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20-459: The GRC was formed in 1997 with Wong Kan Seng , Ho Tat Kin, Leong Horn Kee, Ibrahim Othman, Davinder Singh , a team from PAP, as the incumbent MPs. The first election was uncontested. Ho and Ibrahim retired from politics during the 2001 Singaporean general election with Zainudin Nordin and Ng Eng Hen replacing them. The GRC was uncontested again. In 2006, Leong and Davinder retired from politics and

40-618: A Member of Parliament on the backbenches until 2015. As a Member of Parliament, Wong represented the constituency of Kuo Chuan between 1984 and 1988, the Bishan East division of Thomson GRC between 1991 and 1997, and later Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC between 1997 and 2015. Wong attended Rangoon Road Primary School, Outram Secondary School and the Adult Education Board (now the Institute of Technical Education ) before graduating from

60-766: Is a Singaporean former politician who served as 5th Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore between 2005 and 2011 and currently is the chairman of UOB Bank and CapitaLand Group since 2017 and 2021 respectively. As a member of Singapore's governing People's Action Party (PAP), Wong served in the Cabinet as Minister for Community Development between 1987 and 1991, Leader of the House between 1987 and 2007, Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1988 and 1994, Minister for Home Affairs between 1994 and 2010, Deputy Prime Minister between 2005 and 2011, and Coordinating Minister for National Security between 2010 and 2011. He continued to serve as

80-564: Is absurd. I think we cannot be more democratic than we are now. We even allow a loser to be in Parliament and make speeches attacking the government. Where could you find such a democracy in other countries?" During the World Conference on Human Rights held in 1993, Wong argued that democracy was interpreted differently in Singapore. He claims that its citizens "do not agree that pornography

100-408: Is an acceptable manifestation of free expression or that homosexual relationships are just a matter of lifestyle choice." Wong also believe that excessive emphasis on individual rights over the rights of the community will retard progress. On 1 September 2005, Wong was appointed Deputy Prime Minister by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong , following the retirement of Tony Tan . On 1 November 2010, Wong

120-478: Is married to Ruth Lee Hong Geok and they have two children. Thomson GRC Thomson Group Representation Constituency (GRC) was a four-member constituency that compromises of Bishan East, Serangoon Gardens, Bishan North and Thomson from 1991 to 1997. It merged parts of Thomson and Serangoon Gardens itself. Thomson GRC was led by Leong Horn Kee and Wong Kan Seng . The ward only exist for one term until 1997. Bishan and Thomson, along with Toa Payoh GRC ,

140-403: The 1997 general election . Wong was appointed Acting Minister for Community Development in 1986. He was made a full member of the Cabinet as Minister for Community Development by Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 1987. He was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1988. In 1994, he became Minister for Home Affairs. Wong had also served as Leader of the House between 1991 and 2007. Wong

160-639: The Civil Service and the private sector. He worked in the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Defence , before joining Hewlett Packard in 1981 as a personnel manager and left in 1985 for politics. Wong made his political debut in the 1984 general election as a PAP contesting in Kuo Chuan SMC and won. He contested in Thomson GRC during the 1991 general election before switching to Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC in

180-668: The United Overseas Bank (UOB) in 2017 and was subsequently appointed Chairman in 2018. He is also holding the positions of Chairman of the Executive Committee and Member of the Board Risk Management Committee, Nominating Committee and Remuneration and Human Capital Committee at UOB. Wong was appointed as an independent director of CapitaLand in July 2017 and serving as CapitaLand Group chairman by 2021. Wong

200-560: The GRC against the PAP team with Ng Eng Hen leading the team. The PAP team won the elections consecutively for the second time with the results of 73.59%. During the 2020 Singaporean general election , Balestier and Novena was subsumed into the neighbouring Jalan Besar GRC . Some residential areas in Potong Pasir were absorbed into Toa Payoh East. Bishan North ward was carved out and was absorbed into

220-664: The University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore ) in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts with honours degree in history and English. Wong subsequently completed a Master of Science degree in business studies at the London Business School in 1979 under a postgraduate scholarship conferred by the Singapore Government when he was a civil servant. Prior to entering politics, Wong had worked in both

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240-403: The day after the occurrence. "This should never have happened. I am sorry that it has." He revealed that Mas Selamat escaped when he was taken to the toilet before a meeting at the detention centre's family visit room. Wong was criticised because news of Mas Selamat's escape was not disseminated to the public until four hours after its occurrence. There were calls for Wong to step down, given

260-410: The new Marymount SMC . The GRC was reduced to four. The SPP contested the GRC again and only managed to gain 32.74% of the votes while the PAP team won the elections again for third time consecutively with the results of 67.26%. Wong Kan Seng Wong Kan Seng PPA(P) ( Chinese : 黄根成 ; pinyin : Huáng Gēnchéng ; Jyutping : Wong4 Gan1 Sing4 ; born 8 September 1946)

280-618: The severity of the security lapse. Mas Selamat was eventually recaptured in Johor Bahru , Malaysia , on 1 April 2009, by Malaysian authorities, over a year after his escape. Wong was then responsible for co-ordinating the inter-ministerial nationwide effort to counter the SARS epidemic. Certain measures were taken to contain the virus, including mandatory home quarantine measures, health screening at immigration checkpoints, schools and hospitals and public education programs. On 31 May 2003, Singapore

300-479: Was appointed Coordinating Minister for National Security and relinquished his Minister for Home Affairs portfolio. Wong retired from the Cabinet following the 2011 general election . He remains a Member of Parliament and also the special adviser for economic cooperation to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong until 11 September 2015, when he was finally retired from politics after 31 years. As Minister for Home Affairs, Wong

320-483: Was expanded in size to include Balestier , MacRitchie Reservoir and Novena . The westernmost portion of Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC consists of part of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve which is shared with Holland–Bukit Timah GRC and Kebun Baru SMC . Before the 2015 Singaporean general election , Wong, Nair and Zainudin retired from politics with the latter two for personal reasons. SPP contested

340-450: Was in charge of overseeing emergency planning, dealing with internal threats such as cults and terrorists, involved in law and order, and rooting out of criminals and illegal immigrants. On 27 February 2008, alleged Jemaah Islamiyah leader Mas Selamat bin Kastari escaped from Whitley Road Detention Centre, leading to the largest manhunt in Singapore. Wong expressed his regret in Parliament

360-497: Was replaced with Hri Kumar Nair and Josephine Teo . The GRC was uncontested for the third time. During the 2011 Singaporean general election , Chiam See Tong of Singapore People's Party (SPP) left his stronghold of Potong Pasir SMC , fielded a team to contest in the GRC. The PAP fielded its existing team with Wong Kan Seng leading the team won and managed to retain the GRC with the results of 56.93%. The GRC's boundaries remained intact since its formation until 2015 when it

380-596: Was taken off the World Health Organization 's list of SARS-affected countries. Wong returned to the private sector after stepping down from the Cabinet. Wong was appointed Chairman of Singbridge International, a Temasek Holdings unit dealing with the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, in 2011. Wong was appointed Non-Executive and Independent Director on the Board of Directors at

400-533: Was vocal in his capacity as a Cabinet minister when it comes to defending any criticisms of the PAP as being authoritarian, or that the political process was undemocratic with an advantage given to the governing party. He often described the opposition as being disorganised, weak and driven by self-interests. "The public has no sympathy for them. Neither do I. Why should I? I mean, they mess it up." On opposition politician J. B. Jeyaretnam 's proposal to establish an independent elections commission, Wong remarked, "It

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