Poh Li San ( zh, s=傅丽珊, p=Fù Lìshān; born 19 November 1975) is a Singaporean politician. A member 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 ...

(PAP), she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Sembawang West SMC Sembawang West Single Member Constituency (SMC) is a Single Member Constituency (SMC) for the Parliament of Singapore. Located in the North Region, Singapore, it was established in 2025 after being split from Sembawang Group Representation Const ...

since 2025, and previously the Sembawang West division of

Sembawang GRC The Sembawang Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) located in the North Region, Singapore, northern area of Singapore. The GRC has five divisions: Sembawang Central, Naval Base, Woodlands, Ad ...

between 2020 and 2025. A recipient of the Singapore Armed Forces Merit Scholarship (Women), Poh was a helicopter pilot in the

Republic of Singapore Air Force The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is the aerial service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for controlling and defending the airspace of the country, and providing air support to the Army and Navy. It was establis ...

(RSAF) and the first female aide-de-camp to

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

S. R. Nathan. After leaving the RSAF in 2010, she joined the

Changi Airport Group Singapore Changi Airport ( ; ) is the primary international airport that serves the country of Singapore, and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. More than 100 airlines operate from the airport, with flights to destinations in A ...

and rose to the position of Senior Vice President.

Education

Poh attended Dunman High School and

Temasek Junior College Temasek Junior College (TJC) is a government-run junior college temporarily located in Tampines. Its original location in Bedok South is currently undergoing reconstruction as part of the JC Rejuvenation Programme. It offers a six-year Integra ...

before graduating from the

University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the fo ...

in 1998 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

with highest honours degree in engineering and a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

with

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

and highest distinction 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 ...

. She was awarded the Bronze Tablet for graduating top 3% in her cohort.

Career

Military career

Poh was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces Merit Scholarship (Women) in 1994 and began her military career with the

(RSAF) as a helicopter pilot after completing her education. She flew the

Super Puma The Airbus Helicopters H215 (formerly Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma) is a four-bladed, twin-engined, medium-sized, utility helicopter developed and initially produced by French aerospace company Aérospatiale. It has been subsequently manufacture ...

helicopter in 125 Squadron, Sembawang Airbase. Poh was a

Search and Rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

pilot and was part of the SAF Humanitarian and Relief mission to

Aceh Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...

following the

Boxing Day Tsunami On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known in the scient ...

. In 2003, Poh assumed the role of Assistant Director of the Future Systems Technology Directorate under the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

(MINDEF) and led the development of the technologies and formulated long term force development strategies and new war-fighting concepts for the SAF. In 2005, Poh was made Flight Commander of 125 Squadron, Sembawang Airbase. In July 2006, Poh was appointed to be the first female aide-de-camp to then

S. R. Nathan. She was responsible for planning and organising state-level visits, meetings, ceremonies, and events. In May 2010, Poh left the RSAF and attained the rank

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and joined

Post-military career

Poh started her career in

as Head, Budget Terminal in May 2010. She was in charge of the operations of the Changi Airport Budget Terminal. From 2012 to 2017, Poh led the planning and development of the new Terminal 4 where many new innovations and technologies were implemented to improve passenger experience and productivity. She is the Senior Vice-President of Terminal 5 Systems and is responsible for the planning of specialised airport engineering systems for the new terminal.

Political career

Poh joined the governing

(PAP) as an activist in 2018. She is a

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 ...

leader in

, where she helped Member of Parliament (MP) and

Minister for Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

Ong Ye Kung Ong Ye Kung ( ; zh, s=王乙康, p=Wáng Yǐkāng, poj=Ông It-khong; born 15 November 1969) is a Singaporean politician and former civil servant who has been serving as Minister for Health since 2021. A member of the governing People's Acti ...

in his Meet-the-People Sessions every Monday in his Gambas Ward. She is currently the chairman of the PAP Sembawang West Branch of

and the Grassroots Advisor of Sembawang West Grassroots Organisations. She was then appointed Deputy Chairperson of Sustainability and Environment, as well as member of the Transport Government Parliament Committees (GPCs) in the

14th Parliament of Singapore The 14th Parliament of Singapore was a meeting of the Parliament of Singapore. It opened on 24 August 2020 and dissolved on 15 April 2025. The membership was set by the 2020 Singapore General Election on 10 July 2020. The final sitting for the ...

. Poh is appointed as Vice-Chairperson of Sembawang Town Council (SBTC) since 2020. Prior to the 2025 Singaporean election, Poh's ward of Sembawang West was carved out of Sembawang GRC. As a result, Poh left the GRC team to contest the Sembawang West Single Member Constituency. She won against 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 ...

Secretary-General

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 ...

with 53.18% of the vote.

References

External links

Poh Li San
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:Poh, Li San Grainger College of Engineering alumni Dunman High School alumni Temasek Junior College alumni Singaporean military personnel Singaporean women in politics Living people 1975 births Members of the Parliament of Singapore