From construction site to Parliament: Former PAP 'Kopitiam MP' Ong Ah Heng dies aged 84

Former People's Action Party (PAP) MP Ong Ah Heng died on Monday (May 5), aged 84.

The three-term Nee Soon Central MP served the constituency between 1997 and 2011 before retiring from politics. 

Dubbed "Kopitiam (coffeeshop) MP", Ong earned the nickname because of his ease of mixing with ordinary workers.

He was the executive secretary of the National Transport Workers' Union between 1981 and 2006, and later rose to become NTUC's assistant secretary-general. 

In a 1996 interview, Ong attributed his grassroots approach to his past: "I owe a lot to the meritocratic system. There are very few countries where you could start as a construction worker and end up with a master's degree. 

"It is right that I repay society by involving myself in community work with the labour movement and in grassroots organisations." 

He later became a non-executive independent director at ComfortDelGro before retiring from the board in 2020. 

Ong's wake is being held at Block 204 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, and his funeral ceremony will take place there at 1pm on Sunday (May 10).

PM Wong, MPs pay tribute

Writing in a Facebook post on Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said Ong would speak up tirelessly for workers and ordinary Singaporeans.

"Always grounded in the concerns of the people he served," PM Wong added.

Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam, who has been through nine General Elections, served three overlapping terms with the late Kopitiam MP.

"I first knew Mr Ong not just as a fellow MP. But as someone who embodied the quiet ethic of service that underpins our labour movement and grassroots work," he said.

Shanmugam noted that Ong believed in staying close to the ground and the people, and had served as the principal election agent for the late Lee Kuan Yew.

Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC MP Alex Yam said that role requires "absolute trust, discipline and a deep understanding of the ground".

The MP, who entered politics in 2011 - after Ong retired - recalled an incident during the Anson by-election  in 1981, which Yam said reflects Ong's "quiet realism" and deep understanding of the ground.

"On polling day, word reached him that bookies had suddenly reversed the odds, betting that the PAP might lose.

"Ong understood what that meant," he said.

The PAP lost the seat to the Workers' Party's JB Jeyaretnam.

"People often described him as the Kopitiam MP because he was most comfortable sitting among residents over coffee, speaking plainly, listening carefully, and getting things done without fuss.

"When he spoke, everyone listened - from ordinary citizens to even gang members, and also corporate executives and most of all cabinet ministers," Yam added.

editor@asiaone.com