Ong Ye Kung Fun Facts That You Never Knew
So Mr Ong Ye Kung will not be Singapore’s next Prime Minister, losing out to Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat.
But don’t write off Mr Ong just yet — as the newest elected MP among the 3 “frontrunners”, our dashing Education Minister has certainly come a long way.
Here are 10 lesser known facts you didn’t know about Mr Ong Ye Kung.
They show you why Mr Ong deserves his reputation as an easy-to-relate-to bro, or as we like to call him, Bro Ye Kung.
1. He doesn’t let politics get in the way of family
Like his father, Mr Ong is also an MP.
But unlike his son, the elder Mr Ong served as a Barisan Sosialis politician, running against a PAP candidate in Bukit Panjang.
And he won at the ballot box, serving as an MP between 1963 and 1968.
The left-wing Barisan Sosialis was Singapore’s biggest opposition party in the 1960s.
It eventually joined the Singapore United Front to be merged into the Workers’ Party, which is now Singapore’s biggest opposition party.
Despite their differing political views, it’s good to know that Mr Ong Ye Kung and his father were still on good terms, even when the younger Mr Ong decided to join the PAP.
2. He loves Star Wars, football and nature
On his Facebook page, he opens up about his three passions.
If you ever see him around, ask him Anakin, Luke or Rey?
Or you could go with ‘Did you catch last night’s match?’ or ‘Have you trekked up Bukit Timah Hill?’
Go on; don’t be shy to make a new friend.
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That’s the secret to striking up an instant connection.
3. He’s artsy
Mr Ong frequently uploads timelapses of his masterpieces in the making onto Facebook.
He also drew Snoopy from scratch to wish everyone Happy Lunar New Year of the Dog!
He may not be the next Picasso or Vincent van Gogh, but give me the same pen and paper and I wouldn’t be able to come up with something as nice.
4. He’s also a kan cheong parent
Like many Singaporean parents, he is 200% concerned when it comes to matters concerning his children.
A self-professed kan cheong parent, he shares that he can be uptight about parenting, only because he wants the best his kids.
Fathers expressing their love for their children is the sweetest thing ever.
Aww. We can’t even right now.
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5. He tried out the mannequin challenge
Our ministers always have a finger on the pulse of what’s trendy and what’s not. Well, some of them.
Hopping on every youngster’s bandwagon, Mr Ong Ye Kung successfully completed the mannequin challenge with a group of students at ITE College East.
Mr Ong, could you try the #invisiblebox challenge next?
6. He was almost caught in a cyclone
Imagine stepping out of your car and seeing fallen trees and collapsed fences around you.
That’s exactly what happened to Mr Ong Ye Kung while on a visit to Shunde, China.
He totally deserves one of those souvenir shirts that read ‘I survived a cyclone’.
Sounds scary, but thank goodness nothing bad happened!
7. He loves diving
Here he is wading around in the cool waters of the Great Barrier Reef.
We’re jealous and hope he posts more of his ocean adventures, so that we can live vicariously through his travel vlogs!
8. He loved catching spiders as a child
Before there were arcades, mobile phone games and PlayStations, catching spiders was a common past time among children in Singapore.
In this picture, he shares his childhood haunt where he would go to catch spiders.
Ahh, #throwusback to the good old days already.
9. He isn’t fazed by defeat
Mr Ong’s entry into politics hasn’t always been smooth.
He was part of former Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo’s PAP team that lost Aljunied GRC to the Workers’ Party in 2011.
Albeit disappointed, he quoted the lyrics of Kelly Clarkson’s song Stronger — suggesting that such a small setback wouldn’t faze him.
And he went on to enter Parliament in 2015, after being fielded in Sembawang GRC instead.
That’s an attitude we can all learn from.
10. He’s worked hard
From 2002 to 2004, he was the Principal Private Secretary to Singapore’s then-Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong.
Besides excelling in that role, Mr Ong was also a key architect of the historic US-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed in 2003.
The signing marked the first FTA that the United States had signed with an Asian country and helped reverse Singapore’s declining trade with the world’s largest economy.
It also increased trade volume between the two countries by a whopping 53%.
He’s completely Ong point
Now that you know 10 more things about Mr Ong Ye Kung, you’re basically on first name basis.
We’re just kidding. But we’re sure he would be cool with a bro fist too if you ever ran into him.
If you aren’t shy, swoop in for a hug maybe?
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Just like us, he has hobbies, misses his childhood and seems to be the typical family man.
Wanna know more? Connect with him on Facebook.
Featured image from Facebook and Facebook.
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