Lina Loh

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Lina Loh

| native_name = {{nobold|罗文丽}}

| native_name_lang = zh

| honorific_suffix =

| image = Lina Chiam at the SPP Rally at Toa Payoh Stadium (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) - 20969171308 (cropped).jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Loh in 2015

| president =

| primeminister =

| parliamentarygroup =

| office1 = 2nd Chair of the Singapore People's Party

| 2blankname1 = Secretary-General

| 2namedata1 = Chiam See Tong

| term_start1 = 2012

| term_end1 = 2019

| predecessor1 = Sin Kek Tong

| successor1 = Jose Raymond

| office2 = Non-Constituency Member of the
12th Parliament of Singapore

| term_start2 = 12 May 2011

| term_end2 = 23 August 2015

| predecessor2 = Sylvia Lim (WP)

| successor2 = Daniel Goh (WP)
Dennis Tan (WP)
Leon Perera (WP)

| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1949}}{{cn|date=November 2021}}

| birth_place = Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

| death_date =

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| party = Singapore People's Party

| spouse = {{marriage|Chiam See Tong|1975}}

| children = 1

| education =

| alma_mater =

| occupation = Politician

| cabinet =

| committees =

| portfolio =

| awards =

| signature =

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| website =

}}

Lina Loh Woon Lee ({{lang-zh|s=罗文丽|p=Luó Wénlì}}; born 1949),{{cn|date=November 2021}} also known as Lina Chiam, is a Singaporean former politician. A former member of the opposition Singapore People's Party (SPP), she previously served as the Non-Constituency Member of Parliament between 2011 and 2015 of the 12th Parliament of Singapore.

Loh contested in the 2011 and 2015 general elections in Potong Pasir SMC, but lost to the governing People's Action Party's Sitoh Yih Pin in both elections.

She was the chairwoman of Singapore People's Party (SPP) between 2012 and 2019 and committee member of Singapore People's Party since 2019.

Political career

=2011 general election=

Loh formally entered politics during the 2011 general election when she contested as a SPP candidate in Potong Pasir SMC. Loh ultimately lost to the PAP candidate Sitoh Yih Pin by a narrow margin of 114 votes (0.72%), garnering 49.64% of the vote against Sitoh's 50.36%.{{cite web |title=2011 PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS |url=https://www.eld.gov.sg/elections_past_parliamentary2011.html |website=Elections Department Singapore |access-date=12 November 2021}}

Despite her electoral defeat as the best performing defeated candidate, Loh qualified for a seat in the 12th Parliament as a Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) by virtue of being one of the "best losers" in an election in which fewer than nine opposition Members of Parliament had been elected. She accepted the NCMP seat on 12 May 2011{{cite news |title=Lina Chiam takes up NCMP seat |url=https://www.asiaone.com/News/Elections/Story/A1Story20110512-278537.html |access-date=12 November 2021 |agency=AsiaOne |date=12 May 2011}} and served in the 12th Parliament from 12 May 2011 to 23 August 2015.

=2015 general election=

During the 2015 general election, Loh contested under the SPP banner in Potong Pasir SMC, but lost to the PAP's Sitoh Yih Pin again, garnering 33.61% of the vote against Sitoh's 66.39%.{{cite web |title=2015 PARLIAMENTARY GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS |url=https://www.eld.gov.sg/elections_past_parliamentary2015.html |website=Elections Department Singapore |access-date=12 November 2021}} Since there were six opposition Members of Parliament who had been elected in the 2015 general election, only three NCMP seats would be offered. Loh's electoral result in Potong Pasir SMC was lower than that of the other opposition candidates so she was not offered a NCMP seat in the 13th Parliament.

=2020 general election and after=

Loh and Chiam did not contest in the 2020 general election{{cite news |last1=Abdul Aziz |first1=Sazali |title=Singapore GE2020: Sitoh Yih Pin to defend seat in Potong Pasir against opposition newcomer Jose Raymond |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/ge2020-sitoh-yih-pin-to-defend-seat-in-potong-pasir-against-opposition-newbie-jose-raymond |access-date=12 November 2021 |work=The Straits Times |date=30 June 2020}} due to Chiam's declining health, which had led to him stepping down from his position as the SPP's secretary-general on 16 October 2019.{{Cite web |last1=Koh |first1=Fabian |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/chiam-see-tong-steps-down-as-spp-chief-ending-storied-political-career-that-spanned-more |title=Chiam See Tong steps down as SPP chief, ending storied political career that spanned more than four decades |website=The Straits Times |access-date=17 October 2019 |date=16 October 2019 |archive-date=19 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019133546/https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/chiam-see-tong-steps-down-as-spp-chief-ending-storied-political-career-that-spanned-more |url-status=live }} Loh remains a member of the SPP's central executive committee after stepping down as its chairwoman in 2019.{{cite web |title=About Us: Singapore People's Party |url=https://singaporepeoplesparty.org/about-us/ |website=Singapore People's Party |access-date=12 November 2021}}

Charity work

On 9 March 2017, Loh and Chiam launched the Chiam See Tong Sports Fund at the Old Parliament House to help needy athletes achieve their sporting dreams.{{Cite news |url=https://tnp.straitstimes.com/sports/others/veteran-politician-chiam-sets-sports-foundation |title=Veteran politician Chiam sets up sports foundation |first=Shamir |last=Osman |date=10 March 2017 |work=The New Paper |access-date=12 November 2021}} They are the co-patrons of the organisation, which is chaired by their daughter, Camilla Chiam.{{Cite web|url=https://chiamseetongsf.org/|title=Chiam See Tong Sports Fund|website=Chiam See Tong Sports Fund |access-date=12 November 2021}}

Personal life

Loh came from a Hakka Chinese family in Sungai Besi, a suburb of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. She was trained as a nurse at the Royal London Hospital and had worked for two years as a nurse in Singapore. She quit her job as a nurse to help with administrative work at Chiam's law firm, Chiam & Co, which operated from 1976 to 2002.{{Cite book |last=Loke |first=Hoe Yeong |title=Let the People Have Him: Chiam See Tong: The Early Years |publisher=Epigram Books |year=2014 |isbn=9789810791735 |location=Singapore}}

Loh met Chiam in London in 1973.{{Cite news |url=https://www.asiaone.com/print/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20110414-273661.html |title=She held his hand, now she holds the reins |work=The New Paper |date=16 April 2011 |access-date=12 November 2021}} They married in Singapore in 1975 when Chiam was 40 and Loh was 26, and have a daughter, Camilla.{{Cite web |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/chiam-see-tong-secretary-general-of-the-singapore-peoples-party-turns-80 |title=Chiam See Tong, secretary-general of the Singapore People's Party, turns 80 |first=Hui Min |last=Chew |date=12 March 2015 |work=The Straits Times |access-date=12 November 2021}}