Mr Ng Shi Xuan was by his father’s bedside when he realised that the man who raised him was not going to make it.
His father, fiercely independent and rarely one to ask for anything, suddenly made an unusual request: he wanted to see his youngest brother, who lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mr Ng, an optimist who had been holding on to the hope that his father would recover from his illness, knew then that it was not going to happen. The man who had been at the forefront of the family business was slipping away and Mr Ng’s world was not going to be the same again.
He was recounting this to me when he was thinking about how he had it in him to step up and shoulder responsibility when needed. He believes that this was shaped by his father who had worked hard to provide for the family throughout the years.
That same instinct is now guiding Mr Ng into politics.
At 35, he is just a bit older than me, yet he is already one of the younger candidates whom the People’s Action Party (PAP) has introduced for this General Election.
He is part of a five-member team contesting Sembawang Group Representation Constituency (GRC), led by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. On this team, he is the youngest.
Speaking of his father, then aged 64, Mr Ng said that his health deteriorated rapidly within three months after doctors discovered a ruptured intestine.
Barely a year before, his father had still been overseeing day-to-day operations at the family’s industrial battery business, Powermark Battery & Hardware Trading.
When he breathed his last on Dec 29, 2018 – just a day after his wife’s birthday – there was no formal handover or final advice on how to run the family business.
Around that time, Mr Ng was working at Enterprise Singapore and he was preparing to relocate to Beijing in China for a new posting. The government agency supports Singapore enterprises in innovation, growth and international expansion.
However, his mother turned to him and asked him to stay, to step up and carry on the family business.
Considering how that request meant a big change in the trajectory of his career, I asked if he ever felt like it held him back.
Mr Ng did not pause for a moment. His answer came clearly and firmly: “It was a call of duty. I was duty-bound. When my mum asked, I didn’t hesitate. It was the right thing to do.”
Now preparing for possibly one of the biggest transitions of his life – a move into politics – Mr Ng also believes that this is the right thing to do.
As the boss of his family business, a small- and medium-size enterprise (SME), he stands apart from the typical PAP candidate, many of whom may have polished curricula vitae and stellar credentials.
However, that does not mean that he is any less ready to serve.
If anything, he believes that his experience in business and working to empower youth could offer a fresh perspective on what the ground needs right now.
