Initially a member of the People's Action Party (PAP), he became a leader of the breakaway faction of Barisan Sosialis (BS) in 1961.

He came to Singapore in 1934 and was trained as a medical doctor at King Edward VII College of Medicine.

He married a volunteer nurse Kathleen Fam Yin Oi (1919 –⁠ 20 April 2018) in 1943 during the Japanese occupation of Singapore, he was later sent to work as a medical officer at the Thai-Burmese border for two years, where the Death Railway was constructed.

In 1988, Socialist Front merged with the Workers' Party[1] and Lee stood as a Workers' Party candidate in the Eunos Group Representation Constituency at the 1988 Singaporean general election, along with Francis Seow and Mohd Khalit bin Mohd Baboo.

In Parliament, he raised several issues, including the Internal Security Act, living costs and welfare.

He and fellow party members Jufrie Mahmood, Neo Choon Aik and Wee Han Kim again lost narrowly to the PAP's team by 47.6% of the votes to 52.4%.