Ong Pang Boon was a prominent first generation People's Action Party

People's Action Party

The People's Action Party is the leading political party in Singapore. It has been the city-state's ruling political party since 1959....

 (PAP) politician in Singapore.

Early life and education

Born in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

, he was educated in a Chinese primary school, a Confucian middle school, Methodist Boys' School (Kuala Lumpur)

Methodist Boys' School (Kuala Lumpur)

Methodist Boys' School, Kuala Lumpur is a cluster secondary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was founded in July 1897, making it one of the oldest schools in Malaysia. It is known as MBS and its students are known as MBSians. The school is also known as Marble School or Horley School to the...

, and later attained a geography degree at the then University of Malaya

University of Malaya

The University of Malaya is located on a campus near the centre of Kuala Lumpur, and is the oldest university in Malaysia. It was founded in 1905 as a public-funded tertiary institution...

 in Singapore.

Political career

His foray into politics began as a polling agent for Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...

 in the 1955 legislative assembly election. He entered parliament as a member for Telok Ayer

Telok Ayer

Telok Ayer is a historic district located in Singapore's Chinatown within the Central Business District, straddling the Outram Planning Area and the Downtown Core under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's urban planning zones.-Etymology:...

 in the 1959 general elections, a seat he retained till his retirement in 1984. He was subsequently appointed Minister for Home Affairs in the first self-government Cabinet

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

 and played a key role to eradicating yellow culture and crime in the Singapore society. His cabinet appointment also made him part of the Internal Security Council which sanctioned Operation Coldstore

Operation Coldstore

Operation Coldstore was a security operation launched in Singapore on 2 February 1963 in which at least 111 anti-government left-wing activists were arrested and detained, including key members of the opposition political party Barisan Sosialis...

 in 1963.

Ong later took on the highly sensitive Education ministerial portfolio from 1963 to 1970 at a time when Chinese language

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

culture and education issues were highly politicized. By increasing the teaching of English in Chinese schools and vice versa, he was instrumental in laying the foundation for the bilingual policy of which Singapore is famed for. Ong became Labour Minister in 1970. Finally he took over as the Environment Minister in 1980. He retired from politics in 1984 to make way for younger leaders. However, he displayed some unhappiness at the pace and manner of how he was sidelined from the political scene. Lee recognised Ong's displeasure in a public letter of appreciation:

“... I agree with you. You also had misgivings (about some newcomers), as had Chin Chye, over the speed of self-renewal and the effect it was having on the morale of the old guard MPs.”