Charles Chong You Fook ( zh, s=张有福, p=Zhāng Yǒufú; born 24 June 1953) is a Singaporean former politician who served as
Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore between 2011 and 2020. He served as Acting
Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore
The speaker of the Parliament of Singapore is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Singapore. The speaker is nominated by the prime minister before being appointed by the Parliament. The speaker is also second in the presidential lin ...
from 7 August to 11 September 2017, following the resignation of
Halimah Yacob
Halimah Yacob (Jawi script: ; born 23 August 1954) is a Singaporean politician and former lawyer who has been serving as the eighth president of Singapore since 2017. Prior to her presidency, she was the country's Speaker of the Parliament of S ...
on 7 August 2017.
Education
Chong was educated at
St. Michael's School and
Saint Joseph's Institution
St. Joseph's Institution (SJI) is an independent Catholic educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1852 by the De La Salle Brothers, it is the first Catholic school and the third oldest school in the country.
SJI has been offering a dual- ...
before enrolling into
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
where he studied
orthopedic surgery
Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...
.
Political career
Chong represented
Sembawang Group Representation Constituency
The Sembawang Group Representation Constituency is a five-member Group Representation Constituency (GRC) located in the northern area of Singapore. The GRC consists: Sembawang Central, Sembawang West, Woodlands, Admiralty and Canberra divisions. ...
(GRC) in
Yishun East from 1988 to 1991,
Eunos GRC
Eunos Group Representation Constituency (Simplified Chinese: 友诺士集选区;Traditional Chinese: 友諾士集選區) is a defunct Group Representation Constituency (GRC) in the north-eastern region of Singapore. This GRC existed for the 1988 a ...
between 1991 and 1996 in Pasir Ris,
Pasir Ris GRC in Elias from 1997 to 2001,
Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC
Pasil ( fa, پسيل, also Romanized as Pasīl; also known as Pasīr) is a village in Sepiddasht Rural District, Papi District, Khorramabad County, Lorestan Province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also c ...
in Punggol Central from 2001 to 2011,
Joo Chiat Single Member Constituency
Joo Chiat Single Member Constituency was a single member constituency (SMC) located in the eastern region of Singapore. The SMC encompasses the areas of Joo Chiat, Katong, opera estate, Siglap and a portion of Telok Kurau. It had previously existe ...
(SMC) from 2011 to 2015, and
Punggol East SMC
Punggol East Single Member Constituency was a single member constituency (SMC) located in the north-eastern area of Singapore.
Following the release of the Electoral Boundaries Review committee report for the 2020 general elections, Punggol Eas ...
from 2015 to 2020.
In the
2006 general elections, the PAP contested Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC against the
Singapore Democratic Alliance
The Singapore Democratic Alliance (abbreviation: SDA) is a political coalition between the National Solidarity Party (NSP) and Singapore Justice Party (SJP) in Singapore.
History
Prior to the founding in 2001, then-opposition Member of Parli ...
. The PAP won with 68.70% of the votes in this GRC. In the
2001 general elections, the GRC was not contested and resulted in a walkover for Chong and his party in this GRC.
Chong contested the Joo Chiat SMC in the
2011 general elections after its incumbent MP,
Chan Soo Sen, retired from politics. He won 9,666 or 51.02% of the votes against
Yee Jenn Jong
Yee Jenn Jong (; born 24 March 1965) is a Singaporean politician and a member of the Workers' Party. He is a Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) of the 12th Parliament of Singapore from 2011 to 2015.
Personal life
Yee is also a self-sty ...
from the
Workers' Party. Chong was elected Deputy Speaker in the 12th Parliament.
In the
2015 general elections, the PAP fielded Chong in the opposition-held Punggol East SMC and unseated the incumbent
Lee Li Lian
Lee Li Lian (; born 19 July 1978) is a Singaporean politician. A member of the opposition Workers' Party (WP), she was the Member of Parliament for Punggol East SMC between 2013 and 2015.
Lee made her political debut in the 2011 general election ...
of the Workers' Party with 51.76% of the vote. His victory was brought into question by Workers' Party
Png Eng Huat
Png Eng Huat (; born 9 December 1961) is a Singaporean politician and businessman and a member of the opposition Worker's Party (Singapore), Worker's Party (WP).
Png became an elected opposition MP of Hougang SMC in the 12th and 13th Parliamen ...
because Chong had made a wild accusation against the Punggol East Town Council of missing funds worth $22.5 million just two days before polling day, it left the Workers' Party unable to respond in time due to the Cooling-off day restrictions of the Election Department.
In Dec 2016, Chong announced he was diagnosed with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis three years ago and had a liver transplant on 1 Dec 2016, which his younger son Glenn, donated part of his liver. He was given 8 weeks Medical Leave and his duty was covered by
Teo Chee Hean
Teo Chee Hean ( zh, s=张志贤, poj=Tiuⁿ Chì-hiân, p=Zhāng Zhìxián; born 27 December 1954) is a Singaporean politician and former two-star rear-admiral who has been serving as Senior Minister of Singapore since 2019 and Coordinating Mini ...
during his absence.
On 11 January 2018, Chong was appointed chairman of the
Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods
The Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods is a select committee of the Parliament of Singapore that was formed on 11 January 2018 to examine and report on the problem of deliberate online falsehoods and to recommend strategies to de ...
. His appointment attracted controversy as he is accused of spreading falsehood during the 2015 general election by insinuating that Punggol East SMC ran into financial troubles after the Workers' Party took over from PAP in 2013.
He is the longest serving PAP back-bencher in Parliament and served as
Deputy Speaker of Parliament of Singapore, as well as Acting Speaker when
Halimah Yacob
Halimah Yacob (Jawi script: ; born 23 August 1954) is a Singaporean politician and former lawyer who has been serving as the eighth president of Singapore since 2017. Prior to her presidency, she was the country's Speaker of the Parliament of S ...
quit Parliament to stand for elected presidency.
Chong announced his retirement from politics on 27 June 2020.
Personal life
Chong is married and has two children. He is a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
.
References
External links
CVs of MPs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chong, Charles
1953 births
Saint Joseph's Institution, Singapore alumni
Members of the Parliament of Singapore
Peranakan people in Singapore
People's Action Party politicians
Living people
Singaporean Roman Catholics