The People’s Action Party has announced the following team representing the PAP to stand for election at Sengkang Group Representation Constituency (GRC): 

• Bernadette Giam 
• Elmie Nekmat 
• Dr. Lam Pin Min 
• Theodora Lai  

The team was introduced today at the PAP Sengkang West branch office, where they shared their motivations to step forward and sought the mandate to represent Sengkang residents. 

About the team

Bernadette Giam 王诗佳 

As a working mother of two young children, Bernadette Giam believes that supporting mothers can uplift whole communities, enabling future generations of Singaporeans to thrive. 

Bernadette’s passion for service and community work was deeply influenced by her grandmother – a hawker who balanced raising a family while running a small business. Inspired by her grandmother’s resilience, she believes women can make a significant difference in their families, and to society. 

Over the last ten years, Bernadette has dedicated time towards uplifting women, youth and seniors, through her volunteering with the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO) and St. Theresa’s Home. As an activist with the PAP Women’s Wing, she led the inaugural ‘All Things Nice’ initiative in collaboration with several PAP branches, empowering 300 young women with pre-loved corporate attire and valuable programming support from women-led SMEs. 

Bernadette also advocates for young mothers and believes every child should have a good start. Under Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, she helmed a pioneering preschool outreach, bringing together local preschools to foster community bonding. Creating more opportunities for intergenerational connections within the community is something she is passionate about too, with the belief that this would strengthen families and uphold dignity for our seniors. 

Professionally, Bernadette is a Director at Creative Eateries, a local food and beverage company, where she oversees strategic initiatives and business development. She has been an Executive Committee member of the Association of Catering Professionals Singapore (ACAPS) since 2016, and of the Young Business Leaders Network (YBLN) under the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) since 2022. She has also served on the Nanyang Polytechnic Business Management Advisory Committee since 2016. 

In her free time, Bernadette loves exploring the outdoors with her children, taking walks, and enjoying a cup of coffee with her husband. 

Dr Elmie Nekmat 艾乐米 博士

Dr Elmie Nekmat is an Associate Professor with tenure at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He is currently the Vice Dean of Students at the NUS and was previously the Assistant Dean for Research at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Deputy Head of Department for Communications and New Media at the NUS. He was the recipient of the NUS Overseas Graduate Scholarship for his Ph.D. (2011) and the NUS Postdoctoral Fellowship (2014) for his research and studies on digital-networked communication, new media literacy and online information evaluation.  

Protecting our children and seniors from the harms associated with digital devices and social media use is a cause that he feels strongly about. Dr Elmie advocates for a safer and more inclusive digital media environment for all Singaporeans. In this endeavour, he had served on the Global Future Council for Media, Entertainment and Sport at the World Economic Forum, and as chairperson for the NLB’s Digital Services and Experiences Committee. He currently serves on the Media Literacy Council and the Digital For Life Steering Committee in IMDA to promote and aid policy making related to digital safety and literacy.  

Being an educator at a local university for the past 15 years has enabled him to deeply understand the concerns, dreams and aspirations of our youths and young Singaporeans. Dr Elmie pushes for all Singaporeans to achieve social mobility, career progression and success not only in terms of academic results but also based on their interests, talents as well as physical and mental capabilities. He believes in the importance of promoting better mental health and psychological wellbeing in society through sports, active living and balancing work with quality family life. In this regard, he contributes actively on the Advisory Panel on Parenting in MSF and the SportsSG Board, and as former council member for Ngee Ann Polytechnic.  

As an advocate for the Malay language and community, Dr Elmie advises as member of the Malay Language Learning and Promotion Committee in MOE, as vice-chairperson for the Malay Programmes Advisory Committee in IMDA, and as a steering committee member for the former Community Leaders Forum Leadership and Benefactor Scheme at Yayasan Mendaki. 

Dr Elmie served his National Service in the Singapore Police Force – as a staff officer in the Criminal Investigation Department before moving to the Clementi Police Division as Deputy Superintendent of Police (NS) for his reservist. He received the Best in Platoon Award for his Basic Military Training in Pulau Tekong.  

Dr Elmie enjoys reading and spending quality time with his wife and four daughters during his free time. He is an avid cyclist and cycles regularly at park connectors around the island and participates in local mountain bike races to keep active. Being a grandson of a satay seller and son of a canteen operator, he enjoys his local food and delicacies a lot.  

Dr Lam Pin Min 蓝彬明  医生

Dr Lam Pin Min was elected as the Member of Parliament for Ang Mo Kio GRC (2006-2011) and subsequently Sengkang West SMC (2011-2020). He also served as Senior Minister of State for Health and Transport (2017–2020) and Minister of State for Health (2014-2017).   

After his electoral defeat in 2020, Dr Lam continued to serve as the Grassroots Adviser to Sengkang Grassroots Organisations and Chairman of PAP Sengkang Branch. 

Being trained as a paediatric ophthalmologist, Dr Lam returned to full time clinical practice as the CEO and Director of Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus Service at Eagle Eye Centre. 

Over the last 5 years, Dr Lam remained active on the ground in Sengkang GRC.  Together with his team members, he continues to work hard to win back the support and trust of Sengkang residents.  

He is married with 2 daughters and is known for his love for animals. He currently has a pet dog and a pet cat.

 

Theodora Lai Xi Yi 黎曦怡   

As a working mom with two young children, Theodora Lai cares about uplifting mothers, and supporting those in the community who carry heavy caregiving responsibilities. 

She has been an active community volunteer since 2009, driving many community service projects across Singapore through outreach, education and help for youths and disadvantaged families. In Sengkang, where she presently serves as the Branch Chair of Sengkang North, Theodora recently led an electric breast pump giveaway project to lighten the load on young mothers in her ward, as well as a mobile supermarket and first aid kit replenishment drive for families. 

Theodora holds the position of Partner and Co-Founder at a deep tech venture builder. She is the founding member and past Chairperson of the Young Women’s Leadership Connection (YWLC) – a network which aims to empower and connect young women leaders. She is also advisor to Safe Space, a digital mental health care company, and founder of Prep Junior, a Chinese language learning app to encourage bilingualism in young learners. Within the Party, she has served as former Chairperson of the PAP Policy Forum (2018-2020). 

In her free time, she enjoys seeking out different parks and playgrounds with her husband and children.