He served as the Member of Parliament for Potong Pasir for 27 years from 1984 to 2011 and is well regarded as the “People’s MP” by many.
And six years after he last took part in a general elections, it appears that Mr Chiam See Tong is looking to establish a foundation to assist the needy who currently fall outside of current systems.
On 18 January, the TODAY newspaper reported Mr Chiam has roped in former national swimmer and former national coach Ang Peng Siong to assist with the Foundation.
Ang’s father, Mr Ang Teck Bee, was Mr Chiam’s swimming coach when he was a student at Anglo-Chinese School, where he excelled as a 200m freestyle swimmer.
It is understood that an application was submitted to the Registrar of Societies in November 2016 and is expected to get a response soon.
No other details were provided and Mrs Lina Chiam did not make any comment when approached by TODAY.
Mr Chiam, who turns 82 in March 2017, is the current secretary general of the Singapore People’s Party.
He was first elected to office on 22 December 1984 when he defeated the People’s Action Party candidate Mah Bow Tan in the battle for the single seat ward of Potong Pasir, picking up 60.3% of the vote.
He subsequently served as a Member of Parliament for six consecutive terms as the representative for Potong Pasir, and stood in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC at the 2011 General Elections, where he lost.
He did not take part in the 2015 General Elections after suffering two strokes.
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