Producer: Lee Siew Hoon
Executive Producer: Chandra Mohan

Ong Teng Cheong - A Profile

Quiet courage and good cheer, this even after he was informed he had cancer.

Ong Teng Cheong, a gentleman who exuded peace and quietude.

A far sighted architect and town planner, who helped transform Singapore's urban landscape, a president whose sense of duty was stronger than any personal affliction.

A stoic Singaporean whose unflappable character became his signature tune.

A classical fan who wanted more than the elite to appreciate orchestra music.

Ong Teng Cheong, the man with the common folks' interests at heart.

Right from the start, Mr Ong made it his business to be concerned about the welfare of ordinary Singaporeans.

His political career lasted 21 years, during which he served as both Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister.

And as Singapore's first elected president, he initiated many projects which touched Singaporeans from all walks of life.

The first charity gala launched by Mr Ong in 1993 raised $160 000.

And since then the President's Star Charity has raised millions of dollars for local charities every year.

President Ong was no stranger to community work, as he himself explained in an interview in 1987.

Born in 1936 as the eldest son, Mr Ong was the second of five children from a middle class family.

His English-educated father felt that Chinese is important if one wants to make a success in life, and especially business, so he sent all his children to Chinese medium schools.

Ong Teng Cheong graduated with distinctions from the Chinese High, but being Chinese-educated, he saw little opportunity for advancing his studies in the Malayan University, where English was the teaching medium.

In 1956, with the help of his father's friends, Ong Teng Cheong ventured abroad.

Those years were to shape both his beliefs and passions.

He studied architecture in Australia, and was later joined by his childhood sweetheart Madam Ling Siew May.

They had met in secondary school, when she was studying in Nanyang Girls'.

After graduation, Mr Ong worked as an architect in Adelaide and married Siew May in 1963.

And during his stint there, the impressionable young man embarked on some soul searching.

In 1965, Ong Teng Cheong received a Colombo Plan scholarship to study Town Planning in the United Kingdom.

Upon his return, he began to involve himself in community work.

He had moved to Seletar Hills and was appointed the Chairman of the Resident's Association.

One day, the MP for Jalan Kayu, Hwang Soo Jin, came to the annual dinner and spoke about the problems faced by the pig farmers.

His speech moved Ong Teng Cheong deeply.

He felt that he needed to serve a wider community beyond the small group of middle class residents in his neighbourhood.

Hwang Soo Jin took a liking to the young architect.

Former MP for Jalan Kayu, Hwang Soo Jin commented, "Anybody who come into contact with Teng Cheong cannot fail to be impressed by his mannerism, he is a gentlemen. He is such a gentle person, he speaks very intelligently, he's got attributes of a very well educated person, it's in him."

In the early 70s, MP Hwang decided to recommend Ong Teng Cheong as a PAP candidate and introduced him to then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

Ong Teng Cheong recounted, "The MP asked me to be around to be an interpreter because I could speak Mandarin, Hokkien and a bit of Cantonese. Jalan Kayu area is a Hokkien-speaking area. So PM came. I was seated to his right. Hwang Soo Jin on his left. I don't think he paid much notice to me. I don't know whether he noticed me because I was not required to do any interpreting. The PM was able to handle the community leaders himself in English and Mandarin and a bit of Hokkien. That was my first meeting with the Prime Minister."

Hwang Soo Jin said, "I then had to check with Teng Cheong whether he was willing to serve. His immediate reaction was one of surprise. He said, "Well I never thought that I was interested in politics, I never thought that I am going to get involved to that extent. All that I'm interested in is to serve the people, serve the community, community service is all I'm interested." Well of course not in those few words. Why I showed that there is no difference, politics is community service, so what's the difference you see. He then said "Well let me go back and think about it." He then said he had to consult my boss at home, my missus."

September 1972, Ong Teng Cheong was elected MP for Kim Keat Constituency.

For the next four general elections, he was returned to office by his constituents.

Grassroots leaders say that in his 21 years as MP of Kim Keat, Mr Ong always fought for his constituents and made sure they got a fair deal.

For example in 1983, when the HDB wanted to demolish the flats in the old Temple estate, now Kim Keat Ave, to build 4 and 5 room flats and executive apartments, and residents were asked to vacate.

Yee Fook Hong, former Chairman, Kim Keat CC Management Committee said, "So the residents were rather confused by the announcement of that news, so Mr Ong and his grassroots immediately went down to visit every unit and we tried to explain to them HDB's policy of the demolishing. And also to get feedback of their personal problems of the residents. And after that we compile a very detailed report and started negotiation with HDB. After a series of discussions, HDB finally agreed to grant certain concessions for those affected. For example, the concession we obtained was to give priority to residents on alternate location. And also at that time, the removal allowance was pegged at $50 but for this purpose HDB has agreed to increase to $200."

Peter Ngo, Former Chairman, Kim Keat Citizen's Consultative Committee, "When he became the president of Singapore he wanted to come back and visit Kim Keat again. And on that Sunday, I remember when he came to Kim Keat, although we did not give much publicity to the residents because he wanted to be a quiet one, but I didn't know what happened, all the residents came down, father, mother, children, they came down they pulled his hand, some even hugged him and so on. That shows how popular he was in Kim Keat."

Mr Ong carried this special knack with him all the way to the Elected Presidency.

And the symbol he chose for his election campaign, the heart, captured his empathy for the ordinary folk.

After nine days of intense campaigning in the presidential race, Mr Ong Teng Cheong defeated former Accountant-General Chua Kim Yeow by winning 58.7 per cent of the votes.

In what was described as a "gentlemen's contest", the electorate gave Mr Ong the mandate to carry out his duties as the first elected president.

As Singapore's first elected Head of State, President Ong was tasked with safeguarding the country's reserves.

It was a role he took on despite doubts from those who were sceptical about his ability to be independent.

A year after he came into presidential office, he made it clear he had his own views.

President Ong disagreed with the government's interpretation of the Constitution, on the powers of his office.

And asked for the matter to be referred to a special High Court tribunal, chaired by the Chief Justice.

When the courts finally ruled in favour of the government, the President graciously accepted the decision.