Jamus Lim Honors His 'Tiger Mom' in Lunar New Year Tribute

Singapore — As the new Lunar Year rolled in, Workers’ Party Member of Parliament Jamus Lim paid tribute to his mother, whom he called “a Tiger Mom, perhaps thrice over”.

And while the term has been used negatively at times, Prof Lim choose to point out the best qualities that tigers have, as he wished everyone “a wonderful year of the Tiger, filled with the sort of tigerly traits that we all could use as we pull ourselves out of the difficult year past.”

The Sengkang GRC MP explained in a Jan 31 Facebook post that his “dearest mother” had been born in the year of the Tiger.

“She also raised my sister and me as a typical strict Asian mother would. And like many Singaporean mothers, she worked full-time, fighting to supplement the family income.”

He acknowledged, however, that the term “Tiger Mom” is “often used derisively” and “often gets short shrift.”

But he pointed out that “tigers are regal beasts, the largest and strongest of the great cats (even though the lion is frequently thought to be bigger).”

And in the Chinese zodiac, the tiger is seen as “an equal rival… to the typically more well-regarded dragon,” he added, before going on to praise his own “Tiger Mom.”

“My mother certainly embodied the elegance, strength, and tenacity that made her not only a symbol of quiet grit for my sister and myself, but also a respected colleague and supervisor in her professional life.”

On his mother’s birthday last year, Prof Lim also talked about her as a Tiger Mom.

“Since she grew up without much maternal direction (she was one of ten kids), she also poured her heart into raising us the best she could. This meant that she was a Tiger Mom, in every sense of the word (literally, too, since she was born in the year of the tiger). I would be punished (hello rattan my old friend) for scoring below 90 in tests and exams, and even worse performances would mean being locked out of the house. But through it all, I never doubted her love, and that she was doing it so that we might take our studies more seriously—studies that she felt was the way to a brighter future. Although I would not adopt the same approach myself as a parent, I deeply understand why she felt compelled to raise her children that way.”

Prof Lim named the “tigerly traits” that he and the rest of the Workers’ Party wished for all Singaporeans, “新年快乐、虎虎生威、身体健康 (the last, especially in times of COVID, takes on some poignancy, as does the traditional Peranakan wish of panjang panjang umur).”

The traits loosely translate to good health and strength, and panjang panjang umur means “long long life.”

The MP posted a video of different Workers’ Party leaders passing oranges to one another as they greeted everyone with a happy lunar new year.

On Prof Lim’s page, the still image of the video is that of party chair Sylvia Lim, which led to a little bit of confusion among some netizens, who mistakenly thought she was Prof Lim’s mother, based on his post.

On the WP Facebook account, where the video is also posted, the still image is that of WP chief and Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh in his army uniform.

One woman who also has a “Tiger Mom” dropped a comment on Prof Lim’s wall.