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Ong Pang Boon DUNU (Chinese: 王邦文; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ông pang-bûn; pinyin: Wáng Bāngwén; born 28 March 1929) is a Singaporean retired politician who served as Minister for Home Affairs between 1959 and 1963 and again for a short period of time in 1970, Minister for Education between 1963 and 1970, Minister for Labour between 1971 and 1981, and Minister for the Environment between 1981 and 1985.

Early life and education

Born in Kuala Lumpur, Ong attended the Methodist Boys' School in Kuala Lumpur before enrolling into the University of Malaya at Singapore campus (now the National University of Singapore), where he studied geography. Ong's wife Chan Choy Siong, a politician and women's rights activist, died in a car accident in 1981, leaving behind her husband and their three children.

Political career

In 1955, Ong's foray into politics began as a polling agent for Lee Kuan Yew in the 1955 legislative assembly election.

In 1956, Lee Kuan Yew wrote to Ong and offered him a job as party organising secretary for the PAP.

He stood for election in the 21 December 1957 for the fully elected City Council of Singapore as a candidate for the Tanjong Pagar ward and was successfully returned and became the first and only ever Deputy Mayor. He held the post until he resigned in April 1959 to contest the Legislative Assembly election as the PAP's candidate for Telok Ayer. This was to be the first Legislative Assembly in which all seats were elected. He won the seat, which he retained till his retirement in 1984. He was subsequently appointed as Minister for Home Affairs in the first self-government Cabinet and played a key role to eradicating yellow culture and crime in Singapore society. His cabinet appointment also made him part of the Internal Security Council which sanctioned Operation Coldstore in 1963.

From 1963 to 1970, Ong took on the highly sensitive Education ministerial portfolio at a time when Chinese language culture and education issues were highly politicized. By increasing the teaching of English in Chinese schools and vice versa, he was instrumental in laying the foundation for the bilingual policy for which Singapore is famous.

In 1970, Ong became the Labour Minister.

In 1980, he took over as the Environment Minister.

In 1984, he stepped down from the Cabinet to make way for younger leaders. However, he displayed some unhappiness at the pace and manner by which he was sidelined from the political scene. He retired from politics in 1988 when his constituency of Telok Ayer was eliminated in the 22 December 1984 general election. Lee recognised Ong's displeasure in a public letter of appreciation:

“... I agree with you. You also had misgivings (about some newcomers), as had the late Dr Toh Chin Chye, over the speed of self-renewal and the effect it was having on the morale of the old guard MPs.”

Ong is considered as one of the 'Old Guard' - the first generation of leaders of independent Singapore. He is the sole remaining living member, after Jek Yeun Thong's passing in June 2018.

Philanthropic work

Ong continued to serve the society through his involvement in the community. Ong, who previously served as the vice-chairman of Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan in the 2000s, is currently serving in the Board of Governors of the association.

References

1. "PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES DEWAN RA'AYAT (HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES) OFFICIAL REPORT" (PDF). Dewan Rakyat. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
2. Koh, Jaime. "Ong Pang Boon". Singapore Infopedia. National Library Board. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
3. "Ong Pang Boon". National Library Board. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
4. "Ong Pang Boon | Infopedia".
5. Lee in Lam and Tan, p. 165
6. "Old Guard pay their last respects". Today. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
7. "List of Old Guard at Special Parliamentary Sitting, 26 Mar 2015" (PDF). Remembering Lee Kuan Yew. Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
8. "Executive Council – Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan". www.shhk.com.sg. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
9. 蔡, 培强 (7 May 2004). "新闻资料：南侨中小学迁入盛港新校舍". 大马华人网站 大马论坛. Retrieved 7 September 2017.

Bibliography

• Lam, Peng Er and Tan, Kevin (Ed.) (2000). Lee's lieutenants : Singapore's old guard. Singapore: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-172-8

• Members of the Parliament of Singapore
• Members of the Dewan Rakyat
• Members of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore
• People's Action Party politicians
• Singaporean people of Hokkien descent
• Malaysian emigrants to Singapore
• People who lost Malaysian citizenship
• Naturalised citizens of Singapore
• University of Malaya alumni
• 1929 births
• Living people
• Recipients of the Darjah Utama Nila Utama
• Environment ministers of Singapore
• Ministers for education of Singapore
• Ministers for home affairs of Singapore
• Ministers for labour of Singapore
• Badminton executives and administrators