Thank you, Jasmine Lau, for joining a party whose values of honesty, integrity, responsibility, and trust align with you.” On the other hand, another netizen saw her joining the party as being “forced”. The netizen said, “We need someone who is wholeheartedly want to serve the people, not someone who is forced to be a politician!”
Another user shared a similar sentiment and said, “If she is always reluctant and so ‘paiseh,’ as she claimed in the article, then how can she be a public figure and stand up for us?”
One netizen, unconvinced she would be a good addition to the current lineup of public servants, said, “I’m not so certain of her commitment to serve the people. Instead of playing hard to get, when the PAP come knocking you should come running. The personal sacrifices to run a country is great one. If your family is a priority, perhaps politics is not your calling.”