| |
SINGAPORE: Dr Ong Chit Chung, a Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC, passed away on Monday morning. He was 59 years old.
His family told Channel NewsAsia that Dr Ong was at home when he died peacefully.
A five-term MP, Dr Ong was a lecturer in military history at the National University of Singapore when he went into politics in 1988.
He won the single-seat ward of Bukit Batok for two terms before the constituency became part of the Bukit Timah GRC in 1996, and then Jurong GRC in 2001.
In 1991, Dr Ong was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and Labour.
He later left the world of academia and joined the private sector. At the time of his death, he was President of Davos Life Sciences Pte Ltd.
During his 20 years in politics, Dr Ong had also served as the Chairman for the Government Parliamentary Committees for Education, Defence and Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo, who also entered politics in 1988, recounted that Dr Ong was "... always helpful to diplomats and ministry officials".
Dr Ong's sudden death also shocked many of his fellow MPs.
Masagos Zulkifli, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Education and Home Affairs Ministries, said: "I was only with him yesterday, having a game a golf, and he looked truly healthy.
"(During) my time as a parliamentary colleague to him, he (was) a very approachable person, a very good mentoring senior. He exchanged ideas with me (on) education and his view of how schools should evolve."
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and fellow Jurong GRC MP, Mr Lim Boon Heng, had also just played golf with Dr Ong last Wednesday at a fundraiser.
In a statement, he described Dr Ong as a very hardworking MP who had recruited many volunteers for community work.
Another Jurong GRC MP, Madam Halimah Yacob, paid tribute to Dr Ong, who helped her in the new constituency of Bukit Batok during her first election in 2001.
She said, "We (didn't) have the structure, system, in place. So when I went in... (during) the election period, we had to quickly put everything in place. And that was when I found the support given by the late Dr Ong Chit Chung extremely useful."
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said it is for the prime minister to decide if there will be a replacement to the position left vacant by the late Dr Ong.
Speaking at a community event on Monday, Mr Tharman said the remaining four MPs would be more than willing to share the workload of the late Dr Ong's constituency.
He said: "He had a very special way with people from all walks of life. If you look at his grassroots, it's a very vibrant group of people who have come from all backgrounds and all (of them) feel part of one big family.
"... He helped me personally when I came into politics in the same GRC and he was always a source of wise counsel and (gave) very frank advice and feedback on views on the ground. He was a completely dedicated person in Jurong and nationally and inspired many of us. Very quiet, totally dedicated."
In a statement to the media, Dr Ong's family said they are saddened by their loss. And in memory of his service to the residents in his ward, they have asked that, in lieu of wreathes, donations be made by cheques to the PAP Community Foundation, Bukit Batok Branch.
The wake for Dr Ong will begin on Tuesday evening at his family home at 41, Princess of Wales Road. The funeral service is expected to be held this Friday.
- CNA/yb/ms
|
