Writing in his Facebook, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said today that (Dec 21) praised Member of Parliament (MP) Charles Chong for “courage to act on his convictions”, despite being diagnosed with a liver condition about three years ago.
Dr Ng said that when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong asked Mr Ching to stand in the opposition held Punggol East single member constituency, his “response was almost instantaneous – ‘Yes, I‘m ready to fight’,” he said.
“Charles knew that any candidate there must expect a hectic campaign and a tough fight. The rest they say is history. Charles fought hard and won back the constituency,” he added. “How he could do this, with the shadow of a liver transplant over him, I cannot pretend to understand fully except that Charles has guts and the courage to act on his convictions.”
Dr Ng also revealed that Mr Chong was ready to stand in the opposition-held Aljunied Group Representation Constituency if asked.
Dr Ng explained why he had great respect for Mr Chong saying: ““The prospect of a liver transplant would have caused any one of us to at least reduce our activities, review our life’s goals but certainly not take on major challenges. Not for Charles Chong.”
Mr Chong was discharged from hospital last week after going through a liver transplant on 1 Dec. Writing in his Facebook yesterday, Mr Chong said yesterday that his younger son donated part of his liver to him.
He further said that he is recovering well and that he hopes to be back on duty after the eight weeks of medical leave.