Ong Pang Boon ( zh, c=王邦文, p=Wáng Bāngwén; born 28 March 1929) is a Singaporean retired politician who served as

Minister for Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

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 , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

, Ong attended the Methodist Boys' School in Kuala Lumpur before enrolling into the

University of Malaya The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...

at Singapore campus (now the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...

), where he studied

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

Political career

In 1955, Ong's foray into politics began as a polling agent for

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...

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 The City Council of Singapore was the administrative council of the City of Singapore responsible for the provision of water, electricity, gas, roads and bridges and street lighting. It was dissolved in 1959 when Singapore attained self-governanc ...

as a candidate for the

Tanjong Pagar Tanjong Pagar ( alternatively spelled ''Tanjung Pagar'') is a historic district located within the Central Business District in Singapore, straddling the Outram Planning Area and the Downtown Core under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's urb ...

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 Telok Ayer Street is a street located in Singapore's Chinatown within the Outram district, linking Church Street to Cecil Street. Telok Ayer MRT station is located at the junction of Cross Street and this road. Etymology Telok Ayer Street w ...

. 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

in the first self-government

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

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 Operation Coldstore was the code name for a covert security operation executed in Singapore on 2 February 1963 which led to the arrest of 113 people, who were detained without trial pursuant to the Preservation of Public Service Security Ordinan ...

in 1963. From 1963 to 1970, Ong took on the highly sensitive Education ministerial portfolio at a time when

Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the wor ...

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 Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

. 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 Toh Chin Chye ( zh, s=杜进才, p=Dù Jìncái; 10 December 1921 – 3 February 2012) was a Singaporean politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1968. Toh is widely recognised as one of the founding fa ...

, 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 Jek Yeun Thong ( zh, s=易润堂, p=Yì Rùntáng; 29 July 1930 – 3 June 2018) was a Singaporean politician who served as Minister for Science and Technology between 1976 and 1977, Minister for Culture between 1968 and 1977 and Minister fo ...

'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 Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan (SHHK) (), or the Singapore Hokkien Association in English, is a cultural and educational foundation. It was established in 1840 to promote education, social welfare and the preservation of the Chinese language and cultu ...

in the 2000s, is currently serving in the Board of Governors of the association.

References

Bibliography

* Lam, Peng Er and Tan, Kevin (Ed.) (2000). ''Lee's lieutenants : Singapore's old guard''. Singapore: Allen & Unwin. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ong, Pang Boon 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