Poh Li San

Poh Li San (simplified Chinese: 傅丽珊; born 19 November 1975) is the Vice-President of Changi Airport Group (CAG).[1] Poh is a recipient of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Merit (Women) Overseas Scholarship,[1] and the first female full-time Aide-de-Camp to then President of the Republic Of Singapore, the late S. R. Nathan.[2] A member of the country's governing People's Action Party (PAP), she currently serves as the Deputy Chairman of the Sembawang Branch in Sembawang GRC. She is one of the vice-chairpersons of the Sembawang Town Council with Mariam Jaafar.[3]

The Honourable Poh Li San MP
Member of the Singapore Parliament for Sembawang GRC (Sembawang West)
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 July 2020
Preceded by	Khaw Boon Wan
Constituency	Sebawang GRC
Personal details
Born	19 November 1975 Singapore
Residence	Singapore
Education	Bachelor of Science (Engineering), Bachelor of Arts (Economics)
Alma mater	Dunman High School, Temasek Junior College, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Occupation	Vice-President at Changi Airport Group

On 10 July 2020, Poh Li San was elected as a Member of Parliament for Sembawang West ward in the Sembawang GRC during the 2020 Singaporean general election.[4]

Education

Poh was educated in Dunman High School and Temasek Junior College.[5] She graduated in 1998 from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with a Bachelor of Science (Engineering) degree with highest honours; and a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) degree summa cum laude and the highest distinction in Economics.[6] She was awarded the Bronze Tablet for graduating in the top 3% in her cohort.[7]

Career

Military career

Poh was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces Merit (Women) Overseas Scholarship in 1994[1] and began her military career with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) as a helicopter pilot after completing her studies.[8] She flew the Super Puma helicopter in 125 Squadron, Sembawang Airbase. Poh was a Search and Rescue pilot and was part of the SAF Humanitarian and Relief mission to Aceh following the Boxing Day Tsunami.[9]

In 2003, Poh assumed the role of Assistant Director of the Future Systems Technology Directorate under the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and led the development of the latest technologies and formulated long term force development strategies and new war-fighting concepts for the SAF.[10][11] In 2005, Poh was made Flight Commander of 125 Squadron, Sembawang Airbase.[6][10]

In July 2006, Poh was selected to be the first female aide-de-camp to then President of the Republic of Singapore, the late S. R. Nathan.[2] She was responsible for planning and organising state-level visits, meetings, ceremonies, and events.[1]

In May 2010, Poh left the RSAF as Major[10] and joined Changi Airport Group.

Post-military career

Poh started her career in Changi Airport Group as Head, Budget Terminal in May 2010. She was in charge of the operations of the Changi Airport Budget Terminal.[6] 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 currently the Vice-President of the Terminal 5 planning and is responsible for the planning of specialised airport engineering systems for the new terminal.[6][9][12]

Political career

Poh joined the governing People's Action Party (PAP) as an activist in 2018. She is an active grassroots leader in Sembawang GRC, where she helped Member of Parliament (MP) and Minister for Education Ong Ye Kung in his Meet-the-People Sessions every Monday in his Gambas Ward.[3] She is currently the Deputy Chairman of the PAP Sembawang Branch of Sembawang GRC and sits on the Citizen's Consultative Committee of the ward as Vice-Chairman,[13] under MP and Co-ordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan. She was then appointed Deputy Chairperson of Sustainability and Environment Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) in the 14th Parliament of Singapore.

Personal life

Poh's father was a school teacher and her mother was an accounts clerk. She was born as a Singaporean of Hokkien descent and a Christian by faith.

References

1. "Changi Connection Issue 21" (PDF). Changi Airport. Changi Airport Group. September 2013. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 2019.
2. "Government And Society | Singapore Book Of Records". Singaporerecords.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
3. "I'm willing to enter politics if offered the chance, says Changi Airport Group vice-president Poh Li San". The Straits Times. 2019-03-24. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
4. "ELD | 2020 Parliamentary General Election Results". www.eld.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 2020-07-10. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
5. "Life cannot be examined in a routine office job" (PDF). 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 2020.
6. "Poh Li San's Profile". Poh's LinkedIn Profile.
7. "1998 University Honors". University of Illinois Library. 1998. Archived from the original on November 2019.
8. "Mainstream media speculates that SAF scholar and ex-pilot could be fielded as PAP candidate in next GE". Head Topics. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
9. "Air force veteran in pilot's seat of T4 project". The Straits Times. 2014-04-02. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
10. "Effective Leadership: Contextual and Invariant Dimensions". Journal of the Singapore Armed Forces: 26. 2007. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.471.8043.
11. "MINDEF Singapore". www.mindef.gov.sg. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
12. "Interview: Changi Airport's VP of Terminal 5 Planning on offering excellent airport experience". Aviation Festival Asia. 2018-05-15. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
13. "Sayang Sembawang Dec 2019 Issue" (PDF). Sembawang Town Council. December 2019.

External links

• Poh Li San on Parliament of Singapore