Josephine Teo Li Min

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Josephine Teo Li Min
Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh Constituency Singapore
Born	July 8, 1968 (1968-07-08) (age 41) Singapore
Nationality	Singaporean
Political party	People's Action Party
Children	3
Alma mater	National University of Singapore London School of Economics
Committees	Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Education and GPC for Defence & Foreign Affairs
Religion	Christianity

Josephine Teo Li Min (born July 8, 1968) is a Singaporean Member of Parliament for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. She is currently the Chair of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Education and a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for Defence & Foreign Affairs.^[1]

A Hakka (her maiden surname is Yong), she first became an MP in 2006 after Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC was not contested in the 2006 general election. She was one of the five PAP candidates for the GRC, and her team was awarded a walkover.

On 1 June 2009, Josephine was appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of Business China.^[2] Business China was established to nurture an inclusive bilingual and bi-cultural group of Singaporeans through the use of Chinese language and to develop a cultural and economic bridge between China and the world.^[2]

Contents 1 Politics 2 Quotations 3 Education 4 Career 5 Personal life 6 Young NTUC 7 External links 8 References

[edit] Politics

In Josephine's maiden speech in Parliament, she called on the Government to "rethink the way we teach our children our history, and that we preserve the evidence of our past through art and architecture so that, as a people, we will never forget." ^[3]

She believed that if, Singapore focuses her attention on the non-negotiables, namely national security, economic survival and education, is careful to avoid deepening the potential divides in the society - the “young” versus the “old”, “local” versus “foreign”, “haves” versus “have-nots”, and avoid the three attitudes that can lead to Singapore's downfall, Singapore will, indeed, be able to build a more inclusive society.^[3]

In 2009, Josephine claimed that graduates 'often tend to seek jobs that pay close to what they used to earn'. However a Straits Times article ^[4]highlighted a case where despite lower salary expectation and sending 20 resumes, a former factory manager was unable to secure employment because ironically employers believed he will seek better opportunities when the economy improves.

[edit] Quotations

• "There is the expectations gap, which means that the workers can do the job but they find that the terms and conditions of those jobs may not be acceptable to them. For example, the pay could be too low and after deducting their expenses, they may find that it's not possible for them to take those jobs.", "Union leaders say retrenched workers need to manage job expectations", Cheryl Lim, Channel NewsAsia, 2/2/2009^[5]

• 'Likewise, compulsory annuities are a financially prudent and hence more sustainable way for Singaporeans to plan comprehensively for their retirement.', on why compulsory annuities are good despite a legal provision that allows the annuity agency to stop payout if a default arises, “That is what we are elected to do”, Josephine Teo, Straits Time Forum, 27/09/2007.

• 'Part of the reason is that they often tend to seek jobs that pay close to what they used to earn', explaining why degree-holders are without jobs and taking longer to find one. "Graduates dealt harder jobs blow", Kor Kian Beng, ChannelNewsAsia, 16/12/2009.

[edit] Education

Josephine was educated at Dunman High School and subsequently studied at Raffles Junior College.^[6]

In 1990, Josephine graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the National University of Singapore. She was awarded several prizes, including the Rachel Meyer Book Prize for being the best woman student in the final examinations.^[7]

In 1991, she was awarded a postgraduate scholarship under the EDB-Glaxo Scholarship Programme. She received a Master of Science (Economics) degree from the London School of Economics the following year.^[7]

[edit] Career

Josephine is concurrently the Assistant Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), and the Alignment Director (Organisation Development) and Centric Director (Staff) of NTUC-ARU.^[6] She was voted as the Assistant Secretary-General of NTUC in the National Delegates Conference in 2007.^[8]

Prior to joining NTUC full time, Josephine worked in the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

From August 2002, Josephine and her team of human-resource professionals at A*STAR were responsible for developing systems, policies and processes for the effective management of nearly 3,000 international talent resources.^[7]

Prior to A*STAR, Josephine served in the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) for a full decade. She started her career in enterprise development and was later posted to Suzhou, China as part of EDB’s pioneering team there.

While on secondment to the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Development Pte Ltd (CSSD), she was responsible for Marketing Resources. She worked closely with the Chinese and Singapore government agencies to improve local investment conditions. She also authored a compendium of investment guides, which won the company’s Business Impact Award.

• Inevitably, Singapore had to gave up control of Suzhou Industrial Park as it faced accumulated losses of US$90 million from 1994 to 2000.^[9]

Upon her return to Singapore, Josephine joined EDB’s human-resource management team. She was involved in major exercises to review and enhance salary, and benefits systems and practices. In her last appointment at the EDB, she was responsible for Performance, Career and Learning Management. ^[7]

[edit] Personal life

Josephine is married with three children. She is married to a civil servant, Teo Eng Cheong.^[10]

[edit] Young NTUC

She has been the Advisor of Young NTUC, the official youth wing of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), since February 2007.

[edit] External links

• Singapore Parliament CVs of MPs

[edit] References