http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/08/14/paps-chong-still-sore-about-not-getting-p5-math-prize/
[h=2]PAP’s Chong still sore about not getting P5 math prize[/h]
August 14th, 2015 |
Author: Editorial
PAP formally introduced their new candidates for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC to the
public on Wednesday (12 Aug) in a coffeeshop setting. Besides Chee Hong Tat (‘PAP’s Chee condemns dialect learning but gives Hokkien
interview‘), PAP presented Chong Kee Hiong who is replacing outgoing MP Wong
Kan Seng.
Mr Chong is the CEO of public-listed company OUE Hospitality Trust. According
to BusinessWeek [Link]
and OUE [Link], he is a familiar
face in corporate circles who has held senior positions in many companies:
In addition, he is active in the labour movement, serving as president of the
union-linked Orchid Country Club and chairman of NTUC Foodfare co-operative. He
is a non-executive director of SLF Leisure Enterprises (Pte) Ltd, Pasir Ris
Resort Pte Ltd and Aquamarina Hotel Private Limited. He represents Mandarin
Orchard Singapore on the board of the Singapore Hotel Association. He is a
corporate member of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce &
Industry.
He is a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Finance and
Trade and Industry Resource Panel, as well as the Finance and IT Committee at
Sentosa Development Corporation, a government statutory board.
On Wednesday, Mr Chong told the press, “We should also bear in mind that
policies are not one-size-fits-all but we must be inclusive. By paying attention
to the ground, we can then ensure that help reaches those who need it so that
everyone has a fair chance of succeeding and no one is left behind.”
He was essentially echoing what PM Lee said in a speech in 2011 that “no one
is left behind” in trying to build a more “inclusive” society.
In May, MP Wong Kan Sen introduced Mr Chong to the press, telling them that
Mr Chong is “very hardworking” (‘Potential PAP MP ‘working very hard’ in Bishan‘).
“He has organised many things, not just today’s ministerial visit that he’s
co-chairman of,” said Mr Wong. He cited the example of Mr Chong organising a big
pioneer generation dinner last year, which was attended by more than 4,000
residents.
He added, “They all enjoyed themselves and went back (with) very happy
memories. Some of them still talk about that particular dinner, and Mr Chong …
(was) the (organizing) chairman of that.”
Upset about not getting a prize for scoring the highest marks in P5
math
3 years ago, during an interview with the Straits Times (‘To be a CEO, read
martial arts novels’, 13 May 2012), Mr Chong intimated that he was still feeling
upset about not getting a prize for scoring the highest marks in Mathematics in
Primary 5.
Then, at the now-defunct Kim Keat Primary School, he scored the highest marks
for Mathematics and Chinese in his Primary 5 cohort. But his teacher told him he
had won 1 prize too many and gave the Math prize to another pupil who had
finished half a mark behind.
“I didn’t argue with the teacher but I was very upset,” recalled Mr Chong.
“The fact that I still remember it with such clarity shows that I am still
disturbed by it (until today).”
The episode went against the ideals of fair play and meritocracy, he said. Mr
Chong is a strong believer in meritocracy. He told the reporter that if you work
hard, have the desire to do well and grab opportunities given to you, you will
do well.
When he was a child, Mr Chong read a lot of Chinese sword-fighting novels.
“In these novels, the heroes will always prevail although they have to undergo a
lot of hardships first,” he said with a hearty laugh. “Also, in many of the
stories, skillful pugilists and old masters would impart their skills only if
the heroes showed great perseverance and sincerity, so I told myself I needed to
have those qualities too.”
Being good in his studies, Mr Chong later attended Raffles Institution and
Raffles Junior College, and received 3 scholarship offers when he entered
NUS.
During the interview, he told ST that he and his family live in a
semi-detached house in Bishan and drives a Mercedes convertible.
Blogger Ng Kok Lim advises Chong Kee Hiong
With regard to Mr Chong still being upset about not getting a prize for Math
when he was in P5, blogger Ng Kok Lim has the following advice for him (‘Choosing the right person & kungfu meritocracy‘):
Mr Chong Kee Hiong claimed that giving the Math prize to another pupil who
scored half a mark less than him in Primary 5 went against fair play and
meritocracy. Mr Chong has failed, after all these years, to understand his
teacher’s important lesson on the philosophy of meritocracy in society.
Meritocracy in society is very different from the meritocracy of winning Math
prizes which is more like sports where the winner takes all and nobody remembers
the Silver medalist. But meritocracy in society is not winner takes all. If
society is run as winner takes all, there will be riot and society will
collapse. The best lawyer doesn’t take all the cases; the best doctor doesn’t
perform all the surgeries. The spoils of this country are shared by all in
proportion to each individual’s respective contribution. So if Mr Chong
performed half a percent better than his counterpart for example, he should get
half a percent more than his counterpart. He should not be getting everything
while his counterpart gets nothing. Singaporean meritocracy is quite often
elitism in disguise as the winner takes much more than a fair share of what he
deserves while the loser takes much less than a fair share of what he
deserves.
Mr Chong shared the beauty of meritocracy as working hard and grabbing the
opportunities given to you. Sadly after all these years, Mr Chong still does not
understand that “opportunities given to him” is based less on meritocracy and
more on relationships. Mr Chong gave the example of how the hero in Chinese
sword fighting novels always get taught by skillful old pugilistic masters after
showing perseverance and sincerity. Has Mr Chong forgotten how one hero had to
rely on his wife’s close relationship with a pugilistic master and bribery in
the form of delicious cooked food before the master was willing to teach the
hero? Has Mr Chong forgotten about another hero who merely stumbled upon an
opportunity to absorb tremendous amounts of “internal energy”? Mr Chong’s
romanticized version of meritocracy makes one wonder if he is not another
elitist divorced from the true principles of meritocratic society.
[h=2]PAP’s Chong still sore about not getting P5 math prize[/h]
August 14th, 2015 |
Author: Editorial
PAP formally introduced their new candidates for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC to the
public on Wednesday (12 Aug) in a coffeeshop setting. Besides Chee Hong Tat (‘PAP’s Chee condemns dialect learning but gives Hokkien
interview‘), PAP presented Chong Kee Hiong who is replacing outgoing MP Wong
Kan Seng.
Mr Chong is the CEO of public-listed company OUE Hospitality Trust. According
to BusinessWeek [Link]
and OUE [Link], he is a familiar
face in corporate circles who has held senior positions in many companies:
- 1990 to 1995 – starting out at KPMG Peat Marwick
- 1995 to 1997 – Financial Controller at RSP Architects, Planners &
Engineers
- 1997 to 2000 – Group Financial Controller at Tuan Sing Holdings
- 2000 to 2001 – Senior Vice President of Adroit Innovations
- 2001 to 2004 – CFO of Raffles Holdings
- 2005 to 2012 – CEO of Ascott Residence Trust Management Limited (Ascott is a
subsidiary of CapitaLand)
- 2012 to 2013 – CEO of The Ascott Limited
- 2013 to current – CEO of OUE Hospitality Trust and OUE Hospitality Reit
Management.
In addition, he is active in the labour movement, serving as president of the
union-linked Orchid Country Club and chairman of NTUC Foodfare co-operative. He
is a non-executive director of SLF Leisure Enterprises (Pte) Ltd, Pasir Ris
Resort Pte Ltd and Aquamarina Hotel Private Limited. He represents Mandarin
Orchard Singapore on the board of the Singapore Hotel Association. He is a
corporate member of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce &
Industry.
He is a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Finance and
Trade and Industry Resource Panel, as well as the Finance and IT Committee at
Sentosa Development Corporation, a government statutory board.
On Wednesday, Mr Chong told the press, “We should also bear in mind that
policies are not one-size-fits-all but we must be inclusive. By paying attention
to the ground, we can then ensure that help reaches those who need it so that
everyone has a fair chance of succeeding and no one is left behind.”
He was essentially echoing what PM Lee said in a speech in 2011 that “no one
is left behind” in trying to build a more “inclusive” society.
In May, MP Wong Kan Sen introduced Mr Chong to the press, telling them that
Mr Chong is “very hardworking” (‘Potential PAP MP ‘working very hard’ in Bishan‘).
“He has organised many things, not just today’s ministerial visit that he’s
co-chairman of,” said Mr Wong. He cited the example of Mr Chong organising a big
pioneer generation dinner last year, which was attended by more than 4,000
residents.
He added, “They all enjoyed themselves and went back (with) very happy
memories. Some of them still talk about that particular dinner, and Mr Chong …
(was) the (organizing) chairman of that.”
Upset about not getting a prize for scoring the highest marks in P5
math
3 years ago, during an interview with the Straits Times (‘To be a CEO, read
martial arts novels’, 13 May 2012), Mr Chong intimated that he was still feeling
upset about not getting a prize for scoring the highest marks in Mathematics in
Primary 5.
Then, at the now-defunct Kim Keat Primary School, he scored the highest marks
for Mathematics and Chinese in his Primary 5 cohort. But his teacher told him he
had won 1 prize too many and gave the Math prize to another pupil who had
finished half a mark behind.
“I didn’t argue with the teacher but I was very upset,” recalled Mr Chong.
“The fact that I still remember it with such clarity shows that I am still
disturbed by it (until today).”
The episode went against the ideals of fair play and meritocracy, he said. Mr
Chong is a strong believer in meritocracy. He told the reporter that if you work
hard, have the desire to do well and grab opportunities given to you, you will
do well.
When he was a child, Mr Chong read a lot of Chinese sword-fighting novels.
“In these novels, the heroes will always prevail although they have to undergo a
lot of hardships first,” he said with a hearty laugh. “Also, in many of the
stories, skillful pugilists and old masters would impart their skills only if
the heroes showed great perseverance and sincerity, so I told myself I needed to
have those qualities too.”
Being good in his studies, Mr Chong later attended Raffles Institution and
Raffles Junior College, and received 3 scholarship offers when he entered
NUS.
During the interview, he told ST that he and his family live in a
semi-detached house in Bishan and drives a Mercedes convertible.
Blogger Ng Kok Lim advises Chong Kee Hiong
With regard to Mr Chong still being upset about not getting a prize for Math
when he was in P5, blogger Ng Kok Lim has the following advice for him (‘Choosing the right person & kungfu meritocracy‘):
Mr Chong Kee Hiong claimed that giving the Math prize to another pupil who
scored half a mark less than him in Primary 5 went against fair play and
meritocracy. Mr Chong has failed, after all these years, to understand his
teacher’s important lesson on the philosophy of meritocracy in society.
Meritocracy in society is very different from the meritocracy of winning Math
prizes which is more like sports where the winner takes all and nobody remembers
the Silver medalist. But meritocracy in society is not winner takes all. If
society is run as winner takes all, there will be riot and society will
collapse. The best lawyer doesn’t take all the cases; the best doctor doesn’t
perform all the surgeries. The spoils of this country are shared by all in
proportion to each individual’s respective contribution. So if Mr Chong
performed half a percent better than his counterpart for example, he should get
half a percent more than his counterpart. He should not be getting everything
while his counterpart gets nothing. Singaporean meritocracy is quite often
elitism in disguise as the winner takes much more than a fair share of what he
deserves while the loser takes much less than a fair share of what he
deserves.
Mr Chong shared the beauty of meritocracy as working hard and grabbing the
opportunities given to you. Sadly after all these years, Mr Chong still does not
understand that “opportunities given to him” is based less on meritocracy and
more on relationships. Mr Chong gave the example of how the hero in Chinese
sword fighting novels always get taught by skillful old pugilistic masters after
showing perseverance and sincerity. Has Mr Chong forgotten how one hero had to
rely on his wife’s close relationship with a pugilistic master and bribery in
the form of delicious cooked food before the master was willing to teach the
hero? Has Mr Chong forgotten about another hero who merely stumbled upon an
opportunity to absorb tremendous amounts of “internal energy”? Mr Chong’s
romanticized version of meritocracy makes one wonder if he is not another
elitist divorced from the true principles of meritocratic society.
