Even if you are not heavily caught up in Singapore’s politics, you will be hard-pressed to find anyone here who has not seen at least one of Health Minister Ong Ye Kung’s TikToks.
In the latest and last episode of CNA series The Assembly, Minister Ong was revealed to have the highest number of followers on social media among Singapore ministers.
The 55-year-old has an average of 150K followers across Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
During the ep, he tackled ‘cute’ questions such as which side of the Force he considers himself on — His answer? He identifies with Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader — to heavier topics such as being part of the COVID task force.
However, he captured the group’s attention most when he talked about his family, especially his parents.
He shared that his daughters, both in their 20s, “don’t think [he is] very cool” despite his expansive social media following.
In fact, he says they think he “is a bit square” and “don’t understand Gen Z and Gen Alpha.”
On the other hand, Minister Ong’s father, the late Ong Lian Teng who passed away in 2009, was one of 13 members of the now-defunct Barisan Sosialis. He was also a Member of Parliament for Bukit Panjang from 1963 to 1968.
His mum, Ong Soo Lung, was also heavily involved in opposition politics.
When Minister Ong was asked if he felt he “betrayed [his parents] in some way when joining the government”, he admitted the same question ran through his mind then.
Saying he spoke to them on multiple occasions over the years, they eventually accepted his decision to join the People’s Action Party’s.
“I do have a regret,” he added.
According to Minister Ong, none of his late parents saw him win an election.
“They gave their blessings for me to run in the 2011 Election, which I went to Aljunied, but I didn’t win. By then, my father had passed away,” he says.
“My mother was around but she saw me lose,” he added.
As part of the PAP’s team in the 2011 General Election, Minister Ong lost Aljunied GRC to the Worker’s Party.
The 2015 General Election saw him contesting and winning Sembawang GRC, but Minister Ong’s mum had passed away at the age of 80 the year before.
“I’m sure if they had been around to see me win, they would have been proud,” he said.
The interviewers also probed about Minister Ong’s mum, whom many did not know played a pivotal part in the 1961 boycott of the first Secondary Four examination.
Seemingly taken aback when an interviewer posed the question, Minister Ong replied, “You could find that information, ah?” and said he “didn’t know it was on public record.”
A quick check online revealed that his mum was from Chung Hwa Girl’s High and was one of the leaders of the boycott.
Of course, Minister Ong indulged the interviewers and praised them for being “so resourceful” as not many people know about his mum’s past.
However, he clarified that she wasn’t a student but a mentor to the activists and that he had only found out about the incident later in his life.
Minister Ong’s became a teacher when she was older.
“As I grew up, I did not see the student activist in my mother. She was a strict disciplinarian,” he said.
Who knew Minister Ong had such a colourful family background?