Ong Ye Kung says he was very shy at 18, should’ve met more people

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung would tell his shy 18-year-old self to meet more people

Recently, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung took time from his busy schedule to answer some quick-fire questions from netizens.

During the session, he opened up about his life as an 18-year-old, saying he was “very shy”.

He would advise his younger self to meet more people, he added.

Ong Ye Kung answers questions in TikTok video

In the short Q&A posted on his TikTok account on Saturday (30 March), Mr Ong got to read out some questions members of the public had for him.

In one of them, he was asked what he would tell his 18-year-old self.

Without hesitation, he answered: “Get to meet more people.”

Ong Ye Kung was ‘very shy’ at 18

Explaining his answer, the minister said he was “very shy” as an 18-year-old.

Thus, he would want his younger self to meet more people presumably to overcome his shyness.

“Especially girls,” he quipped.

He gets up at 5.30am every day

Another netizen asked Mr Ong how he kept himself fit considering his busy schedule.

Apparently, it takes a lot of discipline, as he revealed that he wakes up at the ungodly hour of 5.30am every morning.

He does this so he can get 45 minutes to one hour of exercise every day, he explained.

There’s no antidote to Covid-19: Ong

Netizens also had health-related questions for Mr Ong, including the search for the Covid-19 antidote and his aspirations for Singapore’s healthcare.

On Covid-19, he replied that there’s no antidote and that we have to learn to live with it.

However, we can fight the disease by having good hygiene habits and taking an annual jab, he said.

As for Singaporeans, he hopes we can be a healthy population and a “true Blue Zone 3.0”.

Blue Zones are places with populations that commonly live as long as 100 years or more.

Last October, Mr Ong expressed his hope that Singapore can become a “Blue Zone 3.0”, meaning we can have healthier lifestyles.

Ong Ye Kung names his favourites

Other questions Mr Ong fielded were more personal, like his favourite bands, favourite football club and favourite bak chor mee stall.

For bands, there are “so many”, he replied, naming Journey, Guns and Roses, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Queen as some of them.

As for football, he’s a long-suffering fan of Manchester United, he admitted.

Though he felt “sad” over the club’s current predicament (they have had an underwhelming season with 11 losses out of 28 games so far), he said fans “can wait” for things to improve.

Finally, he said there are two stalls serving the best bak chor mee in Singapore, and both of them are in Kaki Bukit 511 Market and Food Centre.

While Mr Ong didn’t name the stalls, he said they both offer a soup-based version of the dish.

Minister asked embarrassing question

One question that seemed to perplex the minister was from someone claiming to be a secondary school student.

The student asked how he would know that puberty had ended.

Apparently not understanding the question at first, Mr Ong had to have the word “puberty” repeated to him, after which he reacted with an embarrassed laugh.

It’s uncertain whether he managed to answer that somewhat strange question.

Also read: Ong Ye Kung ‘writes messages’ to Taylor Swift in music video parody, encourages healthy habits

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Featured image adapted from @ongyekung on TikTok.