SINGAPORE – Ms Jasmin Lau, deputy secretary (policy) at the Health Ministry (MOH), has retired from the civil service, fuelling speculation that she may enter politics at the upcoming general election.
An e-mail circular sent earlier this week seen by The Straits Times said Ms Lau will leave the administrative service on April 1. The administrative service is the highest tier of Singapore’s civil service, comprising its leaders.
Ms Lau, 42, has spent much of her career in healthcare.
She served in MOH from 2013 to 2019, looking at healthcare finance and overseeing the development and regulation of medical and long term care insurance in Singapore.
It was during this period that the ministry launched MediShield Life, a basic national health insurance scheme for large medical bills.
She returned to the ministry in November 2021 after a stint at the EDB.
Ms Lau currently oversees manpower, financing, and regulatory measures in the healthcare system. As a deputy secretary, she is among the highest-ranked civil servants in her ministry.
Other projects she has overseen at MOH include the Healthier SG White Paper in 2022, which places the focus on preventive care, rather than the traditional hospital-based approach to illness.
She is currently on the board of the Building and Construction Authority and a member of the board of trustees for the Singapore Institute of Technology.
Her other stints were at the Public Service Division, the Manpower Ministry, Finance Ministry and the Economic Development Board.
At the EDB, she was executive director of the Singapore Global Network, which coordinates efforts to reach out to overseas Singaporeans and others with links to Singapore.
This division was previously known as the Overseas Singaporean Unit and came under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.
The Straits Times has contacted Ms Lau for comment.
Ms Lau could be one of the first of several resignations expected from the public service ahead of the general election, which is widely expected by mid-year after the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee’s report on March 11.
The PAP has traditionally tapped public service leaders when sourcing for candidates. Those who are chosen to stand often resign in the lead-up to the election, as they are not allowed to participate in political activities while in office.
Other high-profile resignations this year are those of former Nominated MPs Raj Joshua Thomas and Syed Harun Alhabsyi.
Both men resigned on Feb 14, the first time any NMP had done so before the end of his term – fueling speculation that both men had done so to contest in the coming election.
Announcing his resignation on social media, Dr Syed Harun said it would be most appropriate that he resign as he intends to “explore opportunities for political service”.
In Mr Thomas’ resignation letter, he said he remains “dedicated to serving Singapore and Singaporeans to the best of (his) abilities”.
“I am contemplating doing so in a different way, in which it would be appropriate for me to resign as an NMP at this time,” he added.
In the past, public servants have quit their roles close to the start of the hustings.
In the 2020 general election, East Coast GRC MP Tan Kiat How, who was then chief executive of the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA), stepped down from his post on June 20. His resignation was publicly announced five days earlier.
The writ of election was issued on June 23, with July 10 set as Polling Day.
Mr Tan, who is now Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, and National Development, was one of the last resignations from the public service that year.
Mr Desmond Tan, who was formerly chief executive of the People’s Association (PA), left the public service slightly less than a month before Polling Day.
Others then were Mr Yip Hon Weng, former group chief of the Silver Generation Office under the Health Ministry, and Ms Ng Ling Ling, who was chief of future primary care and director of community engagement at the Health Ministry’s Office of Healthcare Transformation.
Ng Wei Kai is a journalist at The Straits Times, where he covers politics. He writes Unpacked, a weekly newsletter on Singapore politics and policy.
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