Ong Eng Guan

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Ong.

Ong Eng Guan (Chinese: 王永元) (born 1925) is a former minister and politician of Singapore. A staunch anti-communist, he was a Chinese-educated orator who was one of the pioneer members of the People's Action Party (PAP) Ong was well-known among the Chinese community in Singapore, In the 1957 City Hall Elections, he was elected mayor after the PAP won 13 out of 32 seats contested, and due to the other opposition parties dividing themselves over the remaining 19 seats so the PAP gained the majority. Ong's anti-colonial stance shocked the British government and every City Council meetings then were considered entertainment for the spectators there.

Ong Eng Guan continued to be in helm over the city council for two years until when the PAP gained control over Singapore in 1959, when the council was scrapped and Ong became National Development Minister, Ong was unhappy of Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his cabinet for vetoing his requests for funds and soon grew unhappy with the PAP, he rebelled with 2 other MPS, later he resigned from the cabinet and parliament forcing the government to hold by-elections. Ong registered a new party, the United People's Party (UPP), he won the Hong Lim by-election defeating PAP candidate Jek Yuan Thong, which proved a blow to the PAP for the leaders had campaigned non-stop for Jek but Ong was too popular in the Chinese community and so Jek lost the elections. During the 1963 elections, UPP lost heavily winning only one out of more than 46 seats the party challenged, the seat won by Ong himself. He retired from politics in 1964.

In the new book launched in 2009 titled "Men In White", it was reveal for the first time that in choosing who was to be the first prime minister of Singapore by the PAP central executive committee, Ong Eng Guan lost to Lee Kuan Yew by just one deciding vote which was cast by Toh Chin Chye.

References

• Biography of Ong Eng Guan

Persondata
Name	Ong, Eng Guan
Alternative names
Short description	minister and politician of Singapore
Date of birth	1925
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death