Ex-ruling party MP Lam Pin Min was front and centre in the half page advertisement Eagle Eye Centre (EEC) took out in the Straits Times, this week. The advert, which came out on Wednesday (25 Nov), covered EEC’s services and branches but what caught the eye of some observers was how heavily it promoted Dr Lam who joined EEC as CEO in September.
Dr Lam, an ophthalmologist, first joined the political arena when he was fielded as a fresh face in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s six-man team for Ang Mo Kio GRC in the 2006 general election.
His Sengkang West division of the multi-member ward was made a single-member constituency ahead of the 2011 polls and Dr Lam was re-elected for a second and third term in the 2011 and 2015 general elections. Dr Lam rose to become a Senior Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transport during his time in Parliament.
During the 2020 general election, Dr Lam was moved to the four-member Sengkang GRC – which was newly carved out ahead of the election. In a stunning upset, the PAP team was defeated by the Worker’s Party team which won the election with over 52 per cent of votes.
Three political office-holders were unseated due to the unexpected outcome. Dr Lam, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Ng Chee Meng and grassroots MP Amrin Amin were all denied the chance to return to Parliament.
After their defeat at the polls, Mr Amrin joined two tech firms while Mr Ng was allowed to continue serving as the secretary-general of the Government-backed labour movement. Dr Lam joined EEC as the chief executive and Director of the Paediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus Service.
Although it has been almost three months since Dr Lam joined EEC, the specialist eyecare centre promoted Dr Lam’s background and clinical interests in an advertisement that also featured a large photo of him, this week. The advertisement also includes a group photo which features Sembawang GRC MP Lim Wee Kiak, who is also EEC’s vice chairman.
Dr Lam’s connection to EEC is not new. He joined EEC over six years ago in January 2014, when he was a part-time MP. In the seven months he spent at EEC, from January to August 2014, Dr Lam had helped to set up the Paediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus Service.
Dr Lam decided to devote all his time to politics and became a full-time MP in August 2014 after he was made Minister of State in the Ministry of Health. After the 2020 election, he said that he was very excited to return to full time clinical practice and his passion of doctoring.
Aside from his work at EEC, Dr Lam also joined Lumens, a car rental firm for private hire service that was founded in 2014, as a senior advisor last month.
On the political front, Dr Lam remains busy at Sengkang GRC. Although the ex-MP lost the ward in the July election, he and the other PAP candidates who contested the ward remain active as PAP branch chairmen in Sengkang – a privilege that is only extended to losing ruling party candidates.
Formerly incarcerated mothers thank ex-MP Amrin Amin for personally helping them
Formerly incarcerated mothers thank ex-MP Amrin Amin for personally helping them