Never one to take things for granted
Mr Ong Ye Kung, the People's Action Party's new candidate for Sembawang GRC. Photo: Wee Teck Hian
SINGAPORE — His defeat in Aljunied GRC in the 2011 General Election (GE) has taught Mr Ong Ye Kung, director of group strategy at Keppel Corporation, never to take things for granted, as he makes his second attempt at getting elected.
Speaking at the press conference to introduce the five People’s Action Party (PAP) candidates for Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC) today (Aug 14), Mr Ong, 45, said he learned a lot from his previous election experience, both big and small lessons.
On his big lesson, Mr Ong said: “Today’s population and how people feel towards politics, I think is different from the past, nothing can be taken for granted. I don’t think people want total dominance and so ... ministers can lose their seats.”
Smaller lessons, which he plans on keeping as “trade secrets”, include how to better run elections, deliver speeches and do house visits for instance.
Mr Ong was part of the Aljunied GRC team, led by former Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo, which was defeated by the Workers’ Party (WP) in the 2011 GE. Mr Ong, who had previously been touted as a potential office-holder, began work at Sembawang GRC in the middle of last year.
Asked how he would describe Sembawang and Aljunied voters, Mr Ong said every constituency will have its share of municipal issues, and concerns over national issues. Sembawang residents, in particular, are fond of the constituency’s rustic feel, and whoever serves them needs to understand such characteristics, he said.
On comments about how he may have a higher chance of getting elected in Sembawang GRC, Mr Ong said he is not comfortable with such talk, as it “takes voters for granted” and “takes the results of the elections for granted”. Asked why he chose to contribute through politics, he said later: “ For the past few years, I would search the GPS in my heart and it seems to point towards getting into politics.”
On what is next for Singapore, he does not think “Singapore’s next phase has to be taller buildings, longer roads (and) deeper tunnels”. “It is about our spirit, our cohesiveness as a society, our unity, our common purpose and our Singaporean identity,” Mr Ong said.
Ong Ye Kung, 45
Director of group strategy at Keppel Corporation
FACTFILE
• Was part of the Aljunied GRC team that lost to the Workers’ Party in the 2011 General Election
• With the Civil Service for 18 years, including holding the position of chief executive of the Singapore Workforce Development Agency.
• Principal Private Secretary to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong from 2002 to 2004.
• Was also deputy secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress.
• Married with two children, aged 13 and 15.
HE SAID: “I think for us, whatever happened to us, being in politics, it’s binary — the results is always binary. It’s either you win or you lose. And if you win, serve well. If you lose, take that experience, learn and become a better person, hopefully, and come back better, wiser and more experienced. That will make sure that even the losing experience may well be the best thing that ever happened to you. And it’s not just for politics — everywhere in life, all of us, have we not all suffered setbacks?”
WARD: Sembawang GRC
