Lily Neo (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Tirtasana; ; born 12 August 1953) is a Singaporean medical practitioner and former politician. A former member of the governing

People's Action Party The People's Action Party ( abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) a ...

(PAP), she was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP) between 1997 and 2020.

Early life and education

Indonesian Chinese Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have l ...

, Neo was born in

Medan Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four ma ...

North Sumatra North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

on 12 August 1953. She studied at Primary Thamrin Methodist School in Medan between 1961 and 1969 before attending Methodist High School in

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Ma ...

. She subsequently went on to complete a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree at the

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ireland's first private university. It was established in 1784 ...

in 1980.

Career

After completing medical school, Neo has been a self-employed medical practitioner since 1982, where she also became a member of the governing

(PAP). Neo made her political debut in the 1997 general election and won. She was elected into Parliament as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Kim Seng ward of Kreta Ayer–Tanglin GRC. During the 2001 general election, Neo was part of the five-member PAP team contesting in

Jalan Besar GRC Jalan Besar Group Representation Constituency is a four-member Group Representation Constituency composed of several city suburbs surrounding the Central Area of Singapore. There are four wards in the GRC: Kreta Ayer- Kim Seng, Kolam Ayer, W ...

and won 74.49% of the vote against the opposition

Singapore Democratic Alliance The Singapore Democratic Alliance ( abbreviation: SDA) is a political coalition between the National Solidarity Party (NSP) and Singapore Justice Party (SJP) in Singapore. History Prior to the founding in 2001, then-opposition Member of Pa ...

. She was elected into Parliament again as the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Kreta Ayer– Kim Seng ward of Jalan Besar GRC. During the 2006 general election, Neo was part of the five-member PAP team contesting in Jalan Besar GRC and won 69.26% of the vote against the opposition

. During the 2011 general election, she was part of the five-member PAP team contesting in

Tanjong Pagar GRC The Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in Central and Western Singapore. The five divisions consists: Buona Vista, Queenstown, Moulmein-Cairnhill, Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru ...

and won an uncontested walkover. During the 2015 general election, Neo was part of the four-member PAP team contesting in Jalan Besar GRC and won 67.75% of the vote against the opposition Worker's Party.. Neo served as the chairperson of Tanjong Pagar Town Council between 2011 and 2015 and chairperson of Jalan Besar Town Council between 2015 and 2020. She was also Deputy Chairperson for the Social and Family Development Government Parliamentary Committee and Member of the Parliament House Committee and Transport Government Parliamentary Committee. She previously served as the chairperson for various Government Parliamentary Committees and Treasurer for PAP Women's Wing, and has supported social measures to support the low-income, particularly the elderly and young children. Neo retired from politics in July 2020 before the

2020 general election The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...

Personal life

Neo is married Ben Neo, a obstetrician and gynaecologist. They have two children. Neo is a Christian and enjoys playing the piano, swimming and reading.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neo, Lily 1953 births Living people Members of the Parliament of Singapore People from Medan Indonesian people of Chinese descent Indonesian emigrants to Singapore Naturalised citizens of Singapore Singaporean women in politics 20th-century Singaporean physicians Women physicians 20th-century Singaporean politicians 21st-century Singaporean politicians People's Action Party politicians Alumni of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland 21st-century women politicians 20th-century women politicians

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

See also

References