Abandoned at birth in the Kampur District Hospital in Perak, Malaysia, she was adopted by an illiterate widow whom she called "grandmother". The family was living in a terrace house with a garden and a maid until they were forced to move into an attap hut, which had only bare earth for its floor and a zinc top for a roof, by her grandmother's compulsive gambling. These dire circumstances, however, tapped into Lum's resourcefulness and shaped her into the successful entrepreneur that she is today. At the age of four, Lum began selling her toys to the neighbourhood children in order to make ends meet. At nine, she became the sole breadwinner when her grandmother grew too old to work. She made her money from odd jobs such as selling fruits, sandwiches, ice cream and jeans in school, weaving rattan bags, and playing the clarinet in funeral processions. By the time she was twelve, she has earned enough money to move them into better housing.

Despite the difficulties at home, Lum was a top student. She scored seven As and one B for her Malaysian examinations. Her schoolmaster at Pei Yuan Secondary, on seeing her potential, advised her to go to Singapore - a city which presented more opportunities for advancement in life. So in 1977, armed with only $10, Lum made her way to Singapore. When she first arrived, she bunked in with her former Kampar neighbours in a rented shophouse in Chinatown. After rounds of rejections by several schools, she finally gained admittance to Tiong Bahru Secondary School. To finance her education and daily living expenses, she gave tuition during weekdays and peddled wares on weekends.

Lum did well for her "O" levels, scoring six As and 2 Bs, and attained a place in Hwa Chong Junior College. She paid her way through her education by giving tuition during weekdays and working as a sales promoter in departmental stores during the weekends. She even bought a motorcycle so she could travel faster to her students' homes. During the holidays, she waited on tables at the Tivoli Coffeehouse in Orchard Road. During her "A" levels, Lum's grandmother fell ill and passed away. This was a period of great personal loss and grief for Lum as she was very close to her grandmother, her only kin.

Lum went on to study at the National University of Singapore (NUS) where she majored in Chemistry. She supported herself by selling insurance, cosmetics, flower pots and souvenirs, the profits of which were invested in a partnership venture to run canteens at construction sites in Katong, and later Bukit Timah. The food business did well and by the end of her first year in university, Lum was one of the few students who owned a car. In 1986, Lum graduated from the NUS with honours.

laxo Pharmaceuticals was the stepping-stone to Lum's later foray into her own business. Due to the poor economic times, she put on hold her entrepreneurial aspirations and worked as a laboratory chemist in Glaxo. Through this experience, she learnt about environmental control and saw the potential of water treatment and recycling in water-scarce Singapore. After all, even a business giant like Glaxo found the treatment of their industrial waste water a challenge, and this prompted Lum to search for an attractive business solution. In 1989, she took the plunge, left her well-paying job at Glaxo, and founded Hydrochem, as Hyflux was initially known. She sold her condominium and car to raise the S$20,000 capital for the start-up, and opened her office at the Tampines Industrial Park with one clerk and one technician.

In the beginning, the company traded in water treatment equipment like water filters and softeners in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Lum would travel up to Batu Pahat, Malaysia, on her motorbike to hawk the products. But she knew that in order for the company to grow, she had to go into manufacturing. So in 1993, Lum brought membrane technology, then a new technology in water treatment, to Singapore. By 1996-1997, they had secured orders from light industries like textiles. Her first big break came from Siemens Matsushita Components. The contract boosted the company's reputation and business took off from there.

In 2001, Hyflux earned the honour of being the first water treatment company to be listed on SESDAQ, and in 2003, they moved over to the mainboard. The company has since inked several major deals, including the building of Singapore's first seawater desalination project, and their business interests have expanded beyond the shores of Singapore to China, the Middle East, North Africa and India.

Adapted from :http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1535_2009-06-23.html?utm_expid=85360850-6.qNOOYF40RhKK6gXsQEaAJA.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com.sg%2F