Jamus Jerome Lim Chee Wui (; born 1976) is a Singaporean politician, economist and associate professor. A member of the

Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...

(WP), Lim has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Anchorvale division of

Sengkang GRC The Sengkang Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern region of Singapore. It was created from Punggol East Single Member Constituency (SMC), Sengkang West SMC and the then- ...

since 2020. He has been Deputy Head of Policy Research since 2020 and President of the Youth Wing since 2024 to 2025 of the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC).

Early life and career

Lim attended

Catholic High School Catholic schools are parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school system. In 201 ...

Raffles Institution Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both b ...

and

Raffles Junior College The Raffles Junior College (RJC) was a junior college in Singapore offering pre-university education. The college was founded in 1982, following a separation from the pre-university section of Raffles Institution (RI). Raffles Junior College ...

as part of his early education in Singapore. He was a service medic in the

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A component of the Ministry of Defence (Singapore), Ministry of D ...

(SAF) during his

National Service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

(NS). Lim graduated from the

University of Southern Queensland The University of Southern Queensland is a public research university based in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, the sixth largest city in the Australian state of Queensland Founded in 1967 after a successful campaign by the local Darling Down ...

in 1998 with a

Bachelor of Business A Bachelor of Business (BBus, BBus (Major)) is a three to four year undergraduate degree in the field of business offered by universities from the post-Dawkins era in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. It is similar in format and structure to a B ...

degree in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

. He then obtained a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in economics from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

in 2000, and went on to the

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of C ...

, where he graduated in 2006 with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in politics and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

international economics International economics is concerned with the effects upon economic activity from international differences in productive resources and consumer preferences and the international institutions that affect them. It seeks to explain the patterns an ...

. In 2018, Lim graduated from

Harvard Extension School Harvard Extension School (HES) is the Continuing education, continuing education School of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1910, it is o ...

with a Master of Liberal Arts degree in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

. Lim started his career at

JP Morgan JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is the largest bank in the United States, and the world's largest bank by mar ...

, before working at the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

for seven years, from 2007 to 2014, serving in its Development Prospects Group and specialising in long-term macroeconomic projections. He was an economist at the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies and the

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is a sovereign wealth fund owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, founded to invest funds on behalf of the Government of Abu Dhabi. It manages the emirate's excess oil reserves a ...

. In 2018, he joined the Singapore-based independent investment management firm Thirdrock. Lim is an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

of economics at

ESSEC Business School Founded in 1907, ESSEC Business School (École Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales) is a French higher education institution specialising in business and management. It is a grande école, a type of institution known for select ...

in Singapore. On 23 July 2020, Lim was elected to the council of the Economic Society of Singapore (ESS).

Political career

Lim became a member of the

(WP) in September 2019, having previously volunteered in the party's

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

activities. On 30 June 2020, he was announced as part of a four-member WP team contesting in the newly-formed

with team members,

He Ting Ru He Ting Ru ( zh, c=何廷儒, p=Hé Tíngrú; born 16 June 1983) is a Singaporean politician and lawyer. A member of the Workers' Party (WP), she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Buangkok division of Sengkang GRC since ...

, Louis Chua and

Raeesah Khan Raeesah Begum binte Farid Khan ( Jawi: راعيسىه خن; born 10 November 1993) is a Singaporean social activist and former politician. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Compassvale division of Sengkang GRC between 202 ...

in the 2020 general election. On 1 July 2020, Lim engaged in a televised political debate with Francis Yuen of the

Progress Singapore Party The Progress Singapore Party (abbreviation: PSP) is a political party in Singapore. It was one of the three political parties represented in 14th Parliament, alongside the governing People's Action Party (PAP) and the other opposition Workers' ...

Chee Soon Juan Chee Soon Juan (born 20 July 1962) is a Singaporean politician, activist, and former lecturer who was appointed Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) in 1993. Prior to entering politics in 1992, Chee was a lecturer at th ...

of the

Singapore Democratic Party The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) is a social liberal political party in Singapore. Founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, the party gained its first seat in 6th Parliament of Singapore, Parliament in 1984 Singaporean general election, 1984 when ...

and Minister

Vivian Balakrishnan Vivian Balakrishnan (; born 25 January 1961) is a Singaporean politician, diplomat and former ophthalmologist who has been serving as Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2015. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he has been th ...

of the governing

People's Action Party The People's Action Party (PAP) is a major Conservatism, conservative political party in Singapore and is the governing contemporary political party represented in the Parliament of Singapore, followed by the opposition Workers' Party of Singap ...

. His performance at the debate was well-received, with PN Balji of ''

The New Paper ''The New Paper'' is a Singaporean newspaper. It was originally published in tabloid format as a "noon paper", then from 2016 as a freesheet in the morning from 7 a.m. onwards. In December 2021 the paper went to digital only. History Firs ...

'' writing that he was "smelling of roses" and Toh Wen Li of ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' (also known informally by its abbreviation ''ST'') is a Singaporean daily English-language newspaper owned by the SPH Media Trust. Established on 15 July 1845, it is the most-widely circulated newspaper in the country and ...

'' describing Lim as the "star candidate" of the Workers' Party. On 10 July 2020, following the results of the 2020 general election, Lim and his team were elected into

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

after securing 52.13% of the vote, defeating the governing People's Action Party in an

upset victory An upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win (the "favorite") is defeated by (or, in the case of sports, ties with) an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying ...

that secured a second

group representation constituency A group representation constituency (GRC) is a type of electoral division or constituency in Singapore in which teams of candidates, instead of individual candidates, compete to be elected into Parliament as the Members of Parliament (MPs) for th ...

for the opposition. On 3 September 2020, Lim gave his maiden speech in Parliament. He asserted that there was "insufficient compassion in our policymaking process" and proposed that Singapore could implement a "simple, across-the-board

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...

". On 27 December 2020, Lim was elected as Deputy Head of the Policy Research Team of the WP's Central Executive Committee (CEC). On 11 July 2023, Speaker of Parliament

Tan Chuan-Jin Tan Chuan-Jin (; born 10 January 1969) is a Singaporean former politician and brigadier-general. A former member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), Tan served as Speaker of the Parliament between 2017 and 2023, and as the Member ...

made a public apology to Lim after a clip of him using "

unparliamentary language Parliaments and legislative bodies around the world impose certain rules and standards during debates. Tradition has evolved that there are words or phrases that are deemed inappropriate for use in the legislature whilst it is in session. In a W ...

" during a 17 April parliamentary sitting was shared on

Reddit Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...

; Tan had muttered "fucking populist" shortly after Lim's 20-minute speech on the establishment of an official

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. Lim accepted Tan's apology. On 3 May 2025, following the results of the 2025 general election, Lim and his team were re-elected in Sengkang GRC after securing 56.32% of the vote.

Personal life

In his younger days, Lim was a

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

player,

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

, and self-declared "

Solitaire Solitaire may refer to: Film and television *'' Le Solitaire'', a 1987 French film * ''Solitaire'' (1991 film), a Canadian drama film * ''Solitaire'' (2008 film), a drama film *''Solitaire'', 2016 Lebanese comedy film with Bassam Kousa *"Solit ...

junkie". Lim is married to Chilean-American writer Eneida Patricia Alcalde. They have a daughter who was born in 2019.

Selected works and publications

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Workers' Party biography

Jamus Lim
on

Parliament of Singapore The Parliament of Singapore is the unicameralism, unicameral legislature of the Singapore, Republic of Singapore, which governs the country alongside the President of Singapore. Largely based upon the Westminster system, the Parliament is made ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lim, Jamus Jerome Living people 21st-century Singaporean politicians 21st-century scholars Harvard Extension School alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics University of Southern Queensland alumni University of California, Santa Cruz alumni Workers' Party (Singapore) politicians Raffles Institution alumni 1976 births Members of the Parliament of Singapore Alumni of the University of London Singaporean economists