Wong Kan Seng

Education

Wong attended Rangoon Road Primary School, Outram Secondary School and the Adult Education Board (now the Institute of Technical Education) before graduating from the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts with honours degree in history and English.

Wong subsequently completed a Master of Science degree in business studies at the London Business School in 1979 under a postgraduate scholarship conferred by the Singapore Government when he was a civil servant.

Political career

Prior to entering politics, Wong had worked in both the Civil Service and the private sector. He worked in the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Defence, before joining Hewlett Packard in 1981 as a personnel manager and left in 1985 for politics.

Wong made his political debut in the 1984 general election as a PAP contesting in Kuo Chuan SMC and won. He contested in Thomson GRC during the 1991 general election before switching to Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC in the 1997 general election.

Wong was appointed Acting Minister for Community Development in 1986. He was made a full member of the Cabinet as Minister for Community Development by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 1987. He was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1988. In 1994, he became Minister for Home Affairs. Wong had also served as Leader of the House between 1991 and 2007.

Wong was vocal in his capacity as a Cabinet minister when it comes to defending any criticisms of the PAP as being authoritarian, or that the political process was undemocratic with an advantage given to the governing party. He often described the opposition as being disorganised, weak and driven by self-interests."The public has no sympathy for them. Neither do I. Why should I? I mean, they mess it up."On opposition politician J. B. Jeyaretnam's proposal to establish an independent elections commission, Wong remarked, "It is absurd. I think we cannot be more democratic than we are now. We even allow a loser to be in Parliament and make speeches attacking the government. Where could you find such a democracy in other countries?"

During the World Conference on Human Rights held in 1993, Wong argued that democracy was interpreted differently in Singapore. He claims that its citizens "do not agree that pornography is an acceptable manifestation of free expression or that homosexual relationships are just a matter of lifestyle choice." Wong also believe that excessive emphasis on individual rights over the rights of the community will retard progress.

On 1 September 2005, Wong was appointed Deputy Prime Minister by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, following the retirement of Tony Tan. On 1 November 2010, Wong was appointed Coordinating Minister for National Security and relinquished his Minister for Home Affairs portfolio.

Wong retired from the Cabinet following the 2011 general election. He remains a Member of Parliament and also the special adviser for economic cooperation to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong until 11 September 2015, when he was finally retired from politics after 31 years.

Role in the homeland security in Singapore

As Minister for Home Affairs, Wong was in charge of overseeing emergency planning, dealing with internal threats such as cults and terrorists, involved in law and order, and rooting out of criminals and illegal immigrants.

Mas Selamat escape

On 27 February 2008, alleged Jemaah Islamiyah leader Mas Selamat bin Kastari escaped from Whitley Road Detention Centre, leading to the largest manhunt in Singapore. Wong expressed his regret in Parliament the day after the occurrence.

He revealed that Mas Selamat escaped when he was taken to the toilet before a meeting at the detention centre's family visit room.

Wong was criticised because news of Mas Selamat's escape was not disseminated to the public until four hours after its occurrence. There were calls for Wong to step down, given the severity of the security lapse. Mas Selamat was eventually recaptured in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on 1 April 2009, by Malaysian authorities, over a year after his escape.

2003 SARS outbreak

Wong was then responsible for co-ordinating the inter-ministerial nationwide effort to counter the SARS epidemic.

Certain measures were taken to contain the virus, including mandatory home quarantine measures, health screening at immigration checkpoints, schools and hospitals and public education programs. On 31 May 2003, Singapore was taken off the World Health Organization's list of SARS-affected countries.

Professional career

Wong returned to the private sector after stepping down from the Cabinet.

Wong was appointed Chairman of Singbridge International, a Temasek Holdings unit dealing with the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, in 2011.

Wong was appointed Non-Executive and Independent Director on the board of directors at the United Overseas Bank (UOB) in 2017 and was subsequently appointed chairman in 2018. He is also holding the positions of chairman of the executive committee and Member of the Board Risk Management Committee, Nominating Committee and Remuneration and Human Capital Committee at UOB.

Wong was appointed as an independent director of CapitaLand in July 2017 and serving as CapitaLand Group chairman by 2021.

Personal life

Wong is of Cantonese descent. He is married to Ruth Lee Hong Geok and they have two children.

References

References

1. "Cabinet Appointments: Wong Kan Seng".
2. "Profile of Wong Kan Seng".
3. Emergencies and threats? He's tackled them all", The Straits Times (Singapore), 15 August 2004
4. "Mr Wong Kan Seng, Chairman - Ascendas-Singbridge".
5. "Former DPM Wong Kan Seng calls it a day after seven terms".
6. (27 May 2005). "Singapore says no climate of fear in city-state".
7. (24 March 2011). "DPM Wong throws down gauntlet to Opposition". Today.
8. Porter, Barry. (17 April 1999). "Degrees of freedom in Lion City". South China Morning Post.
9. Healy, Tim. (30 November 2000). "Conflict in a City of Consent".
10. Riding, Alan. (1993-06-20). "THE WORLD; Human Rights: The West Gets Some Tough Questions". The New York Times.
11. "The Cabinet - Mr Wong Kan Seng".
12. "Wong Kan Seng steps down as MP after seven terms in 2015".
13. Emergencies and threats? He's tackled them all, The Straits Times (Singapore), 15 August 2004
14. (28 February 2008). "Official Report for Singapore Parliamentary Debates".
15. Li, Xueying. (24 April 2008). "To resign or not, that's the question S'poreans are asking". The Straits Times.
16. "The Straits Times".
17. (13 September 2011). "PM NAMES FORMER DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER WONG KAN SENG AS SPECIAL ADVISER". TODAY.
18. Khoo, Lynette. "Temasek, JTC in tie-up to merge four subsidiaries into two units". The Business Times.
19. Boon, Rachael. (2017-07-28). "Former deputy prime minister Wong Kan Seng appointed to UOB board". The Straits Times.
20. (2024-03-01). "Additional Information on Directors Seeking Re-election".
21. Loh, Dylan. (2021-03-22). "Singapore's CapitaLand splits ahead of COVID recovery".