Chitchat Why Jamus Lim join Workers' Party ?

[jw5]

Jamus continues house visits.

Jamus Lim​

14h ·
Over the past month, we got started with house visits at a new cluster—#Anchorvale Parkview—and we’ve since managed to wrap up about half the cluster (338A and

. We also managed to squeeze in visits to the 350 and 338 coffeeshops.
The sense I get from my conversations of late is that things appear to be relatively smooth sailing for many households. This isn’t to say that there aren’t struggling families—there will often be, and #TeamSengkang will always extend a helping hand to assist as best we can—but many share that there have been no major issues, they’re enjoying living in the neighborhood, and that things are going all right at home and in the workplace.
This is reflected in the national numbers. Despite fears of a negative trade shock, the economy grew by a robust 5 percent in 2025. Median incomes—even after adjusting for inflation—picked up by 4.3 percent, more than twice the rate of the last decade. This will allow wages, which had fallen behind in the past few years, to catch up with higher prices, thereby easing the burden of the cost of living.
When the government steers the country forward creditably, and the economy does well, it is a good thing. It is an outcome that all Singaporeans—even those of us on the other side of the aisle—can support, and be grateful for. After all, it has long been the view of the #workersparty that our role as a loyal opposition is that of the responsible copilot, to provide constructive critique, so that our policies may be scrutinized and refined and improved. At the end of the day, we all have a common purpose: to see our little red dot succeed in an uncertain world. #SengkangGRC #workingforsingapore

 

[jw5]

Jamus spoke in Parliament.

Jamus Lim​

7h ·
Last week in Parliament, I spoke about establishing a national on-the-job training program. This was a proposal I first mooted two years ago, in the context of amendments to the SkillsFuture Singapore Act, before elaborating on it in last year’s Budget debate.
Most skills we need for our jobs aren’t learned in classrooms, but through on-the-job training, via apprenticeships, internships, and mentorship. But our current systems are inadequate: the SkillsFuture Assessment-Only Pathway emphasizes paper qualifications over demonstration, Career Conversion Plans are limited to professional and technical roles, and the GRaduate Industry Traineeship (GRIT) program has less than a hundred open positions.
With youth unemployment now hovering a full percentage point above what it was a few decades ago—and potentially rising as AI displaces even more entry-level positions that fresh grads used to fill—we need a pipeline to train the young on the job more than ever, so that we’ll get the experienced workers employers still want.
Graduates should be allowed to apply their SkillsFuture credits toward paid internships and apprenticeships, so companies can enjoy the offsets that make hiring trainees more attractive. Such stints should include pathways to eventual employment, and most importantly, be open to a wider range of pursuits: nonacademic areas like the culinary arts, music, and sport; artisanal practices like horology and furniture-making, and professions relying on experience over book smarts. This is how we’ll train a workforce ready to take on AI. #workingforsingapore

 

[jw5]

Jamus Lim​

11 March at 07:51 ·
As the official launch of the #Anchorvale Butterfly Sanctuary draws near, some of you may be wondering how to get there. Here’s a short directional video to guide you along. Watch to the end for a sneak peak of our butterfly garden!

 

[jw5]

Jamus Lim​

5d ·
At #COS2026, I argued for raising the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) income threshold more substantially, to $3,500 from $3,000. Although past revisions to both GST voucher and Workfare thresholds appear comparable on paper, they fail to reflect how inflation has disproportionately impacted lower-income households. Despite recent gains, real income growth for the lowest earners has lagged behind the median for years. It is time to adjust Workfare thresholds to better support those who continue working hard, but struggle with rising living costs. This ensures that work remains rewarding, and keeps pace with the realities faced by the lowest-income earners. #workingforsingapore

 

[jw5]

Jamus shares some good news.

Jamus Lim​

12h ·
Right on cue for the debate today on the veterinary profession, I received this request to share this lost pet notice. Those of us who have had furkids know that they are like family. So if you stumble on the little cutie, please contact the anxious owner! Will update here if she is subsequently found. #SengkangGRC
Postscript: Good news, Coco has been found! Thanks to all who helped pass the message along.

 

[jw5]

Jamus spoke in Parliament.

Jamus Lim​

8h ·
A few weeks back, I spoke in Parliament about the Veterinary Practice Bill, which sought to formalize a number of practices for those that treat our furry friends and loved ones.
While I supported the Bill’s idea of a vet council—basically, a self-governing body to adjudicate cases on pet treatment, similar to the Law Society or Medical Council—I also emphasized the importance of ensuring that the composition of the body included small-clinic and demand-side representation (such as from pet owner associations). I also spoke about the importance of credible, independent investigations, which was also laid out in the bill.
Many of us who have had pets know that they are family, and that pet owners will often spare no expense in taking care of them when they are sick or injured. More generally, I believe that advanced societies must hold ourselves to a standard that treats other living things with humility, love, and respect. These were more than solid reasons for my support of the bill. #workingforsingapore

 

[jw5]

Jamus was a mischievous child.

Jamus Lim​

12h ·
As a child, I was very mischievous and often got into trouble (some would argue that I haven’t matured much, and still do many naughty things). This meant discipline on many fronts: at home, at relatives’ places, at school. Like many kids of my generation, a common tool for discipline was the cane. So I experienced that rotan frequently, administered by parents and grandparents, uncles and aunts, and teachers and the principal. And being in a boys’ school my primary and secondary education also meant that we had our fair share of roughhousing, including getting into fights and bullying one another.
I wouldn’t pretend that those experiences weren’t formative. I’ll never know how I would have turned out had I not been beaten as much as a kid, and nor do I know whether the tough love was ultimately necessary or not. What I do know is that my parents did not exercise physical discipline out of malice or anger, but rather it was what they knew to do. Still, as parents, we have chosen a different approach for our daughter, and we’ve never laid a finger on her.
During Parliament this week, Education Minister Desmond Lee fielded questions on the recently-released action review on bullying (you may see the full summary of the report here: https://www.moe.gov.sg/.../20260415-recommendations-from...). Many MPs filed questions, myself included. I was interested in whether the stance on corporal punishment—which draws a distinction between boys and girls (caning only for the former) and younger vs older kids (you have to be upper-primary to be caned)—was based on research. That’s because I think about policymaking almost entirely from an evidence-based perspective, and regardless of my own personal history, I try to lean on a mix of rational reasoning and data analysis.
Overall, the literature sends a pretty clear message: while physical punishment yields short-term compliance, it does not translate into long-term improvements in discipline. It may even normalize violence in their developing minds (https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000191). Put another way, beating kids makes them stop, but they don’t learn why they went wrong, and are likely to repeat their bad behavior. It may even be counterproductive, and lead to more bullying, since violence was legitimized.
Generally, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that spanking is more effective at any age. If anything, some have gone as far as to suggest that it works for younger, rather than older, kids, although there’s no convincing evidence of that (https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-3112). And when it comes to gender differences, while it’s true that males and females respond differently to physical punishment, they are both affected; girls just tend to internalize (get withdrawn), whereas boys externalize (act out) (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2012.09.004).
This isn’t to say that we should therefore physically punish girls, too. Rather, we shouldn’t think that boys can take it better than girls when they’re caned, or that any psychological harm to boys is somehow less damaging than to girls. International organizations have also come out against such practices; the World Health Organization (https://www.who.int/.../corporal-punishment-and-health) and UNICEF (https://endcorporalpunishment.org/unicef-support-to-end.../) appeal to physical/mental health and individual rights.
In his response, Minister Lee said that the basis for the gender-age distinction for caning was based on the criminal procedure code (the CPC prohibits punishment of females, and the age threshold presumably is because “sufficient maturity of understanding” is prescribed by the law). So the recent recommendation appears to rest on a foundation of the law, rather than peer-reviewed research. He did emphasize, however, that caning was a last resort, and that for girls, other methods of consequential discipline would be applied, in lieu of caning.
While there was some extension of time for follow-up questions during the sitting, I did not get recognized, and was unable to ask follow-up questions. If I did, I would have wanted to ask about parental agency in the matter. In particular, I wanted to know what recourse a parent who holds different religious, ethical, or philosophical views on caning might have, to appeal for a different form of punishment for their child?
After all, such a parent could credibly ask, why can’t the other consequential form of discipline, which are applied to girls and younger kids, also be used for my upper-primary son? It seems like either those other methods are implicitly viewed as inferior to corporal punishment (something that, recall, isn’t backed by the evidence), or we are meting out punishment informed by a law, rather than science. #workingforsingapore
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