Ch'ng Jit Koon

In this Chinese name, the family name is Ch'ng.
Ch'ng Jit Koon
庄日昆
Ch'ng in 1988
Member of Parliament for Tiong Bahru Single Member Constituency
In office
6 May 1968 – 17 August 1988
Preceded byLee Teck Him
Succeeded byconstituency abolished
Member of Parliament for Tiong Bahru Group Representation Constituency
In office
9 January 1989 – 14 August 1991
Preceded byconstituency established
Succeeded byconstituency abolished
Member of Parliament for Bukit Merah Single Member Constituency
In office
6 January 1992 – 16 December 1996
Preceded byLee Chee Onn
Succeeded byconstituency abolished
Personal details
Born1934
Hui'an County, Quanzhou, China
Died1 March 2024 (aged 90)
Singapore
Alma materNanyang University

Ch'ng Jit Koon (Chinese: 庄日昆; 1934 – 1 March 2024) was a Chinese-born Singaporean former politician. A member of the People's Action Party (PAP), he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tiong Bahru Single Member Constituency from 1968 to 1988, the MP for Tiong Bahru Group Representation Constituency from 1989 to 1991, and the MP for Bukit Merah Single Member Constituency from 1992 to 1996.

Ch'ng also served as the Second Adviser to Tanjong Pagar Grassroots from 1975 to 1996 and served as Senior Minister of State for Community Development from 1985 to 1991. He also introduced ministerial walkabouts.[1] On 1 March 2024, Ch'ng died at 90.[2]

Early life and education

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Ch'ng was born in 1934 in Hui'an County, Quanzhou, China and moved to the Straits Settlements (present-day Singapore) in 1935. His father worked as an assistant manager. During the Japanese occupation, Ch'ng worked at a soap factory, preventing him from being drafted as a labourer for the Japanese.[3]

Ch'ng was educated at Chung Cheng High School and Beatty Secondary School. Ch'ng got a Bachelor of Arts degree at Nanyang University and was also a member at the council at Nanyang University.[4] He was also the treasurer of the Nanyang University and the chairman of Tanglin Technical Secondary School Advisory Committee.[5]

Career

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Ch'ng made his political debut at the 1968 general election, contesting as Member of Parliament (MP) for Tiong Bahru Single Member Constituency and was elected in an unopposed walkover.[6] In the 1972 general election, he contested for MP of Tiong Bahru Single Member Constituency again, against Seow Yong Chew from Workers' Party (WP) and Richard Lee Kah Chit from United National Front.[5] He won with 75.62% of the vote.

In the 1976 general election, Ch'ng contested for MP of Tiong Bahru Single Member Constituency again, against Teo Kim Hoe from United People's Front, winning with 83.10% of the vote.[7] In the 1980 and 1984 general elections, he remained as the MP for Tiong Bahru Single Member Constituency after getting uncontested walkovers.[8][9] Ch'ng also introduced ministerial walkabouts in 1984.[10]

After the dissolution of Tiong Bahru Single Member Constituency, during the 1988 general election, he contested for the Tiong Bahru division of Tiong Bahru Group Representation Constituency along with Chng Hee Kok and S. Vasoo. They won with 57.84% of the vote against the WP's group of Low Thia Khiang, Lim Lye Soon, and Gopalan Nair.[11]

In the 1991 general election, after the dissolution of Tiong Bahru Group Representation Constituency, Ch'ng contested for MP of Bukit Merah Single Member Constituency against Gopalan Nair from WP and Independent Patrick Leong Siew Choong.[12] He retired from politics in 1997 and worked at Kep Finance as a board director.[13]

Personal life

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In 2015, Ch'ng was awarded the Distinguished Service Order at the National Day Awards.[14] Ch'ng's father suffered from tuberculosis in 1939 till his death in 1951.[3]

Death

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Ch'ng died on 1 March 2024 at 90.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Chin, Hui Shan (3 March 2024). "Former senior minister of state Ch'ng Jit Koon, praised for his 'excellent interpersonal skills', dies at 90". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  2. ^ Tan, Min-Wei (2 March 2024). "Former senior minister of state Ch'ng Jit Koon dies aged 90, President Tharman & PM Lee pay tribute". mothership.sg. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  3. ^ a b Jayakumar, Shashi (13 April 2024). "The grounded politician - Ch'ng Jit Koon". Petir. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Former Nanyang editor makes a comeback in Singapore politics". The Straits Times. 17 December 1976. p. 8. Retrieved 1 May 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  5. ^ a b "THE CONSTITUENCIES". New Nation. 31 August 1972. p. 18. Retrieved 1 May 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  6. ^ "State of the constituencies". The Straits Times. 18 February 1968. p. 4. Retrieved 1 May 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  7. ^ "ELECTION SCORECARD". The Straits Times. 23 December 1976. p. 13. Retrieved 1 May 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  8. ^ "The 37 who got walkovers". The Straits Times. 14 December 1980. p. 9. Retrieved 1 May 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  9. ^ "Seven new PAP candidates get walkovers". The Straits Times. 13 December 1984. p. 16. Retrieved 1 May 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  10. ^ Lee, Philip (8 May 1984). "'Mr Walkabout' is always there on Sunday". The Straits Times. p. 12. Retrieved 1 May 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  11. ^ "TIONG BAHRU". The Straits Times. 4 September 1988. p. 9. Retrieved 1 May 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  12. ^ "BUKIT MERAH". The New Paper. 26 August 1991. p. 20. Retrieved 1 May 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  13. ^ "Chng Jit Koon at Kep Finance". The Business Times. 2 July 1997. p. 15. Retrieved 1 May 2024 – via NewspaperSG.
  14. ^ "Ch'ng Jit Koon, former Senior Minister of State who pioneered ministerial walkabouts, dies aged 90". CNA. 2 March 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
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