He made his political debut in the 2011 general election as part of a five-member PAP team contesting in Aljunied GRC but lost to the Worker's Party where the PAP team obtained 45.28% of the valid votes. He contested again in the 2015 general election as part of a five-member PAP team contesting in Sembawang GRC and won where the PAP team obtained 72.28% of the valid votes.
Before becoming Minister for Health, he was Minister for Education between 2015 and 2020, serving alongside Ng Chee Meng between 2015 and 2018, and Minister for Transport between 2020 and 2021. From 2020 to 2021, he is also a co-chair of the Multi-Ministry Taskforce set up by the government to manage Singapore's handling response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the 2011 general election, Ong continued to work at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and became Deputy Secretary-General in June 2011. [9] He was also elected into the NTUC's Central Committee later that year.[10] In 2013, he left the NTUC and became Director of Group Strategy at Keppel Corporation.[11]
In the 2015 general election, Ong joined as part of the five-member PAP team contesting in Sembawang GRC,[12] which was considered 'safer' for him.[13] The PAP team won with 72% of the vote and Ong was elected as the Member of Parliament representing the Gambas ward of Sembawang GRC.[12]
On 1 May 2018, the two Education portfolios were merged into a single one; Ong took over the single portfolio as Minister for Education, Ong had also relinquished his Second Minister of Defence portfolio at the same time.
On 27 July 2020, Ong relinquished his portfolio as Minister for Education and succeeded Khaw Boon Wan as Minister for Transport, as well as the Anchor Minister of Sembawang GRC.
In the lead-up to the 2020 general election, Ong was widely seen as one of the three leading candidates (alongside Heng Swee Keat and Chan Chun Sing) to succeed Lee Hsien Loong as Prime Minister of Singapore.[15] Ong led the PAP team in Sembawang GRC and they won with about 67% of the vote. Ong's former Gambas ward was merged with part of Khaw Boon Wan's former Sembawang ward, forming the new Sembawang Central ward which is currently helmed by Ong.[16]
On 23 April 2021, Ong was appointed co-chair of the multi-ministerial committee formed on 22 January 2020 to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore. Following a Cabinet reshuffle on 15 May 2021, Ong relinquished his portfolio as Minister for Transport and succeeded Gan Kim Yong as Minister for Health.
Ong was considered by many to be one of the most likely candidates to succeed Heng Swee Keat as leader of the fourth-generation (4G) team, however it was ultimately revealed that Finance Minister Lawrence Wong had the most support compared to the other candidates.[17]
Board Member, SMRT Corporation (2006–2014)[20] As an independent director, he was appointed to head an internal investigation into the major train disruptions between 15 and 17 December 2011.[21]
Chairman, Employment and Employability Institute[citation needed]
Adviser, National Transport Workers' Union (NTWU), Singapore Industrial and Services Employees’ Union (SISEU), and Attractions, Resorts & Entertainment Union (AREU)[citation needed]
Executive Secretary, National Transport Workers' Union and the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers' Union.[citation needed]
Personal life
Ong's father, Ong Lian Teng, was a Barisan Sosialis politician who served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Bukit Panjang SMC from 1963 to 1965 and later Member of Parliament from 1965 to 1966, who later resigned to protest the "undemocratic acts" of the PAP government. In an interview with The Straits Times in 2011, Ong noted that his father, who died in 2009, had been fully supportive of his decision to become involved in politics as a member of the PAP despite his own past involvement in opposition politics in Singapore.[22]
Ong is married to Diana Kuik Sin Leng, the daughter of real estate magnate Kuik Ah Han.[23][24] They have two daughters.[citation needed] In 2012, Straits Times correspondent Susan Long described him as a "free thinker" and a "Confucius-quoting unionist".[25]
The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the constituency/seat he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; WP: The Workers' Party; PSP: Progress Singapore Party All of the leaders of the respective GRCs are in underline. MP(s) who is go on a leave of absence is in italic. NMPs do not belong to any party.
The party affiliation of each member is indicated right after the constituency he or she represents. PAP: People's Action Party; WP: The Workers' Party NMPs do not belong to any party. There were two terms of NMPs in this parliament, with nine NMPs in each term.