Ow Chin Hock Explained

Constituency Mp1:Leng Kee Single Member Constituency
Predecessor1:Ahmad Mattar
Successor1:constituency abolished
Term Start1:23 December 1976
Term End1:16 December 1997
Constituency Mp2:Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency (Leng Kee)
Predecessor2:constituency established
Successor2:constituency abolished
Term Start2:2 January 1997
Term End2:18 October 2001
Children:1
Education:Vanderbilt University

Ow Chin Hock is a Singaporean educator and former politician. Ow was a member of the People's Action Party (PAP) and served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leng Kee Single Member Constituency from 1976 to 1997 and MP for the Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency, representing the Leng Kee division, from 1997 to 2001.

Early life

Ow went to Catholic High School. Ow was a graduate of the University of Singapore and received a doctorate in economics at Vanderbilt University.[1]

Career

Academic career

From 1967 to 1971, Ow worked as a research and teaching assistant at Vanderbilt University. Afterwards, he worked as a lecturer at the University of Singapore in the Department of Economics.[2] From August 1974 to June 1975, he was the research advisor to the National Productivity Board.

Political career

In 1976, Ow made his political debut with the People's Action Party (PAP) at the 1976 Singaporean general election.[3] He contested in the Leng Kee Single Member Constituency and became its Member of Parliament (MP) after he won with 76.76% of the vote against Ng Lep Chong of United Front's (UF) 23.24%.[4] In 1979, Ow was appointed as the first chairman of the Speak Mandarin Campaign.[5]

In 1980, Ow opened the Singapore Historical Photographs Exhibition by the Ministry of Culture and the National Archives and Records Centre.[6] During the 1980 Singaporean general election, Ow remained as the MP representing Leng Kee Single Member Constituency when he was elected unopposed.[7] In 1981, Ow was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education.[8]

In the 1984 Singaporean general election, he remained as the MP representing Leng Kee Single Member Constituency after he won against Workers' Party's (WP) George Benjamin Armstrong's 33.16% with his 66.84% of the vote.[9] [10]

In the next general election, Ow was the MP for Leng Kee Single Member Constituency again after he won against WP's Chua Chwee Huat Peter with 64.96% of the vote against Chua's 35.04%.[11]

Ow remained as the MP for Leng Kee Single Member Constituency once more after beating Independent G. K. Niddy with 76.57% of the vote in the 1991 Singaporean general election against Niddy's 23.43%.[12]

In 1997, after the dissolution of Leng Kee Single Member Constituency, Ow contested in the 1997 Singaporean general election for Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency with Chay Wai Chuen, Koo Tsai Kee, Lee Kuan Yew, Lim Swee Say, and S. Vasoo. He represented the Leng Kee division.[13] In 2001, he retired from politics.

Notes and References

  1. News: 20 November 1976 . Tan, 27, is the PAP's youngest nominee . 20 March 2024 . New Nation . 2 . NewspaperSG.
  2. News: Raman . P. M. . 20 November 1976 . News about polls 'next week' . 20 March 2024 . . 1 . NewspaperSG.
  3. News: 13 December 1976 . 22 up! . 20 March 2024 . New Nation . 1 . NewspaperSG.
  4. News: 24 December 1976 . ALL THE RESULTS... . 20 March 2024 . . 8 . NewspaperSG.
  5. News: Chin . Soo Fang . 18 May 2022 . First chairman of Speak Mandarin Campaign optimistic about future of mother tongues . 20 March 2024 . . en . 0585-3923.
  6. News: 1 May 1980 . Ow to open photo show . 20 March 2024 . . 12 . NewspaperSG.
  7. News: 14 December 1980 . The 37 who got walkovers . 20 March 2024 . . 9 . NewspaperSG.
  8. News: 13 January 1981 . No new faces among PAP second-line leadership . 20 March 2024 . . 12 . NewspaperSG.
  9. News: 8 November 1984 . Candidates gear up for the polls . 20 March 2024 . . 17 . NewspaperSG.
  10. News: 23 December 1984 . ELECTION '84 RESULTS . 20 March 2024 . . 8 . NewspaperSG.
  11. News: 4 September 1988 . Single-seat wards SCORECARD . 20 March 2024 . . 2 . NewspaperSG.
  12. News: 14 September 1991 . What were the voters saying? . 20 March 2024 . . 14 . NewspaperSG.
  13. News: Ng . Wan Ching . 31 March 1997 . Reversal of roles . 20 March 2024 . The New Paper . 10 . NewspaperSG.