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7 Firsts For Newly Minted Labour Chief Ng Chee Meng

2018-06-05 , 10:51 am

This is a guest post contributed by JWong.

You may or may not be familiar with Ng Chee Meng, the newly-elected Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Member of Parliament for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.

Fret not, we’ve put together 7 firsts of the new Labour Chief, which sums up some interesting things you’d need to know about him.

Chop Chop Curry Pok. These days it’s all about bite-sized learning on the go, right?

1. First National Day

Mr Ng celebrated his first National day when he was just one day old.

Yep, ONE DAY OLD.

Born on the 8 August 1968, Mr Ng was technically a one-day-old newborn when Singapore turned three 50 years ago!

2. First flying licence

Mr Ng obtained his private flying licence at the age of 17 when he joined the Singapore Youth Flying Club during his Junior College days.

Later, he went on train as a fighter pilot and served as the Chief of the Republic of Singapore Air Force.

3. First meeting with his wife

Mr Ng and his wife Michelle first met through a lifeguard course organized by the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) when they were both 15 years old. They started dating after university many years later.

As cliché as it sounds, Mr Ng’s tips to keeping love alive is the “commitment to cherish each other through the ups and downs of life”. To him, romance is starting and ending the day together with his spouse. Awww… #RelationshipGoals

Well, I don’t know about you, but personally, as a woman, I think it’s so precious that the man of your life wants your face to be the first face he sees when he wakes up, and be the last face he sees before he goes to bed every night!

4. First post on his Facebook Page

The first post Mr Ng shared on his Facebook page was an album of pictures from his Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) days.

It must have been filled with lots of fond memories for him. I mean hey, it’s a whopping 29 years of service in the SAF we’re talking about here!

And yes, we painstakingly dug for his first post on his Facebook page.

5. First General Election

After retiring from the SAF on 18 August 2015, Mr Ng joined the People’s Action Party’s Pasir Ris-Punggol team and stood for his first General Election in 2015.

When he entered politics three years ago, Mr Ng was the first three-star general to cross over from the military field into the political arena, making him the highest-ranking officer to enter politics. I suppose until the next General Election, this will be a record he will hold.

Check out his rally speech during General Election 2015 below:

6. First post on his Facebook Page after winning the 2015 General Election

It’s hardly surprising that Mr Ng’s first Facebook post right after winning the GE2015 was to express his gratitude to his voters.

7. First blog post

Mr Ng published his first blog post on LabourBeat since his appointment as Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC).

Long story short, in his “Open Letter to Working Singaporeans”, Mr Ng is basically saying that with the emergence of new and disruptive technologies, workers must be nimble and agile and must recognize the importance of continuous learning, upgrading of skills and training.

Employers must also play their part and be supportive their workers, especially for the mature workers.

Of course, it isn’t easy, but always know that you have the Labour Movement to turn to.

Together with NTUC LearningHub, NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), as well as various Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), the Labour Movement is constantly working to provide the direction and training that all of us working people will ever need.

So there, a helping hand is always available for you, all you need to do is reach for it.

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